Category: Gyalwa Karmapa’s teachings — Q&A

First of all, there are countless quotations from great masters, like Shantideva and so on.

We fear our greater abilities due to a lack of experience. If we know how to channel our abilities then we will never fear. But if we don’t know how to handle them, then of course we fear them all the time.

Traditionally, when you begin Tibetan Buddhist practice, you take refuge in the Three Jewels, and start with the preliminary practices. But personally, I feel that if one is truly starting from step one, you must first have this attitude: ‘I want to be decent. I want to draw from the Inner Wealth within.’ This is…

Here are questions and answers about practice. 

Buddha Purnima is an auspicious day. A precious day. A day that all of us celebrate – all of us as students of Buddha Shakyamuni. While the date of Buddha Purnima varies with different traditions, as Buddhists we all agree that during this month we celebrate the life of a person who was very precious…

It is a very interesting and important question, and a simple yes/no answer would not suffice. Therefore, a little elaboration is required.

Perhaps it is a lack of a sense of adventure that is holding us back from realizing our true nature. It is easy to get used to the mundane life, the daily routines. As a result, we don’t want to let go of our familiar atmosphere, the life that we are used to. We are…

The poem ‘Letter to a Friend’ by Nagarjuna beautifully sets out some basic guidelines for a non-ordained person to live their life.

I think a simple answer would be that any speech that comes from a kind heart (in the unemotional sense) would help make it more like Buddha speech.

My question is about pure view and the ability to discriminate. If one practices pure view of everyone, would it inhibit our ability to judge people and matters and function in daily life?

Question: global warming suggests that one day the earth will be uninhabitable. Governments seem too slow and in some cases unwilling to act for change, so how can Buddhism help us to avert this crisis?

Realisation of impermanence is an important part of building the motivation to practice. However, lay persons are mostly still caught up with work and family, and the time left for dharma study, inner reflection and meditation becomes little. 

I believe that when anyone is in this kind of condition – be it cancer or any other form of illness – in these difficult moments, I think there is only one thing that we can provide.

Question: Is it necessary to practice the spiritual practice only under proper guidance by a teacher, or can we start on our own if we have faith in what we do? If the beginning of all knowledge is to know yourself and we have all the answers within ourselves, why is it so important to…