Books by Karmapa

Uniquely attuned to our present world, the Karmapa gives clear and wise teachings on key issues of our times — the environment, social responsibility, and working with our emotional afflictions. He brings a fresh perspective on how to meditate and encourages us to take the path of compassion, engaging in actions that benefit others.

The Karmapa has brought forth a profound message in simple and accessible language with an authenticity that connects him to everyone he meets as he opens out the treasures of Buddhism for modern times.

The book is based on teachings His Holiness gave during his first historic visit to Canada in May and June 2017.

Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society identifies a major paradigm shift taking place in the world today– away from seeing ourselves as self-contained communities and independent individuals toward acknowledging that we are interconnected within a shared world. Although global economic integration and information technology are making our interdependence increasingly direct and undeniable, the world is hardly united in embracing this fact. Within this historical moment, the Karmapa argues that we must move not backward, but forward in this paradigm shift—not retreating behind walls but joining together in collective action to build a global society that acknowledges and draws on our fundamental connectedness.

In Interconnected, the Karmapa shows that the crucial next step is to move beyond theoretical understanding of our interconnectedness, to begin to actually feeling connected. The Karmapa urges us to move our understanding of interdependence from our head to our hearts and out to our hands.  The book is structured in three parts—Seeing the Connection, Feeling the Connection and Living the Connection. Themes also explored in this book include the way electronic connectivity is transforming the way we relate, loneliness, consumer culture, animal protection and environmental sustainability.

Find out more here: www.wisdompubs.org/book/interconnected

In this series of teachings given during his first-ever visit to Europe, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, provided a stunning demonstration of what it means to live and teach with an open heart. The Karmapa shared his own life experiences and the feelings they awakened in him, reflecting on his own process of finding meaning in life. Even though he was addressing massive audiences in convention centres, the youthful Buddhist leader spoke as if conversing with close friends. The result is heart-based and comes direct with the freshness of experience.

The teachings contained in this book issue a clarion call, urging us each to find the meaning of our own life as we take up the responsibility for the world we all live in. To do so, the Karmapa assures us, we need only nurture the seeds of compassion that we all have within us.

The book is available around the globe in English as a hard cover or e-book. It can be ordered directly from its publisher Shambhala, Amazon or other bookstores.

The book is now available in French, Spanish, German and Danish. Russian and Czech will also be available soon.

You can now watch a short video about the book in English, French, German, Spanish

The Future is Now, which pairs contemporary photography with 108 sayings on how to live more compassionately and consciously, is the Karmapa’s first mainstream work. In it, he offers advice on such universal and personal themes as social values, the environment, freedom, responsibility, loneliness, and contentment. Fresh, bold, timely photos and straightforward text make the ancient teachings of Buddhism accessible to everyone.

Traveling the Path of Compassion is the commentary on The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva by Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the seventeenth incarnation of Gyalwang Karmapa. Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s commentary connects this revered text with our daily lives and our deepest aspirations.

In this succinct teaching presented in 2006 by His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa in Bodhgaya, India, students are guided through a shortened version of the preliminaries for mahamudra practice, which His Holiness composed with the aim of benefiting practitioners from developed countries who often lead busy lives. The complete practice, in Brief Recitations, is written in English, Tibetan, and Tibetan transliteration, and complete instructions for the Four Special Preliminaries are provided, with the exception of guru yoga. His Holiness guides students through the details of each practice, including the visualizations of Refuge, Vajrasattva purification, and Mandala offerings, often punctuated with his good humor. A summary of the practice sequences and a list of precepts of the refuge vow are also included in two appendices.

Like the light of the sun, moon, and stars, may love, compassion, and wisdom shine forth. May they strike every single living being and dispel the darkness of ignorance, attachment, and hatred that has lurked for ages in their being. When any living being meets with another, may it be like the reunion of a mother and child who have long been separated. In a harmonious world such as this, may I see everyone sleep peacefully to the music of nonviolence. This is my dream. — From the Foreword by Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje The Kagyu Monlam Book: A Compilation for Recitation, Composed by H.H. 17th Karmapa, for the annual monlam in Bodhgaya, India. A rich source of Tibetan Buddhist prayers, with the Tibetan, English and transliteration, Spiral Bound, 288 Pages.

The enlightened individuals known as Karmapas have taught Buddhism in Tibet for nearly 900 years. Now to mark the occasion of his first visit to America, Heart Advice of the Karmapa presents some some of the insight and wisdom of the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, for the benefit of beings around the globe. Through dharma talks, interviews, poetry, and song, this youthful master offers timely teachings on an array of topics: appreciating the environment, applying loving-kindness and compassion, understanding karma, and enjoying harmony with other religious traditions. A selection of songs, essays, and poems of previous Karmapas is also included in this collection, providing a small glimpse into the rich legacy of these living Buddhas throughout the centuries. Heart Advice of the Karmapa celebrates the beginning of the 17th Karmapa’s active presence in the West. May it contribute to the flourishing of this enlightened activity throughout the world.

Composed for the annual Kagyu Monlam to accord with our present needs and to be accessible to all people. It is a carefully constructed compilation of selected Gurupujas from many different traditions. These include extracts from the Pangkong Chagyapa Sutra, which was the earliest dharma to reach Tibet; the Bodhicharyavatara by Shantideva; the Gurupuja by the mahasiddha Lingrepa; the Gurupuja by Panchen Lozang Chogyen; the Gurupuja of All the Dakpo Kagyu by the guru Jamgon Lodro Thayey; the Shakyamuni Ceremony by the great scholar Mipam Jamyang Namgyal; the Ceremony of the Elders by Shamar Chodrak Yeshe; and sutra rituals composed by several of the Sakya tradition.