His Eminence Gyalwang Karmapa Prays for Flood Victims in South Asia Sunday, 8 November 2009, 8:09 a.m.

In this file photo His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa  presides over a prayer service in Dharamsala for Tibetans  executed by the Chinese government last month

Dharamshala: His
Eminence the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje on Friday presided over a
prayer service to bring peace for the souls of people killed by
devastating floods in South Asia, and to give strength and comfort to
the families of victims.India’s southern states of Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka were worst affected, where the wrath of floods
had killed more than 250 were killed and destroyed nearly 2032 villages
in October, media reports said.The memorial service was
organised by South Zone Kagyudpa Buddhist Council at the National
Institute of Engineering (NIE) at Mysore.Hundreds of Buddhist monks chanted hymns and prayed for peace and harmony. Gyalwang
Karmapa, who is in the city since attending the Technology,
Entertainment and Design (TED) conference in Infosys campus, later
blessed the devotees. “Buddhism, prevailing in Tibet, has its
roots in India,” said Gyalwang Karmapa in his message and recalled with
gratitude the Indian gesture of providing refuge to the Tibetans who
fled their homeland after China’s repression. Gyalwang Karmapa lauded
the Tibetans in exile for respecting the Indian tradition and culture
and for blending with the social fabric, without friction. Gyalwang Karmapa exhorted the Tibetans to remain committed to the principle of non-violence and set an example for peace. “Through
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s blessings, the Central Government has
granted permission to conduct this programme,” Gyalwang Karmapa said. Gyalwang Karmapa attended talks and social gatherings for the first three days of the TED program from 4 – 7 November.Top
thinkers from India and elsewhere, from a wide cross-section of
disciplines, gave moving talks and shared ideas about how to grapple
with and ameliorate some of India’s—and the world’s—most challenging
problems through technology, education and development.Gyalwang
Karmapa covered a wide array of topics, from remarks about his personal
and family background to comments about how spiritual practitioners can
bring greater benefit to situations such as the sufferings of women
around the globe. Gyalwang Karmapa applauded India’s rise on
the global economic stage, but also encouraged an approach in which the
causes of growth would be in harmony with the planet’s long-term
wellbeing and the deeper levels of human happiness.