Karma

“This is the first in a series of interviews that tricycle.com is conducting to focus on the view of Buddhism and practice from the younger generations of the world today. Karma is a twenty-six year old Tibetan who was raised in exile in Nepal and who has recently been making music in Alaska and Hawaii. Christine Dzialo, contributing staff writer to tricycle.com, met with Karma at the New York Office.

When I was born in India in 1974 my parents took me to see the Karmapa, head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, because my mother had lost two children before I was born. He advised my parents to move to Nepal and put me in a monastery near the monkey temple. I then went to Kathmandu, Nepal, and became a monk in the Kagyu monastery in Swayambu. I lived in Nepal for about twenty years then moved to Alaska for three, then to Hawaii for one.

My parents are Buddhist. When I was a monk from age 8 to 15, I was Buddhist too, but now I just pray to God. I don't really look at myself like, "I am a Buddhist." I just believe in God, no matter what God: Jesus and Buddha, Shiva, Allah. God is God.

The Tibetans that I know think they are Buddhist because their parents are from Tibet. They want to only claim interest in Buddhism. When I was a monk, I did not know about different cultures or anything except Buddhists. When I heard about different cultures I wanted to learn about them. I found that it is all one love and peace. When we know about cultures they become beautiful. Some people still don't know about Buddhism, but when they find it and learn more about it, they find peace.

Buddha just wanted people to be happy with no worries, have peace of mind, don't lie, don't steal. All different cultures, all different Gods, they teach the same thing. That is what I found, that is what I feel. What you want is peace in the world, right? That is the best thing. I could be wrong, but I say, "Just be happy." I think God is like your mom (Mother Earth / your birth Mother). That is my message.

I read all kinds of books about different cultures, like Krishna books, to learn about the world. My brother helps me read the English version of books if I can not understand it all. The bottom line is all the same, it is all about one love, every religion, every culture. Religion is all good. It's always a beautiful thing when we see different cultures-all the colors, clothes put on, just dancing and playing drums.

The Rastas have such a beautiful culture in Jamaica, they live in the jungle and the top of mountains in a nonviolent way. When I was in Nepal I met a lot of Sadhus, Babas, yogis. I lived that lifestyle for two or three months. It is like the Rastas, with dreadlocks and no place to sleep, just a little tiny bag with a blanket and a cup, just meditating.

I used to live with my mom and my room would have pictures of all these different Gods. She was really shocked and asked me who the Gods were. I would say "This is Shiva." My mother did not like me having photos of other Gods. I tried to explain to her, "Hey mom, you should read this book." But she cannot read Nepalese or English very well. I tried to explain some things to her about a book on Hinduism I was reading, but she didn't want to listen. That's ok. She thinks I am crazy.


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Some people when they meditate just want to sit inside so nobody can see them and close all the windows. For me, it doesn't matter what you are doing. If you are walking, if you are really happy, if you are really enjoying a walk, then that is your meditation. If you are doing something and enjoying yourself there at that moment that you forget everything, than that is meditating. I have done seven years of meditation on a cushion as a monk, all different kinds of meditation, and I think that everybody meditates differently. Right now at this moment I am drinking this water, and I am enjoying and appreciating the water that you gave me.That is a meditation in itself.

I don't see many Tibetans meditating here like I saw in Nepal. I have traveled a lot and seen a lot of Tibetan brothers and sisters here in the United States and up in Canada. They work too hard. They are working because they are thinking about their future. The people who work eighteen hours a day, if they would take just one hour a day to do something for their country, that would be good. We can do it any time we want. Take an hour to do something like play music, take a piece of paper and do something for Tibet.

When we heard Jiang Zhemin was in New York, we decided to do something about it. He was in the Waldorf Astoria, who knows what he was doing inside, smoking a cigar, having a fancy drink. We were yelling, "Free Tibet!" Why not? Yes, we want to free Tibet. That is my country. If you want to work hard, why don't you just do a little bit for your country too? Not only Tibet, but for the world.

China is occupying Tibet, and they are hurting a lot of people. So I am telling everyone, not just the Chinese, "No more hurting or killing for this land. Don't point your flag, just be one. If you want to go to Tibet, you don't have to kill anyone. You can just go. You are welcome."


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I am not sure about my future. My life is like a drum. I play the drums, guitar, flute and didjeridoo, combining Nepalaese, Tibetan, and Reggae music. I love to play djembes to express my feelings about peace and love. I am about getting rid of separation, about dissolving language and words that put people against each other. Being in nature, loving Mama nature, loving the moons and stars. Every morning when I wake I pray that the whole world will be one.

I think traveling is good for me because I see cultures and meet new people every day, new brothers and sisters. When I meet these people I listen to what they say so I can learn. Traveling is a great experience. That is what I am doing right now, traveling around and giving the message to the world of peace and love.

I am dying to go to Tibet but I am a little nervous because a few years ago in Nepal around March 10th, Tibetan Uprising Day, I burned a huge Chinese flag. Everyone meditated for ten or fifteen minutes. For people who had been to Tibet, even my parents, who come from Tibet, protests made them remember everything. They couldn't control themselves, it just came to their mouths: "China out, Free Tibet!" It was in that moment that I burned the flag. I think all of the different flags of nations are making people crazy. We need one flag, a white flag that represents peace and love. I need to go to Tibet. Maybe I am not ready to go now but I would love to see it.

When I think of a spiritual community I think of hanging out with my friends in the jungle in Hawaii. Every night we would just gather, cook some food, play music and just share love. We didn't have to worry about anything, we didn't have any pain. We were just so happy-all this is Mama, natural. . . mama earth, mama ocean, mama sun, mama moon and all the stars. . . just beautiful. It's all one family, just making a fire and cooking. All one, all together. I want the world to be like that.”

“Matter--rupakkhandha
Sensations--vedanakkhandha
Perceptions--sannakkhandha
Mental Formations--sankharakkhandha
Consciousness--vinnanakkhandha

THIS AGGRESSION MUST NOT STAND!”

“is Tarp Rat the dali lama?

nice TR”

“Karma no doubt! What a great ! Sarah McLaughlin's big debute!”

“Take 2:

Karma no doubt! What a great ”

“GRRRRRR! SERINITY NOW!! SERINITY NOW!! HOOCHY MAMMA!! HOOCHY MAMMA!!”

“I would like to hike with Karma.
i sensed a common vibration of energy while reading the words.
spirit and nature dancing together~~”

“Yes, Buddha taught that consciousness, beyond any sybolism or personality cults, is the true way.”

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit.”

“Bingo Ratman. Hard to practice sometimes but still very true.”

“If you practice Buddhism, then the above Christian/Biblical statement would have you believe that God is within you, you are god, and god is love.”

“"Meditate on the self,
Honor and worship your own being
For God dwells within you
As you"
a song we chant at my yoga temple...

yoga teaches it, buddha taught it, jesus taught it, krisna taught it
simple....but deep....”

“Tarpy-

?then the above Christian/Biblical statement would have you believe that God is within you, you are god, and god is love.?

My faith teaches that G-d does dwell in us, but this doesn?t make me G-d. My faith teaches that our spirit (not sole) is of and from G-d and when we die it returns to G-d. It?s kind of like this; I came from my dad, Joe Turner. I have his genes and his genetic makeup. Does this make me Joe Turner? Even if I have a very strong resemblance to him because I inherited traits from him, like love, does this make me Joe Turner? Even though G-d breathed life into me and His spirit dwells in me, it doesn?t make me G-d. Karma?s message is very encouraging and offers a lot peace through tolerance. It is interesting how he points out there is one G-d and all gods are that one G-d. I have to hold to a monotheistic POV that there is but one G-d and therefore He is the only one to be worshipped.

Thanks for sharing all this Tarp. Very interesting learning about other faiths.”

“Why won't you type GOD?”

“It is a habit I have picked up in my studies. Many do not write the word or the name of G-d because it can be erased or defaced. It?s a simple way of showing honor.”

“Tarp, that is very interesting stuff. Thank you very much for sharing it.”

“Death before dishonor”

“LOL! Frencher Fries Do or Die!”

“Harry Potter's arch-nemesis was called "he-who-must-not-be-named." When Harry started saying the name, most everyone around him feared for their lives.

I'm fine with G-d...and I'm pretty much fine with God, too, I think.”

“some sects interpret the 2nd commandment--- You shall not make for yourself graven images..
..to mean not even writing the name of the creator/God with symbols or letters.
i guess it's all who is interpreting.....even the commandment itself is written differently from religion to religion.
~~”

“I found a cool site.

It gives a very good side by side graphic of the differences and likenesses of Christianity and Islam.”

“Along those lines, I think I once heard that scribes in the ancient town of Qumram used to rinse their hands before they would write the name of God on their parchment.”

“Ok, so I decide to build a small pond in my back yard. Instead of ponying up the cash for rocks I figure I'd take a few (6-8) out of a stream in a local park.

I think nothing of this until I'm loading them up and start thinking "Is this wrong? Am I stealing?" Never mind, if it was wrong there'd be signs.

As I'm backing out of my parking spot, WHAM, I hit a tree and bend the rear control arm on my car. Some how the tire stayed inflated and the rim didn't bend but I had to put the doughnut on because the regular size tire was rubbing.

The spare part is gonna cost me $250.00, that's assuming I can do the work myself. I guess I got my answer to whether that was wrong or not.”

“Yep, you got your answer.

All of these nice little rock boundaries you see in people's yards, often not native to the area, come at a price.

Stream biosystems suffer great damage from erosion and loss of habitat when extraction is taken to excess, and that's certainly the case today. Lawn and garden centers have yards and yards of stacked rock, all so surburban folks can have their unnaturally shaped and twisted lawns and gardens.

There was a time when taking rocks like the one's you took, would not have been an issue. It's a natural resource in your biosystem; however, those days are gone, because of the excesses of man.”

“yes we are rapidly running out of rocks.”

“You want rocks, come to my town. We grow them here.”

“You should have asked for donations here. I could think of a half dozen people, right off the bat, who have more rocks in their heads than brains on here...”

“Great! I have all these guilty feelings about global warming and now I have to add the guilt of front yard ecology to the pile? What a sad sack of a bassturd I am...”

“I dug rocks on a friend's property. There was a pit full of them from an old farmer's field. Also took them from another friend's boat launch on Superior. Every spring he moves a ton or two that the ice pushes in. I don't feel a bit guilty.”

“It sounds like a projection of your sense of guilt.”

“We're not just talking about any rocks. We're talking about river rock taken from stream beds that provide habitat for trout, salmon, reptiles and protect against erosion.

Remove too many from a stream and you affect native populations in the stream. Life in the stream affects life surrounding the stream, including you and the whole ecosystem in which you live.

I bet you wouldn't want a garden company excavating river rock from a river on or near your property where you flyfish. It seems everyone wants river rock, but they want it to come from someone else's stream.”

“I bet Karma Police cries while he mows his yard for causing the grass pain...

LOL!”

“...great damage from erosion and loss of habitat when extraction is taken to excess, and that's certainly the case today. KP

That's another reason I wanted to take them from a creek. In addition to being a cheap bastard, I also thought it would be better to grab a few on my own than to contribute to those companies that do take them in excess. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
last edited: 8/16/05 9:24:12 AM”

“If you thought it might be wrong while you were doing it.....



it was.”

“shame, shame shame... :)”

“If you thought it might be wrong while you were doing it.....

MIGHT be wrong...might...I'm still not sure that what I did was wrong, but thanks for clearing it up for me mtnsteve, i'll seek your advice from now on.”

““If you thought it might be wrong while you were doing it....."

That's what came to mind as soon as I read it too Steve. LOL!”

“When you speed do you think, hum maybe i shouldn't be doing this?”

“NOPE!”

“mtnsteve nailed it.

If you thought it might be wrong while you were doing it.....
it was.”

“All the time. In the back of my mind I'm wondering if this time will be the time I get a ticket. I shouldn't do it.

Good thing the DNR didn't pop you Timecline. They might get you next time though.

My point in my previous post was that there are plenty of private rock owners who want to get rid of them. Ask around. Farmers have piles of them everywhere.
last edited: 8/16/05 9:41:05 AM”

“I don't feel guilty about the prisinors...er...the guests in my basement :) anyone up for coming over for a beer? :D”

“If only we could tap into all the rocks in Sarge's head, we wouldn't be having this conversation. :)”

“Nigal:
I bet Karma Police cries while he mows his yard for causing the grass pain...

No amigo, that's not the case. Nice use of non sequitur on your part, but far from the truth.

I just understand how ecosystems work, thanks to some good biology teachers, lots of hiking, hunting and fishing.”

“"MIGHT be wrong...might...I'm still not sure that what I did was wrong"

Then you still haven't learned the lesson.

Be prepared to duck, more Karma coming your way..LOL”

“Okay, so tell me what you would have done.


I took back a dehumidfier this morning to the local Sears because the auto shut-off stopped working. I have purchaced a few things from the same Sears over the course of the past few weeks because of the flood we experienced almost 3 weeks ago.

So I am at the store and I hand over the receipt and say what the problem is. She askes if I would like a replacement or cash back. I pick the cash option.

Next thing I know, I have $400 in my hand and I walk out. I think to myself, there is no way I paid $400 for that thing. Remember, I have purchaced other items from this store.

I go home and look at the other receipts I have. Turns out I presented the water heater receipt and she gave me money back on that and didn't question. I tell Barbie and we both agree that I should head back to the store with the correct receipt.

The sales associate was so thankful I returned and couldn't have said, "I am sorry enough."


What woould have done?”

“not for that amount of money but i do awesome stuff like that all the time

i wish i was on hidden camera - i might get some kind of reward or something or be on jay leno for being so honest

i never cease to amaze myself

this blind lady who works the cash (this is true by the way) register at the cafeteria gives me too much sometimes and i give back the extra. makes me feel real special like i didn't just steal from a blind lady like most people would. i get a warm fuzzy and i think "next time i give her money she'll know i'm not ripping her off, as long as she recognizes my voice"”

“one time in college i applied for a job at a mini-mart type store and there was $5 on the ground near the register. i gave it to them and said it was on the floor and they hired me with all big smiles and stuff

then like a few weeks later i got robbed and gunpoint and had like $900 stolen. they always think you did it when that happens and even though i didn't it sort of erased that $5 i gave them. they probably think i brought it in to the interview just to cheese them up, but i didn't

bottom line, if you want a job at a cash register then bring in $5 and say it was on the floor - then don't get robbed after that. you'll do fine”

“Good for you, WK. Need more good peeps in the world like you.”

“Most times they take that loss out of the cashiers paycheck. I've worked in restaurants were they take the "dine & dash" loss out of the servers pocket.”