And we’re at it again! A barrage of laughter, grins and epic Dharma metaphors rivaling anything I’ve ever heard, Karmapa is once again an explosion of joy, laughs, and deeply rooted meaning to his each and every word.
It’s hard to even keep up with him, moment to moment we are careening through emotions and mind-dancing our way through the afternoon like gleeful children listening to their favorite grandfather recall wild stories of yesteryear. Never before have I seen anyone do what he does. He brings ease and understanding to the most complex and deliberated subjects. Smoothly forming concrete images from outrageously complicated ideas while bringing the simple and most deliberate truth to the surface. With utter ease he expounds the noble truth, the Buddha Dharma, never once losing the attention of a single person as the entire crowd hangs on his every word. Always radiant - back and forth between serious teachings and gleeful banter, with a smile on his face that could melt the polar ice caps - it is totally impossible not to grin from ear to ear when he’s around. The whole truth and the purest joy. He is without a doubt the coolest being on the planet.
A few of my favorite gems from the afternoon: “This world is like a constant sugar rush, sugar used to be a treat, now everything is coated in it. We all need to learn to slow down and be late on our deadlines. What amount of rush could we possibly even need? Laughs. On our human inclination to see our own pain as penultimate -“I have a headache, it’s the worst headache in the history of the world, no one else could ever possibly imagine how horrible of a headache this is, what I’m feeling is absolutely the most pain anyone has ever felt in the history of mankind… you all have headaches but yours is nothing compared to mine…” huge laughs again. And then extremely serious, with such determination in his voice: “Nothing is forever - however, when we’re lost we’re really lost. We feel like we’ll always feel this way, but we need to remind ourselves that it will pass, and nothing is lost forever.” Who else teaches like this? Who else makes the Dharma so approachable and useable? Who else can create such joy in our hearts all while creating powerful connections and understanding in our minds? The answer is no one. No-one teaches like this. No-one speaks to all of us at once, in all our shapes and colors, all in this direct and powerful way. No-one brings the joy AND the understanding the way he does. This is why he’s the Karmapa. The coolest being on the planet.
KIBI - Karmapa International Buddhist Institute Karmapa Public Course 2017
