The Karmapa's TED talk

I watched the TED talk of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, a well respected religious leader in Tibetan Buddhism that devotes his life in the teaching of Buddhism. Through research, I understood that Karmapa is seen as the second highest ranking spiritual leader in the Tibetan Buddhism tradition after the Dalai Lama.

During the TED talk, the Karmapa tells the story of how he was chosen and taken away from his parents and homeland. The religious life was not as “fun” as he expected; instead, he had to work hard to adjust to the new life and practice with his heart. The Karmapa acknowledges the advancement of technology in today’s world. However, he worries that the development is slowly becoming the burden to people’s fundamental lifestyle. He uses the analogy that it is as if we are climbing higher and higher on the tree while undermining the root of the tree. 

The Karmapa says, “sometimes we develop grand concepts of what happiness might look like for us, but if we pay attention, we can see that there are little symbols of happiness in every breath that we take.” I believe that in order to pick up those “little symbols of happiness” requires a mindful person. I agree with the Karmapa that in this day and age where everything happens in a lighting speed, we really need to slow down and be mindful of what we are doing and increase people’s interactions on a mind-to-mind and heart-to-heart level.