The afternoon of July 27 was dedicated to meetings with a large group of young people, as well as leaders of various spiritual traditions. The venue of these encounters was Pullman Hôtel Royal Casino in Mandelieu-La Napoule, a commune just to the southwest of Cannes.
This summer, the world is looking towards London to celebrate its athletes. For them, the saying ‘no pain, no gain’ is part of their path to excellence. For the rest of us, we might be left wondering whether all this pain is necessary. Wouldn’t life be much easier if we only had gain?
Nobody wants pain and crises, but in life, it is inevitable that we will go through such experiences. They are a general part of life – there is no life without pain. In fact, from a Buddhist perspective there is a lot of truth in the saying ‘no pain, no gain’, though maybe not exactly in terms of how it is usually understood.
His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa paid his second visit to the Bodhi Path Centre of Renchen Ulm between July 20 and 22, 2012.
Located in the foothills of the Black Forest in a lovely countryside famed for its orchards and vineyards, a mere 40 minutes drive from Strasbourg, Renchen Ulm radiates peace and serenity.
His Holiness’ first visit here took place in 2008, and the number of devotees attending the programme had tripled since then… It was the biggest event by far that the team had ever had to organise, and they made a marvellous job of it – everything went smoothly and seemingly effortlessly.
On the next day, July 15, His Holiness transmitted the empowerment of Jambala to a gathering of more than thousand devotees.
Once again, he explained the meaning of this particular wisdom aspect before starting the empowerment.
After his programme in Manchester, His Holiness returned to London for a two-day programme organised by the London Diamond Way Karma Kagyu Center.
On July 14 His Holiness Karmapa gave a teaching on what is usually translated as the “Four Immeasurables”: immeasurable love, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable sympathetic joy and immeasurable equanimity.
