Dharamshala: His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s new book, Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society, was released today in India at a special event at the Habitat Centre in Delhi, by Simon and Schuster India/Wisdom Publications.
In a press release here from the Karmapa office, the spokes person Kunzang Chungyalpa said that in this book, the Karmapa outlines his vision for a global society that truly reflects the interdependence that is now becoming widely recognized, and shows a way forward to enacting that vision. The Karmapa is an influential voice in the new generation of thought leaders and spiritual head of one of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, which has been working with the notion of interdependence for many centuries.
“The information age makes us highly aware of our interconnectedness and the Internet allows us to see how much we depend on one another. But we also need to have an Innernet – not just a connection on a material or outer level. We need to be able to feel our connectedness inwardly,” the Karmapa said, speaking at the book launch.
“His Holiness the Karmapa has rediscovered for us the modern meaning of Buddha’s personality and the contemporary significance of his life and messages.” said Jairam Ramesh, economist, environmentalist and member of Rajya Sabha who had been invited as chief guest. “This book would be relevant at any time. But it is even more so at a time when social conflicts have become endemic, when religious prejudices and bigotry are wreaking havoc and as nature’s delicate ecological balance gets increasingly disturbed with disastrous consequences. All I can do is salute him on this achievement and express the hope that he will continue to be a beacon in these troubled times.”
The book is a result of a month-long dialogue between the Karmapa and a group of students from the University of Redlands, California who traveled from the USA to Dharamsala to learn from him. Reflecting his deep commitment to open exchange across boundaries of culture, education, race, and economic status, the Karmapa holds annual dialogues with youth from around the world. His latest interactions took place with postgraduate students from Ambedkar University Delhi’s psychology department, to explore Buddhist and modern psychology’s approaches to working with emotions.
The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the spiritual head of one of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He currently resides at Gyuto Monastery near Dharamsala, India
Arvind Sharma is an award winning bi-lingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
He has worked with Divya Himachal, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasker, Vir Partap, Ajit and PTI.
In 2010, he was conferred the Himachal Kesri journalism award. He reports on the Tibetan Government in Exile, politics, sports, tourism and other topics. He lives in Dharamshala.
