Via kagyuoffice.org
On Wednesday, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa paid a two-hour visit to the offices of the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC. (The Karmapa is in America to join the Dalai Lama at the World Peace gathering in DC and give a limited amount of teachings.) The environment is of great concern to the Karmapa and he and the WWF have in fact been developing environmental initiatives together for several years now.
He toured the WWF’s LEED Platinum Energy Star certified building, met for an hour with scientists to discuss latest projects and research, and then addressed a full-to-capacity gathering of WWF staff. The Karmapa made remarks about the importance of the work being done by the WWF and all those doing similar work. He said that such efforts will have to involve changing our own behaviors and feeling the interconnectedness of beings in our heart, not just trying to change the behaviors of others.
The Karmapa was asked to give a blessing and did so, with following discussion confirming that the Karmapa and the WWF would work more closely in the future on ecological and environmental projects that expressed their mutual commitment to help others in the world.
Later in the afternoon, the Karmapa rejoined the Dalai Lama at the Kalachakra teachings. After this, he visited several Washington-area landmarks, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where he placed a wreath in honor of the dead.
