Gyalwa Karmapa visits Vladivostok
Gyalwa Karmapa visits Vladivostok
Agenda:
2009-06-21 to 24:
On the Trans-Siberian Railway from Ulan Ude to Vladivostok
23.06.2009
6.40 am: During a stop in Belogorsk, Gyalwa Karmapa blessed Members of the Buddhist Center of Belogorsk
2.00 pm: During a stop in Khabarovsk, Gyalwa Karmapa blessed Members of the Buddhist Center of Khabarovsk
2009-06-24:
Arrival in Vladivostok
Welcoming Ceremony at the Karma Kagyu Center
Bodhisattva Vows at the Theatre & Concert Complex “Underground” to 530 people
2009-06-25:
Press Conference at the Theatre & Concert Complex “Underground”
Visit of Submarine-Museum
Milarepa Empowerment at the Theatre & Concert Complex “Underground”, 460 people
2009-06-26:
Departure to Moscow by Airplane
TV-interview at the Vnukovo Airport
Departure by train from Moscow to Ukraine
It was a beautiful journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway from Ulan Ude to Vladivostok, seeing endless Siberian meadows and forests with flowers blooming everywhere.
At some of the stops Buddhist disciples were awaiting the Gyalwa Karmapa’s train to receive his blessing and provide his entourage with home-cooked food. On June 23, the train stopped in Belogorsk and Khabarofsk where members of the local Karma Kagyu centers came to receive a blessing from Gyalwa Karmapa and to meet Lama Ole Nydahl, who has regularly visited the area since the 1990s.
In the morning of the June 24 the train arrived in Vladivostok. The members of the local Sangha welcomed the Karmapa in their brand new house on a central hill above the middle of the town, with a breathtaking view over the city and the Pacific Ocean.
In the afternoon a welcoming tea was offered in the meditation hall of the Karma Kagyu Center with a presentation of the Buddhist activities in the Far East Region.
In the evening, 530 people took the Bodhisattva Vow under the guidance of Gyalwa Karmapa at the Theatre & Concert Complex “Underground”.
On June 25 in the Banquet Hall of the same location, the Karmapa granted a press conference and some TV-interviews.
After lunch the Karmapa visited the Submarine Museum of Vladivostok.
In the evening the Gyalwa Karmapa gave a Milarepa Initiation to 460 people in the Theatre & Concert Complex “Underground”.
In the morning of June 26 the Gyalwa Karmapa ended his Russian Tour with a 10 hour-flight back to Moscow; after a TV-interview at the Vnukovo Airport and a short rest in the Moscow Buddhist Centre, the Karmapa traveled by train to the Ukraine.
Report: Gunhild Jug and Julia Vorotnikova
Photos: Thule G. Jug and Gunhild Jug
