H.H. Karmapa U.S. visit

I was invited by Ocean of Merit for a rare opportunity to take photos of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa during his first U.S. visit in Woodstock, NY. H.H. Karmapa is the head of Kagyu linage - one of the four major schools n Tibetan Buddhism, and is equally important as H.H. Dalai Lama.

In the case of an enlightened being, rebirths are taken consciously, motivated by a desire to benefit all living beings and made possible by the depth and clarity of an individual's realization. The first such reincarnation (tulku) was recognized in thirteenth-century Tibet. His name was the Gyalwa Karmapa, "The Victorious One of Enlightened Activity." Thereafter, he continued to return, generation after generation, until the present seventeenth Karmapa. The Karmapa is said to embody the activity of all the buddhas of the past, present, and future. Citing ancient texts, traditional histories trace his lives back for eons and continue it forward into the distant future.

More photos can be seen here.