RADIANT COMPASSION: GLIMPSES OF THE LIFE OF THE 16TH GYALWA KARMAPA
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About the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa’s visit in Vienna in 1977
In the Künstlerhaus Vienna
In Vienna, the local practitioners had found a particularly beautiful place for the event with His Holiness. Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick, one of the main organizers of the Austrian visit, remembers:
With the help of artist friends, I was able to rent the Künstlerhaus (art exhibition center), which just then was showing a Borobudur exhibition with large Buddha statues. A woman with Buddhist connections worked at a newspaper and so we arranged to publish a great announcement of the Black Crown Ceremony. We printed color posters and put them up all around the city. Thus hundreds came. Since the exhibition showed precious artworks, for safety reasons not everyone could enter at once. Accordingly, Karmapa performed two crown ceremonies in a row.[1]
A number of other transmissions were given at the Thubden Rime Chöling center, founded the previous autumn by Kalu Rinpoche.
Tummo in the Imperial Loge
Diana Mukpo was at that time completing an apprenticeship in the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna’s imperial castle, and she invited Karmapa to a performance in the large hall, built in (noble) Rococo-style. It must have been an incredible sight, as the Dharma King and “Lady Diana” Mukpo sat side by side in the “Kaiserloge” (Imperial Loge) under a portrait of an Austrian emperor. While watching the equestrian demonstration, Karmapa commented sorrowfully about her mink stole, “So many animals had to die for that!” He followed the performances for a while until it was time for his evening meditation, which included some chants. Mukpo still today vividly remembers:
It was cold in the box, so Karmapa decided to do a meditation practice called Tummo,[2] which among the more spiritual effects, generates warmth in the body. At one point, he held my hand for a moment and his body really was hot. I was paralyzed with embarrassment as he started his evening practice right here during the performance. Everyone in the arena could hear him chanting.[3]
As wonderful as it was to be with Karmapa, to the same degree it sometimes put one’s beloved beliefs to the test.
From the book Radiant Compassion, Vol. 2, p. 86.


[1]       Interview with Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick, 2012.

[2]       One of the Six Yogas of Naropa* that produces heat in the body, enabling yogis in the Himalayas to practice in caves in extreme cold.

[3]       Mukpo: Dragon Thunder. My Life with Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala 2006.

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  • Welcome
  • Short Biography of HH the 16th Karmapa
  • Words of His Holiness
    • Prophecies >
      • Prophecy 1944
    • Vajrasongs >
      • Spontaneous Vajrasong at the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Shri Nalanda Shedra in Rumtek
      • Words of Advice >
        • Short Wisdom Quotes
    • Interview 1980
    • Long-life prayers by HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa
    • Western Visitor's Interview
    • Letter to European Disciples 1978
    • Words of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa: From Social Media, Part One
  • A book about HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa
    • Presentation of the book about HH the 16th Karmapa >
      • Interviews
      • background informations
  • Extracts from Radiant Compassion
    • Table of Contents
    • prefaces and introduction
    • From Volume One, Chapter One >
      • Enthronement in Tsurphu
      • Lama Tönsang about Tsurphu
      • Tireless Dharma activity despite escalating violence
      • Garchen
    • From Volume One, Chaper Two: Travel to Nepal, Bhutan and India >
      • Birth of a Buddha
      • Construction of the Rumtek Monastery
      • travels
      • Minor Obstacles Abroad
      • The First Western Students
      • The 16th Karmapa in the USA 1974
      • Visit to the Hopi Nation
      • extracts of volume two >
        • Vienna 1977
        • Laying of the Foundation Stone of the KIBI
        • HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa's Parinirvana
        • Birdstories
        • Steve Roth Supreme Lord of Compassion
        • The Black Crown of the Karmapas
        • Moments that Changed Entire Lives
        • Bardor Rinpoche
        • Peace!
  • Who's the Karmapa?
  • Texts about HH the 16th Karmapa
    • Sickness and Parirvana
    • Visit in Rumtek 1965
  • Videos
  • background
    • rumtek shedra >
      • additional information >
        • dates
        • risks
  • bibliography
  • mistakes and modifications
  • links
  • about the author
  • contact, disclaimer, copyright
  • Dana - Donations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Feedback and Reviews
  • Disclaimer
  • sitemap
    • original documents >
      • ranking
      • Letter to Practitiones in Scandinavia
  • Contact
  • additional interviews and accounts
  • Bookorders Volume One and Two
    • Prices
    • Volume Two
  • the latest posts