Lama Karma Justin Wall on Dharma, Buddhism and mindfulness

Lama Karma is a Milwaukee native who first left home to attend college at Columbia University in NYC. After a long period of desperation and depression, he found a bit of light in studying the non-dual teachings of Sufiism, Christianity, and the Indo-Tibetan tradition of Buddhist philosophy. Through developing a connection with teachers such as Robert Thurman and Peter Awn, he wrote a wordy honors thesis on hermeneutics, literary theory, and Madhyamika philosophy. Although his head was full, his heart was empty, and he took Robert Thurman’s advice of a Wanderjahr in Asia, only to end up back in New York where he started. Along the way, he attended a ten-day Vipassana course in California, followed by various retreats in Nepal, India, Germany, and Ireland until he returned to New York, jumping blindly into a three-year retreat at Kagyu Thubten Chöling Monastery under the guidance of Lama Norlha Rinpoche.  Three years later he went into back into retreat for another three years and four months. When he graduated, he moved to Tennessee to build a retreat center and stupa, and has continued as the director of Milarepa Retreat Center.  In order to reach more people with his work, Lama Karma participated in UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center Teacher Training program, and works with MARC as an online mentor.  In the winter of 2017 he worked with Lama Denys Rinpoche to translate the Open Mindfulness platform into English and became an accredited facilitator of Open Mindfulness.   He currently divides his time between the Hudson Valley, NY and Happy Valley TN teaching mindfulness, Buddhism, and raising his daughter Gomadevi with his wife Karina.  https://lamakarmajustin.com/ LYRICS TO 'SWEET DHARMA' My pure and precious dharma What I wouldn't do for you I'll keep you pure, be always sure Let nothing harm my heart I'll protect my precious dharma Won't let anger burn it down No violent movies, no video games I'll see nobody harmed I'll shield my precious dharma From any sexual deceit Remain passionless, not obsess for flesh See no pornography My dharma My sweet dharma My dharma My sweet dharma My pure and precious dharma Is such a fragile thing It could so easily die, telling one little lie You could make a river from my tears So I'll hide my precious dharma From the very idea of theft Take nothing not given, just live and let living Let greed never touch my heart It's my dharma My sweet dharma My dharma Sweet dharma It's my dharma My sweet dharma My dharma I love my precious dharma It gives meaning to my life I live life at leisure, with this secret to pleasure The happiest I've ever been My sweet dharma My sweet dharma My dharma Sweet dharma It would drown in alcohol It would die on drugs Any type of intoxication Would wash it from the earth It's my dharma My dharma My dharma My dharma My dharma My dharma My sweet dharma Sweet dharma My sweet dharma My dharma....... .......