i •. ^ Kagyu Dzamling Kunchab Kagyu Thubten Choling 127 Sheafe Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 USA Kyabje Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche (914) 297-2500 monastery (914) 297-3843 office, 297-5761 fax Very Venerable Lama Norlha (914) 297-4810 Tibet Projects phone/fax E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.kagyu.com f^ ,/u C Y\ ' • i ' /\>^. W^ V^ January 18, 2000 UlUJ Sectretary-General Kofi Annan LJLIXILI JAN 2 4 2000 Office of the Sectretart-General 3 I 2000 ni| United Nations, S-378 JU OFTHESECRETARY.RFMFOii New York, NY 10017 E Dear Mr. Annan: Asypu may be aware, His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje, has recently escaped from Tibet tp_ India. News organizations such as CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post are calling His Holiness's escape "the most significant departure from Tibet since the Dalai Lama and tens of thousands of his followers left their homeland in 1959." In recognition of this spectacular event, I would like to offer the enclosed book as a gift to you. Recently published by our monastery, Karmapa: The Sacred Prophecy is a history of the Karmapa's lineage, the first and oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Tibet. Unfortunately, though invested with the entire power of that unbroken lineage, the Seventeenth Karmapa has repeatedly been denied access to his principal teacher, the Twelfth Tai Situpa, to receive the religious training that would allow him to fulfill his role as one of the paramount leaders of Tibetan Buddhism. For generations, the Karmapas and Tai Situpas, along with the Goshir Gyaltsapas, have passed this sacred training down to one another, and the current Tai Situpa serves as regent of the Karma Kagyu lineage until Ffis Holiness comes of age. The close relationship between the Situ lineage and the Karmapa's lineage has been prophesied in several ancient Buddhist texts, and it was the Twelfth Tai Situpa to whom the Sixteenth Karmapa entrusted the letter predicting the circumstances of his rebirth. It was thus imperative that the young Karmapa and the Twelfth Tai Situpa be allowed to meet, and it is for this reason that the Karmapa chose to join Tai Situpa in India. Having arrived safely in India, the young Seventeenth Karmapa is poised to become a figure of worldwide importance, offering guidance and blessings to his students in both the East and the West. Centers of the Karmapa's lineage have flourished throughout the United States over the past two decades. Our own center, Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery, is the site of the first traditional Tibetan three-year retreat program in North America, which began in 1982, and is presently sponsoring its fifth consecutive retreat. We were deeply honored to receive His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa during his several visits to the United States, and we are additionally fortunate to benefit from annual visits from the current Tai Situpa, who has taught public seminars at Kagyu Thubten Choling since 1994. It is my sincere hope that the enclosed book will serve to foster a more profound awareness of the precious gift the Karmapa holds for all beings. iooe? January 18, 2000 Page Two Like his predecessors, the Karmapa is exclusively a religious leader, with no involvement in politics. I pray that you will take whatever steps are possible to help protect His Holiness's human rights and his freedom to study and train in his religion and to meet with his disciples throughout the world. Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information. Sincerely, MMj~s<s THOMAS W. PARDEE TWP/dl General Secretary Enclosure For Kagyu Thubten Choling.