Kagyu Monlam

Kagyu Monlam: Great accumulation of wishes for the happiness of all beings

The Kagyu Monlam is one of the most important events for Buddhist practitioners of the Karma Kagyu School. For a whole week, they recite wishing prayers together for the happiness of all beings. Usually, the Kagyu Monlam is held every year in India at Bodhgaya, the place where Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment. But in recent years it has been broadcast internationally from the Karmapa monastery in Rumtek. This practice provides an opportunity for people from all over the world to come together for several days, and recite prayers coming from the profound wisdom of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The strength of these aspirations is multiplied by the gathering of thousands of practitioners who unite their wishes for the well-being and spiritual development of all beings.

We aspire to peace and prosperity for all sentient beings. Above all, we aspire for enlightenment for all sentient beings. From a Buddhist perspective, this is the ultimate aim in life. It is a state of cessation of dukkha or confusion, and this is what we aspire to.

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa

Karmapa discusses the importance and benefits of connecting with the Kagyu Monlam

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Since 1996, Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa has been leading prayers of aspiration, accompanied by other great lamas of the lineage. The beneficial effect of these prayers is greatly intensified by the presence and aspiration of great Bodhisattvas.

Prayers of Aspiration

Prayers of aspiration recited during the Kagyu Monlam are a precious way to clear the confusion of the ordinary mind. When we practise with this wish, our aspirations are naturally directed towards the cessation of what is unfavorable and the cultivation of all that is beneficial.

“It is the best thing we can get, and perhaps, it is the only thing we should get: the clearing away of confusion”

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa

Among these prayers of aspiration, there are the Five Royal Sutras including the “Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra”. The latter focuses on the highly altruistic wish of attaining enlightenment in order to lead all beings to this state.

About the Kagyu Monlam

Since 1996, the Kagyu Monlam has been held in Bodhgaya, in the presence of the greatest masters of the lineage such as Karmapa or Shamarpa. Practitioners face the Mahabodhi Temple, the very place where the historical Buddha meditated until he achieved enlightenment.

Karmapa, concerned about the health and well-being of practitioners, invites us to join since 2020 via the Internet the recitations of the monks of his community in Rumtek, India. This allowed thousands of practitioners, in Asia as well as in the West, to continue to gather around these wishing prayers.

The Dhagpo Kundreul Ling community will join in the aspiration prayers, broadcast live from Rumtek, from 14 to 20 December 2022. We are happy to invite you to participate in the Kagyu Monlam on site in the big temple at Le Bost, or remotely through the live broadcast on YouTube.

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Live video from the Kagyu Monlam 2017

Join the prayers of aspiration led by the Karmapa, in the presence of H.E. the 4th Djamgon Kongtrul, Migyur Drakpa Senge, and H.E. the 3rd Beru Khyentse Rinpoche and many great masters of the lineage as well as Mipham Rinpoche. Thousands of students, monks, nuns and other venerables gathered in Bodhgaya, India, to take part in the recitations of wishes for the happiness of all beings.