Tribute to Karim Manji

On Friday 14th March 2025 over one hundred people gathered in Maldon, Essex to remember Karim, with many more joining us online. This page includes links to some of the tributes which were shared on the day.An order of service booklet designed by Maarten & Cata: tinyurl.com/4xf6antcA tribute video with photos and videos from Karim's life: tinyurl.com/ft4y3za3A playlist with some of the music that Karim enjoyed: tinyurl.com/49ehu8kzA link to watch the service backLink: https://watch2.obitus.comUsername: xifa8170Password: 616625 You can also find the songs that Karim's friends have written for him on the Music section of this page: tinyurl.com/4d8vuzv3

dear karim, i still hadnt found the words til now, after your memorial. Words dont come so easily for me like they often did for you. I remember a time walking between hamlets in PV and i felt so impressed by your visionary dedication to practice and reassurance that this can change the world. Your dedication to other causes like XR and Palestine were so clear and seeing the picture of you being arrested for XR i see such grace and clear conviction with such a sublime smile! we didnt always see eye to eye, but on reflection your strong conviction and honest speaking has taught me a lot- that its actually safe and good to express your opinions sometimes! I also saw your transformation through practice and age maybe 🙃 - you still had opinions but  you had experienced the relief and joy of letting go when needed too. May i continue to learn from you.on the day of your memorial Martha and i walked in a park - it was beautiful day with amazing clouds - in the sky a kite soared - i believe this was you…we stood in a dead tree, i felt some tears and noted that the tree still felt so majestic and strong… when later i held you as a pallbearer i noted that i didnt feel you were there/ that that body was you - but not your spirit…i saw you all around me in the people who loved you. I saw you in what you taught me. I saw you in the kite…thank you karim - ✨🙏🏼✨

Karim, Our paths only crossed for a few days at a time in 2019, yet your presence and kindness impacted my path deeply, and I feel very grateful. Two short stories came to mind that I wanted to share. Firstly, during the urban retreat you helped organise in London, you’d written an email asking us to bring nutritious food. Unfortunately, I hadn’t read it fully and turned up to the daylong retreat with just a small packet of Hula Hoops. As we sat to practice eating mindfully, I tried quietly to make the crisps last. You noticed and kindly offered to share your lunch. When I declined, you gently insisted that I at least take your apple, which I gratefully accepted and enjoyed. Secondly, you kindly squeezed me in at the last minute on a weekend retreat in Essex, thoughtfully finding me a comfortable place to sleep. Your warmth and genuine care made me feel welcome and supported. Reading your family’s tribute, it appears you might be an Arsenal fan. As a Spurs supporter, I will practice forgiveness for this, though perhaps it explains the suspicious timing of the urban retreat, which coincided with both legs of Spurs’ Champions League matches! I wish you and your family and friends peace and support on our shared path. With love and appreciation, Gareth

Karim it has been such a shock to learn of your leaving this plane so suddenly. Such a confusing time for us all. Some times things in life dont make sense, but we must continue on and learn and grow. I was so fortunate to have known you even just the little I did. You became part of the story of my life when I was blessed enough to move to Grove park and meet Joe and then all of his friends and the WU sangha. i was so lucky to have met the Wake up community and to then be exposed to PV and the teachings. It was at this point in my life that things really seemed to begin to fall into place a ljttle and make sense. An almost golden era of my life i would say. And you Karim were a part of that. So thank you for being there with your warmth and silliness. I always felt so seen and heard with you and loved your lightness and humour you brought to the practice balancing the depth and sincerity   I only saw you three times in the last year but they all stand out to me to be very happy moments, some of chance happening. at Buddhafield last year i was so touched that you had made the effort to come and watch me perforn a couple of songs at an open mic. We sat down together and had a really nice catch up after what had probably been some time since we’d seen eachother. It actually took a long time for me to go in stage and you had to leave for something else, but you had made time out of your day to see me and had you not done that, we wouldnt of had that lovely check in. the 2nd time we were in each others presence was at Noah and Lisas lovely lunch in December. We had such a good catch up and you were sharing about your studies with me, as well as your commuting and your living situation. I remember really enjoying how engaged we both were in that catch up. It was always so easy to talk with you abd again you always had this way of making me feel really heard. the last time, and most interesting i think was a chance encounter with you on my Birthday in January. I had decided to come to Brighton for the the day with a friend and was walking along the sea front when all of a sudden, there you were! We caught eachothers gaze and were both taken aback and there was this lovely moment of joy at the chance of it. You were down for your studies and just taking a walk along the front. I got to introduce you to my friend and it felt good to share how we knew eachother. Karim, thank you for being there and for contributing all you did in your rich and interesting life, eapecially to Plum Village. You’ll continue in all of us. I also wasnted to share that I was so sorry not to be able to make your online memorial. The conditions were just not right as I was completely swamped with the edit of the new Abenhall fundraiser film. I was leaving for my first proper break in some years on the Monday to Morocco and had to get the edit finished and sent to Twan and the crew before I left so i was unabme to attend. But I lit a candle for you and have been holding you in my heart during this much needed break :) sending love Karim brother. See you there one day xx

I first connected to Karim back in 2017, when I bumped into him in a huge training for door to door canvassers for the Corbyn-led Labour party. Then again, coming out of lockdown on Brighton beach where we reflected back on the huge changes of the past few years, and then again walking together as visible PV practitioners at one of the Palestine marches last year. I really appreciated our shared connection working for social justice outside the Snagha. I felt he understood the double-edgedness of that: both crucial and inspirting, but also toxic and challenging. I really will miss his kind, gentle intelligence, and I want to make sure I continue to learn from him. His gentle optimism, humour and confidence. The way he got stuck in to the dharma and committed to it. 

Karim was one of my first wake up friends. I sought him out in plum village on charlie’s instructions to discuss dharma in education. He inspired me through his being and also generous encouragements. We practiced together, lived together and worked on projects together. I am grateful for those years. i found his integrity, honesty and humility inspiring. One iteration of a sangha house dream he had was to be property guardians together. We embraced the chance to diy furniture and i mean diy - we made all our bedroom furniture out of cardboard boxes :) this is a very fond memory. I remember his solidity and also lightness during that time. He inspired my longer stay in plum village and my time being a coordinator at the barn. He had a big impact in his humble way. Thank you for your wise, steady, fun and humorous bright light Karim. I’ll keep you in my heart and remember you when I dance. With love and gratitude, Martha 

Dear family and friends of Karim, On request I am happy to share my Facebook post of today with all of you here: "Dear Friends,Last week I received sad news from London. Our dear friend, Wake Up London sangha builder, Wake Up Schools coordinator, Plum Village App team member, Plum Village website advisor, and Extinction Rebellion (XR) activist Karim Manji passed away completely unexpectedly a week ago. In autumn 2019 me and my camera had the humble honor to be witness of his peaceful XR action, blocking the daily traffic at Piccadilly Circus in London, which finally resulted in his arrest. Non-violent activism is not an easy thing to do. A few days after Karim was released from prison I had an interview with him. He shared that when the police officer was trying to convince him to clear the road, he touched the Earth with his hand, like the Buddha had done directly after his enlightenment, as the Earth was their silent witness, and at the same time the very reason for Karim’s peaceful action. 'We need to put our liberty on the line. The things we hold dear, our freedoms, to really communicate how serious this climate crisis is. Once you know, you can't unknow. This is what is right. This is what is important, and I don't care what that means for me. I will do prison, confronting way more powerful forces. I will do that.'To commemorate Karim, and to celebrate his spirit of braveness and sacrifice, I am happy to share the film REBEL FOR LIFE with you in which Karim is one of the three main protagonists. The following free film link is active until 28 February:https://vimeo.com/r/3YEP/eDNXUWhDZHThe film is available with English, French, Spanish, German and Dutch subtitles.Thank you Karim for standing your ground, or better, literally sitting your ground, for climate justice and for the inter-being truth of all life. Your spirit will live on in all your actions.Eternal Earth, eternal Karim. Wouter" 

We had a regular door knock on a Saturday each month from a lovely lady from the Jehova’s Witness and i would answer the door and spend 10-15 minutes listening to her topics of the day.  When she finished i would promptly bin the booklets.  One Saturday I wasn’t home & Karim happened to answer the door. She asked if I was in and he said no. She offered to leave the booklets with him and he said “I wouldn’t bother, she only puts them in the bin anyway.”The lady carried on visiting and bringing her booklets, and K carried on being honest to a tee.

I knew Karim from a distance for a while before knowing him personally. He was a steadfast, ever-present facilitator at Wake Up London when I started going, which was about 2014. His lightness and sense of humour made me, and I'm sure many others there, feel at ease. Although I love meditation, in a sense sitting in silence for 2 hours is not the most fun thing you could do - but Karim made it fun to be there. Gradually we got to know each other a bit better, and a few years later when he posted on his fb page that he wanted to start a mindful house share in London, I instantly jumped at the chance. Between me first messaging Karim and moving in together, it must have taken a good year. Interested people showed up, but would later drop out - this happened several times. But Karim and I-especially Karim-stayed firm in the belief that this is how we would like to live. There were times when I wondered, “am I just some kind of eccentric? Is this a really out there aspiration and that’s why no one is showing up?”. Eventually someone-our friend Raman-who was properly interested joined us and the next task was to find a house. Again, Karim was the driving force behind this, and showed the ability to combine spiritual awareness and practical real world intelligence/street smarts. We went through a tonne of houses until finding one rented for incredibly cheap in Brockley. Suddenly, two other lovely people-Sam & Kasia-show up and were interested...against the odds after a few disappointments, we have a mindful community.   So how do we actually do this? Again we looked to Karim for advice. He had a lot of ideas: having a kind of house ‘constitution’ that we all signed up to, with agreements about things like meeting once a week, eating together, buying groceries together from ethical food producers and meditating together. I remember describing it to my then girlfriend (now wife) and she thought it was a bit much. And I could see how it  might seem that way from the outside. But there was something so incredibly powerful about us being there for each other intentionally, cooking for each other, looking out for each other, sharing our sadnesses and joys with each other. I had to leave after a few months to move to the USA to be with my girlfriend. I remember being in tears on the morning of my departure, leaving behind one of the most profound, beautiful experiences of my life, and the love for the people in our house. At the time, I was working as a therapist in the NHS, and I remember sharing with Karim that the feedback I had received in that particular role was miles above and beyond anything I had received previously. For the first time, clients of mine were going out of their way to email the service after our therapy to say what a positive experience they had had. The common element to their feedback was that I “truly listened”. As far as I was concerned, I was working no differently from how I ever had. But I know that the loving community I was living in, spearheaded by Karim, had helped me, at that point anyway, to be a more thoughtful, caring and present person. It set a benchmark in my life that I  will always try to live up to. I can’t believe that Karim has gone, but I know that this experience with him will continue in me forever.   With so much gratitude for Karim,   Brendan

Dear friends, Here's an interview between Karim and one of the Plum Village nuns, Sr Sinh Nghiem, which was published for online retreat by Plum Village called Action from the Heart in 2021 (during the lockdown). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NE6au9-XWUl75rd5MbpaYiL180DyngMm/viewWith love,Elina

K - as your little brother, I haven't always taken your advice as seriously as I should have, but your TV recommendations were always an exception. As a teenager you got me into Dawson's Creek, Deep Space Nine, and The West Wing. You also gave me clear instructions to be a Pacey and not a Dawson. (Advice which is 100% correct)Later on we both loved Mike Schur's sitcoms- but especially The Good Place, which you were hooked on as soon as you watched the first episode. And it might as well have been written specifically for you.  It's a half an hour sitcom about what it means to live a good life and take right action. There are puns in every episode (like neighbouring Italian restaurants called 'Lasagna Come Out Tomorrow' and 'Penne for Your Thoughts'). It's a show about how hell is other people, but so is heaven. And at one point, a committee of well-intended liberal characters resolve that 'the only reasonable thing to do is to keep giving up things unilaterally until this demon is happy.'Our last WhatsApps were about TV. We shared some memes about The Traitors - and I told you I finally got round to following your recommendation and watching A Man on the Inside - a comedy about grief and moving on which made me cry at the end.I was always a bit resistant to letting you teach me and I now regret that a lot. But I've also been realising that you were teaching me things anyway. Like at a certain point in The Good Place, when two characters talk about death:Picture a wave. In the ocean. You can see it, measure it, its height, the way the sunlight refracts when it passes through. And it's there. And you can see it, you know what it is. It's a wave. And then it crashes in the shore and it's gone. But the water is still there. The wave was just a different way for the water to be, for a little while. The wave returns to the ocean, where it came from and where it's supposed to be.Thanks for all of the recommendations K. I wish you could give me a thousand more.    

Tom bowing in. Thank you for creating this group. I’m still processing the news and finding it a bit surreal and hard to believe. Karim was one of the first people who I met and had a baked potato with after Wake Up when I first joined 13 years ago. I still remember his welcoming energy towards me, ability to talk so eloquently about the practice and corresponding light hearted humour,  (as others mention :-))  This experience was significant in me realising I had found my tribe at Wake Up London and committing to come every week. I was always in awe of his depth of commitment and diligence as well as how he facilitated; apparently quite effortlessly and lightly but deeply at the same time, once single handedly for weeks in a row. He embodied a lot of what Wake Up was for me. I remember him introducing me to the rapper Akala. I remember his insights, his deep engagement, his talks, skits and his puns. Life is so short and precious and suddenly people are gone. I wish I had made more effort to spend time together the last few times I saw him told him how  much I appreciated and loved him. Sending big love to you Karim, you continue in me 🙏💚