From Satdharma   The Sun Has Risen Again!
Dear Satdharma Sangha, On May 15, 2008 Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, arrived in New York City for his first visit to the United States. I Love You Karmapa Khyeno!!! Buddha activity dawns without obstruction in whatever direction you turn, Concepts of "I" and "you" dissolve, and only Karmapa remains. You manifest the brilliance of Mahamudra mind so effortlessly that you give "ordinary" a whole new meaning, and yet ... You are so extraordinary. I love you!!! In the middle of the night in New York City, after the first teaching by His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, this offering poem arose in my mind. Trimé Lhawang, Patrick Sweeney May 18, 2008 Many years ago, I met the energy of the Karmapa through the tears of longing and sad-joy of my guru. He was simultaneously celebrating and grieving the presence and absence of the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa. There was an intensity about the way he manifested: he entered a unique state when he talked about the Karmapa, one that I had never seen him in before. This experience of the Vajra Regent planted both a seed of longing and a dagger of non-conceptuality in my mind regarding the Karmapa. Now I know what he was talking about. In a relaxed and spontaneous way, free from pretense or contrivance, the sun of the Karmapa has risen again in the Western world, dispelling the darkness of a twenty-seven year night. I rejoice in the experience of the return of the Karmapa, and in the unique opportunity of meeting him that awaits our sangha. Karmapa khyeno! Yours in the Dharma, Patrick Satdharma 309 E. Aliso St., Suite 9 Ojai, CA 93023 805-646-2102 www.satdharma.org