From Buddhist perspective, should we think about the environment?

We have done lots of harmful things that are harming the environment, in order to bring comfort and benefits for the time being. But these actions have caused problems for the long-term.

The world that we live in, we should not be exploiting it for some temporary benefit now, but we should consider it our mother. The mother who has given us all well-being and all the necessary conditions for living, we need to nurture that mother, take care of her, rather than just consider that she is a material thing that we can always take from and use up. 

We need to consider how much this planet nurtures us; generation-to-generation we need this loving mother of the environment, the planet, to be healthy and well, so it continues to nurture us.

His Holiness, 17^th Gyalwang Karmapa

Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Mahamudra Teaching, Nurburing, Germany

Karma seems difficult to understand – what exactly is it?

Sometimes when karma is described or explained, it can seem very complicated and quite difficult to understand. Sometimes it is even said beyond our conception, indescribable, impossible to explain. I feel that karma need not be that way, it need not be so complicated and confusing. It can be very simple.

When I first landed in Frankfurt, I saw lots of trees, lots of green, and this green was kind of fresh, healthy, shiny. It is not the same in India, there are trees, but trees are dusty, unclean, and unhealthy. So I found Frankfurt green and especially nice.

Therefore, when I came, when any new person comes, we come to know, no one has to explain that someone has cared for this greenery and trees. Without explaining we can see what kind of people live in this place. That is the karma.

HH, 17^th Karmapa
Ogyen Trinley Dorje