“The Buddhist tradition is a great heritage of humanity”: Lama Tony Karam

In a world where consumption promises satisfactions that it cannot provide, Buddhism represents a hope of understanding reality and a possibility of acquiring tools to live wisely; thus, with some decades visiting the city to offer courses and conferences at home Tibet Mexico headquarters Guadalajara, the Lama Tony karamwho had not been here in two years due to the pandemic, was here this weekend to give a seminar.

Considered one of the most important specialists and promoters of Tibetan culture and spirituality in our country and throughout Latin America, Lama Tony Karam -in an interview with THE REPORTER– says that he had an interest in the Buddhist tradition “since childhood, a huge passion for Tibet and I started to the best of my ability – we were in a pre-internet era, we must remember – to get information about the culture of that country ”.

He shares that an uncle of his who lived in Argentina brought with him the book “The Path of the White Clouds”, says Karam, “the spiritual testament of a German Lama, Anagarika Govinda, one of the Western pioneers in the link with the culture of Tibet , where he made expeditions in the thirties. Reading it was like a revelation”; Already after studying in the United States with his first great teacher, also one of the first to introduce Buddhist teachings in the West, he had the opportunity to go to Nepal and India, and meet the Dalai Lama.

House Tibet Mexico arises

The teacher comments that “it was there, in 1987, when he asked me to found a cultural center for Latin America, and that was the beginning of what is now Casa Tibet México, which he promised to inaugurate when he had the opportunity to visit Latin America, which happened in 1989, when he also won the Nobel Peace Prize. From there, it’s been 33 years of work focused on educating our country around the great legacy of wisdom of the Tibetan tradition.”

Thus, the interest of the Dalai Lama was given by being “aware of the importance of psychological spirituality that Buddhism has in improving our conditions of personal, individual and social life,” says Karam.

ancient wisdom

Now, the specialist clarifies that Buddhism “is not a religious proposal, it is not a dogmatic, revealed or faith tradition, it is one of radical empirical extraction, more a science of consciousness than a religion, and he knows that better than anyone else.” nobody the Dalai Lama. And that ancient wisdom that flourished in Tibet is one of the great heritages of humanity.

However, this path of work has not been easy to follow, Karam says that one obstacle he has faced is “the lack of knowledge of what Buddhism is or is not, based on ignorance. He has taken a lot of time, going back and forth through media and activities, to dispel those misunderstandings. And despite this there is great interest in getting to know him, although it is not a proselytizing tradition either (he is not interested in making followers)”.

Component Harmony

Similarly, in a country with an overwhelming Catholic majority, nothing prevents Buddhist practice because it is not a religion, “the great contribution of Buddhist wisdom is all this exceptionally sophisticated psychology that is oriented towards offering tools to achieve what you need.” . The goal of Buddhism is to understand why you suffer, that you can stop suffering, and that there is a path that leads to genuine well-being,” says Karam.

As “composite” beings, explains the founder of Casa Tibet México, “we require that our components be in harmony. That is why we must cultivate that holistic balance (among all our components) of our lives, seeking to eliminate pain, suffering and dissatisfaction, so that there is well-being, health and joy in us. And that depends on each one, each one must work with himself, fighting the imbalance (which has many dimensions)”.

About Casa Tibet Mexico

This educational and non-sectarian cultural institution was founded on July 6, 1989, under the auspices of the XIV Dalai Lama (Nobel Peace Prize, 1989), the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Tibet Office in New York, as the first official cultural representation of the Tibetan people for Latin America.