Karmapa presides over Vesak Day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur

June 6, 2026

From 27 May to 1 June 2026, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje visited the Karma Kagyu Dharma Society Kuala Lumpur (KKDSKL) as part of his tour of Malaysia and the centre’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Karmapa was welcomed at the centre with traditional offerings and, over the following days, led a series of public audiences, transmitted oral transmissions, led a Mahakala puja, and presided over special commemorations, including the Parinirvana Anniversary of His Holiness the 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche and the Vesak Day celebrations.

At each public audience, Karmapa bestowed the oral transmission of the Mahamudra Prayer by the 3rd Karmapa and offered practical advice for Dharma practice.

On Vesak Day, celebrated this year during the 50th Anniversary of Karma Kagyu Dharma Society Kuala Lumpur (KKDSKL), hundreds of devotees gathered in the presence of Karmapa to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana of Lord Buddha.

Karmapa’s presence made this year’s Vesak particularly meaningful. As KKDSKL marks fifty years of Dharma activity, the Vesak celebrations became not only a commemoration of the Buddha’s life and awakening, but also a joyful expression of gratitude for the unbroken blessings of the Karma Kagyu lineage and all those who have contributed to the flourishing of the Dharma over the past five decades.

On 1 June, Karmapa departed Kuala Lumpur for Penang, the next destination on his Malaysian tour.