The 10th and 11th Karmapas

Happy Saka Dawa! In honor of this sacred day commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinirvana, Meditation Instructor Eric Weinberg recalls his life and his teachings – particularly his thoughts on hope & fear, the 8 worldly concerns.

We also continue with our series on the lives of Karmapas: today looking at the 10th and 11th Karmapas, who worked skillfully and patiently in a time of enormous political upheaval. There were great losses in those times at the hands of the Mongol Horde, in part due to corruption in the Tibetan noble & religious bureaucracies. Their lives are a powerful demonstration of fortitude & how cutting through the entanglements of hope & fear – the eight worldly concerns – ultimately brings enormous benefit.