India’s 75th Independence Day: Karmapa’s message

August 15, 2021

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, shares the following message on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day of India.

New Delhi, 15 August 2021

Dear Dharma friends,

Today India celebrates its 75th Independence Day – an occasion to celebrate the spiritual wealth and beauty of this great nation and its 1.3 billion children, and to express our gratitude and appreciation to the noble land of India.

For all of us as Buddhist practitioners, India has given us so much, for it is here that more than 2,500 years ago Prince Siddhartha attained full awakening under the Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya and became Buddha Shakyamuni, our precious teacher.

For myself as a Buddhist teacher, I have been blessed to call India my home ever since I left my birthplace of Tibet at the age of eleven, and it is thanks to her hospitality that I have been able to pursue my spiritual activities both here and overseas for so many years.

I am humbled by her loving kindness and hospitality and proud to consider myself a child of India in so many ways.

I therefore ask all of my students, and indeed Buddhists all around the world, to utilise this auspicious occasion to bring India to their minds and hearts.

Today, as the whole world is going through unprecedented challenges, many of us look for wisdom, inspiration and spiritual insight, in order to better understand and navigate the challenges we are facing.

Let us remember that India has undergone so many storms during her long history, and that just like all of them have passed, this storm, too, will pass.

And as the world looks for wisdom, for lessons to learn from the current crisis, let it look no further than the nation of India – a nation that has overcome all challenges and flourished due to its inexhaustible spiritual wealth.

On this auspicious day, let us all pray for the material and spiritual well-being of the nation of India and all of her children.

With prayers,

Thaye Dorje
His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa