The Karmapa’s Short Stories: Butter Lamp Offering



Essay: Ani Miao Rong

When the First Session of the Chinese Lineage Practice ended, it was closely followed by 8 days of the Kagyu Monlam. These two exuberant activities came to an end amidst the hustling and bustling crowd. At dusk of January 16, 2006, when all those who attended the puja ceremonies had gradually left, we had some spare time to circumambulate the stupa, making our New Year wish.

My New Year’s wish was “Peace to the World”, and “Sentient Beings leave suffering and attain happiness.” On the first month of the New Year, and in front of the Vajra Seat in the Mahabodhi Temple, I worked up some enthusiasm to make this wish. However, somewhere inside me, I was thinking that althought this seemed to be a good wish, it was as still as if it were from a text. It was a dry, lifeless wish. There was no intensity, no fervor in my heart.

That night, we were asked to translate a letter for the Karmapa. The Karmapa asked us where we went and what we did that day. We all replied that we circled the Stupa and made a wish. The Karmapa smiled and said that he also made a wish. He said, “Last night, many people on the roof top across my window were lighting butter lamps and dedicating wishes for me. I also returned their wishes.” We asked eagerly what His wish was. He replied with a smile, “I imagined myself to be a huge butter lamp,” and at this point the Karmapa, in a childlike gesture drew a large circle, trying to emphasize an enormous butter lamp, and said enthusiastically, “I wish to use this butter lamp of mine to light up the whole world.”

I thought of a poem:

The cool moon of the bodhisattva

Strolling in empty space

Striding fearlessly, courageously, boldly

Just to fulfill a wish.

At that moment we practically saw a brightly burning large butter lamp, using all its strength to emblazon the world.

We were wordless, watching that burning lamp, we seemed to have realized life’s most fervent wish.