March 19, 2015 San Francisco, California
After giving a two-hour Dharma teaching on transforming difficult emotions, His Holiness the Karmapa left to pay a private visit to the Kagyu Droden Kunchab center.
As His Holiness the Karmapa had noted during the morning teaching hosted by KDK in a large auditorium, that public event had to be held offsite, since not even the centers own members could all fit in the intimate space of the Dharma center in downtown San Francisco.
After the traditional tea-and-rice welcome, the center hosted a meal for His Holiness the Karmapa and his staff. The narrow corridors filled with members of the local Tibetan community, on hand to prepare the lavish meal, support the organization of the visit and receive the Karmapas blessing.
Following the meal, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa conferred refuge vows in a small ceremony, to twenty members of the Kagyu Droden Kunchab center. Those taking the vows consisted primarily of Tibetans and their children, along with a number of American Dharma disciples.