His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee after giving a religious teaching on Eight Verses on Mind Training in Virginia, the spiritual leader took time aside to speak to the local Tibetan community. The Karmapa speaking in Tibetan language told that it is very important to maintain harmony among Tibetans.
The spiritual leader of Kagyue sect of Tibetan Buddhism, who is also the most important spiritual figure next to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in exile Tibetan community, the Karmapa reminded the local Tibetans of the reason they have come into exile as refugees and the suffering Tibetans inside Tibet are still going through.
“The Karmapa prefaced his remarks by urging the Tibetans to recall the situation in Tibet that forced them to leave. Why was it they had to become refugees? He then turned to the critically important topic of all Tibetans maintaining good relationships with each other. If we look at recent Tibetan history, he pointed out, we can see periods of darkness when people in Tibet have suffered terribly. It is safe to say that the Tibetans living abroad have not known such misery. This makes it even more important that all Tibetans live in harmony with each other.” said the report in the official website of his office.
“In particular, people have become strongly identified with the idea of belonging to one of the three regions of Tibet (Central Tibet, Kham, and Amdo), and the Karmapa urged them to relate amicably with each other and take the broader view of considering` themselves to be one people. They should train in thinking of the Tibetan people as a whole. We must work, he said, to make this a stable view and guard it at all times. In general, it is not easy to create a harmonious group, he noted. It is difficult, if not impossible, to listen to and follow the opinion of each person. On the other hand, to make everyone the same is also not feasible. We can, however, remain in harmony with each other.” added the report.
Tibetan communities in exile have been going through a series activities since 2016 elections leading to some disagreements among groups of Tibetans based on regionalism. The spiritual leader emphasized that the Tibetans should use own minds to reflect on historically acquired usage of terms such ‘the Three Regions’, whose repeated usage has created partisan feelings even without thinking properly!
Leave a Reply