The Kagyu Droden Kunchab is honoured to host the 3rd North Ameican Kagyu Monlam. This Kagyu Monlam is scheduled to be held from June 29th to July 1st in San Francisco, California.
The website for the 2012 North American Kagyu Monlam is http://californiakagyumonlam.org/
The Karma Kagyu Association of Canada wishes the Kagyu Droden Kunchab great success in their planning of the 2012 North American Kagyu Monlam.
The 2011 North American Kagyu Monlam was a great success! Everything went very well, all worked together with joy and in harmony. In addition to having Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche as the preceptor, and the presence of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, we were also blessed by a direct message from His Holiness Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa.
There were between 300 and 500 people in attendance each day in person, with hundreds present through logins to the webcast. There were almost 500 individual log-ins to the webcast from all over the world on the opening day of this 900 year celebration, which included messages and remarks by representatives of the federal government of Canada, the provincial government of British Columbia and the city of Richmond. The webcast of the Monlam was therefore also a great success, benefiting participants who were unable to attend in person.
This Monlam, 5 days long, included the Mahayana sojong vows being taken each day by both the ordained and lay community. The lay community was able to make a traditional offering of serving food to the ordained sangha of monks and nuns. Thrangu Monastery Canada provided a wonderful container for the entire event, with the smiling faces of all the Kagyu and other participants adding to the light in the shrine hall.
The conclusion of the Monlam, a celebration for His Holiness' birthday, took place in front of the monastery. There was a lama dance, performances by young Tibetan pop singers – in for Toronto to celebrate this event, Chinese and Nepali singers as well as bagpipes.
The Karmapa 900 books were given to all participants as was a beautiful thangka of Dusum Khyenpa by Karma Dradul, the artist of Thrangu Monastery. The unexpected appearance of a newly cast 3 foot tall Dusum Khyenpa Statue, filled, consecrated and placed on the throne the evening before the Monlam, was yet another auspicious coincidence. It provided additional support for the devotion that was tangible in the shrine hall throughout the event and, in particular, during the Dusum Khyenpa Guru Yoga practice.
The wondrous qualities of this North American Monlam, as with all Monlams, were apparent with the warm cooperative planning and execution by lamas and centres from all across Canada. We hope that this fulfilling of even a small part of His Holiness' wishes will engender even more wonderful monlam gatherings in the future.
His Holiness, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje has said:
“The Kagyu Monlam is an avenue whereby we can spread, at times of great need, the genuine spirit of love and compassion to all the people of the world, like a great ripple, first in Bodhgaya, then in Bihar, and so on. As we continuously offer these prayers for world peace, it is our intention and our wish that peace and happiness extend to all.”
We invite you to join us in the spread of genuine love and compassion with the offering of aspiration prayers made under the guidance and blessings of His Holiness, at the 2011 North American Kagyu Monlam scheduled to be held from June 22nd to June 26th at Thrangu Monastery, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. This is an auspicious and wonderful year in which to participate in this monlam, as it is the 900th anniversary of the birth of Dusum Khyenpa, the First Karmapa.
“What we are remembering and reflecting on with Karmapa 900 is the great kindness of Dusum Khyenpa, the First Karmapa. Not only did he show measureless kindness to beings: through his deeds in founding the Karmapa lineage and the great lineage of the Karma Kagyu, Dusum Khyenpa was the source of 900 years of kindness to beings. Countless great beings have come and engaged in enlightened activities over the past nine centuries through this lineage. That was all possible only because Dusum Khyenpa came into the world. He was the actual seed for the vast tree of the Karma Kagyu, with its wide shade-giving branches and its blossoms and rich fruits. “It is my personal duty and the duty of all followers of the Karma Kagyu to honor his deeds and his great compassion, courage and wisdom, by cultivating those same qualities ourselves. Karmapa 900 is designed to serve as a reminder, and as an opportunity to do so.”
- His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
The monlam will commence with a celebration of this 900th anniversary and conclude with a birthday celebration for His Holiness on June 26. As part of this celebration, the most precious statue of Dusum Khyenpa reputed to have spoken on several occasions in the past, will be made available for viewing.
It is an honour and privilege for the Karma Kagyu Association of Canada (KKAC) and their sanghas to host this wondrous event under His Holiness's guidance. Although His Holiness will not be present in person at the Monlam, he will join us via satellite. We have supplicated His Holiness to address the Monlam from wherever he may be and are confident that his blessings and that of the entire lineage will rain upon the 2011 North American Kagyu Monlam.
Join us in person or on the web for the prayers, teachings and celebration!
As the pace of Monlam preparations increases, there was great joy in the monastery as The Very Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche arrived. The Rinpoches were greeted in a most traditional fashion and all participated in the greeting prayers, tea and rice offering.
The Karma Kagyu Association of Canada (KKAC), and its host, Thrangu Monastery (Canada), are pleased to announce that the Karmapa 900 Celebration and the 2011 North American Kagyu Monlam will be webcast live in its entirety.
Please visit the North American Kagyu Monlam Webcast website for details on viewing the webcast in your web browser.
The Mitrukpa Program schedule with His Holiness the Karmapa for monastics