At : Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, INDIA | When : 26th June 2013

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa

Birthday and Long Life Celebration
June 26, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, McLeod Ganj

This free event is privately sponsored and open to the community to honor His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who is head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. [http://kagyuofficorg/]

The special one-hour performance by the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) will feature outstanding music and dance items highlighting the artistic, cultural and spiritual heritage of Tibet. The festivities take place in the 500-seat auditorium of TIPA and begin at 6:00 p.m. [http://www.tibetanarts.org/]

The documentary movie that will be shown after the performance follows the inspirational life of His Holiness and the significance of his reincarnation. Karmapa means "the one who carries out buddha-activity" or "the embodiment of all the activities of the buddhas." In the Tibetan tradition, great enlightened teachers are said to be able to consciously arrange to be reborn as a teacher who can carry on the teachings of a predecessor in a prior life. Within this tradition, the Karmapas have incarnated in this form of manifestation body (Skt. nirmanakaya), for seventeen lifetimes, as of the present, and all have played the most important role in preserving and propagating the Buddhist teachings of Tibet. Prior to the birth of the first Karmapa, the arrival of a Buddhist master who would be known as the Karmapa had been prophesied by the historic Buddha Shakyamuni and the great tantric master of India, Guru Padmasambhava. Throughout the centuries, Karmapas have been the central figure in the continuation of the Vajrayana lineage in general and Kagyu lineage in particular, and have played a very important role in the preservation of the study and practice lineages of Buddhism. H. H. the 17th Karmapa resides at Gyuto Monastery in Dharamsala, India.  His Holiness will mark his 28th birthday.

Please join this celebration of Tibetan culture, spirituality and the existence of such a special being!  All are most warmly welcomed.  (This is not the official birthday ceremony planned by the monastery but is a privately inspired event, supported also by the sacred artistic enthusiasm of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.)

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Note:  it was a wonderful event!  Here is a composite graphic, photos by David Huang.

Surreal ... Full of Grace, Compassion and Sacred Art ... the Birthday Celebration for H. H. the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), McLeod Ganj -- WOW! It was the Karmapa's 28th birthday, and yet it was he who was showering us with gifts of his noble-heart-existence. June 26 was a most memorable moment with the 500-seat TIPA auditorium packed and buzzing with energy -- people from more than 50 nations around the globe came to commemorate this auspicious day. Khenpo Gawang, from Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim and Tsurphu Labrang, represented H.H. with his strong presence and appreciation. TIPA offered an impressive, exuberant one-hour Tibetan cultural music and dance extravaganza. After cake, we enjoyed a well-received documentary film on the Karmapa's amazing life ... 900 years plus these 28 cycles around the sun. We aspire to continue to celebrate the Karmapa's compassionate existence again and again!

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