When teaching on compassion, the Gyalwang Karmapa has continuously
emphasised that feeling compassion towards other sentient beings was not
enough. Our compassion has to be turned into action. As temperatures
dipped to freezing point and below across North India, the Gyalwang
Karmapa bought and distributed over a thousand warm blankets to
Bodhgaya's poorest.
Several thousand people from Bodhgaya and nearby villagers, mostly women
with small children, queued for hours at the gates to the Monlam
Pavilion before the scheduled time of 3:00 pm. The Gyalwang Karmapa then
spent nearly an hour inside the Monlam Pavilion personally handing out
the thick woollen blankets to each delighted recipient. Their stressed
and worn faces lit up as they received the Gyalwang Karmapa's gift,
together with his compassionate blessing.
Later, as they dispersed across the surrounding fields clutching their
new blankets, their delight could be clearly seen on their smiling
faces. Later that evening, the brand new grey blankets could be seen
wrapped around the shoulders of many of the beggars lining Bodhgaya's
streets.
This active expression of the Gyalwang Karmapa's compassion has helped
protect over one thousand people from the deadly cold. Every winter
thousands of people, many of them homeless, die from cold across North
India. Each of the thousand new blankets gifted by the Gyalwang Karmapa
is made from thick wool, perfectly suited to the freezing winter
conditions.
Source: kagyuoffice.org/#30kmc15
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