Their motto: “it’s good to be back home” couldn’t be more fitting to my own experience. Each time we arrive it feels like we’re starting right back up, like we never left, the conversation and story simply waiting for us to reappear. The familiar faces, the head bumps and hugs, the high-fives, oh the high-fives how I love them so. Nothing quite solidifies a greeting like a crisp one, though the Nordic arm hold is a near second for me :) The hum of thousands, the place, the energy; it’s electric. Basically, without being too over the top - as I usually am - I just love being here and I look forward to it all year.
This visit was no exception. We had wonderful weather, nothing like our rain-sloughed-muddy-madness of last year. The sun was out, the program was packed full of great stuff; two empowerments and two teaching sessions with Karmapa. We also got to see Lama Ole on stage a few times, which is always a joyful experience. The standing ovation he receives could light a city with its power, like thunder and lighting coming in a freight train loaded with canons and fireworks. I always photograph the smiling beaming faces as he takes the stage. That look in their eyes says it all - the gratitude and love for Lama Ole is tremendous; limitless. Bewildering. Karmapa’s entrance is the same, roars of applause and cheering as 7000 warm faces leap and sway in the evening light. They dance, they cry in delight, it’s so touching. What a place, nowhere else do you get to see, experience, and photograph a thing like this. From the car to the stage Karmapa and Lama Ole arrive hand in hand, a gesture so loving and gentle I’m sure I’m not the only one who melts a bit.
And in a crowd like this, one is treated to the funniest and most witty Karmapa there is; how he plays to the room and connects with each and every person so effortlessly is a testament to his unbelievable compassion and skill. I was up on stage a few times taking photos, and I can tell you, even though absolutely no-one is there to see me, or at all interested in what I’m doing, just being in front of that many people is madness. Like a spotlight made of fire, uncomfortable to the nth degree. How Karmapa can be up there, cool as a cucumber, teaching and giving empowerments like we’re alone in a living room with him, this is a sure sign of his abilities and compassion as well. Power too. I’m happy to get off the stage as fast as possible, my cheeks a five alarm fire of embarrassment and racing heartbeat. He’s just incredible. After an empowerment, the blessing line is monstrous, but he just glides along giving each and every person eye contact, a smile, and a genuine connection that can be felt for miles.
I never get over what a being he is, and what he’s capable of.
After the days of passing through swarms of people, crowds in all directions, Iines and cues around the block for everything - Karmapa visited the Schwarzenberg Bodhi Path center. This was a complete 180, only a few people, a slow walk through the grounds, to the stupa, and a lookout point where you could see the whole valley. This was a family visit, Karmapa’s long time friends. You could feel the intimacy, how relaxed and happy he was. Sitting at a picnic table and chatting, looking at all the rooms, inspecting all the corners and crevices. Having tea and cookies, it was lovely. In that moment I was struck with a revelation; here he is so relaxed and joyous, the exact same way he was in front of 6000! How is that possible? How can one be so genuine in these enormously opposite of situations? I suppose this is yet another example of the mastery of a being like Karmapa. No matter how much I am around, I just never get over it. No matter how many times it happens, I just don’t know what else to say, but “Limitless”. That about sums it up.
