Tergar Shrine Room
17 January, 2019

An hour before his arrival at Tergar Shrine Room, four-hundred and seventy-seven Friends of the Kagyu Monlam and four-hundred and forty Gurusevakas lined up in the courtyard eagerly awaiting Gyaltsab Rinpoche, who had kindly offered a special audience for sponsors and gurusevakas. He warmly greeted everyone with “Tashi Delek.” He continued, “Even without the actual presence of His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa, because of his great kindness and blessings, the Monlam has been going quite well. We have a great gathering of many lamas, bhikshus, bhikshunis, and lay followers and together we are accumulating great virtue.”

He said, “Through the incredibly great blessings of His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa, the Kagyu Monlam is renowned throughout the world. This kind of prayer gathering is not only beneficial for the world, but also for the collective virtue of all sentient beings, including those of the lower realms – the animals, the pretas and those of the hell realms.”

He mentioned that the benefit of the Kagyu Monlam is not just for now, but for the future and infinite time to come. In the prayer, The King of Aspirations: The Noble Aspiration for Excellent Conduct, it says that the benefit of the Monlam continues for endless time. As Rinpoche said, “So, it is certain that the benefit of the Kagyu Monlam continues infinitely in terms of time and is all encompassing in terms of space beyond all limits. So those of you who are putting effort into supporting the Kagyu Monlam should also know that this benefit continues in innumerable ways.”

He noted to the audience members that, “In the course of the Monlam, aspirations are being made for all of your benefit, including for your own worldly and spiritual well-being. Also, our collective action of praying together brings benefit for the world in general, for the flourishing of the Dharma, and the Kagyu lineage and for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s longevity as well as for all other masters.”

He also mentioned that it is our own refuge and own auspicious connection to be here and we make aspirations that His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa may be able to return to India swiftly and continue the legacy of the Kagyu Monlam which is going very well. He emphasized that the benefit of the Kagyu Monlam is tremendous for it supports His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa’s activities, will continue through the activities of the 18th Karmapa; and, according to the prophecy of the lineage of the Karmapas, will continue through the lineage to the 25th Karmapa.

“So in this way,” he said, “the benefit of serving or supporting the Kagyu Monlam will continue to increase through lifetime after lifetime. You should realize that at this time one has been able to engage in very virtuous activities. In this way, you should continuously remember that and rejoice for this great opportunity.”

He concluded by expressing a very warm “Tashi Delek” to everyone. He ended the session by graciously giving the lung for the mantra that brings about liberation through hearing, which is, he explained, very beneficial for small sentient beings such as insects and so forth. He encouraged the audience to memorize it.

Following this, the Sangha, Friends of Kagyu Monlam and the Gurusevakas received individual blessings through the opportunity to make offerings of katas and received a small gift of a mala and photo of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa.