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 the song that was inspired by the interview:
'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.......
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