Vajradhara-Ling is a center affiliated to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism located in France in Normandy in the commune of Aubry-le-Panthou. [1]
Vajradhara-Ling is a center affiliated to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism located in France in Normandy in the commune of Aubry-le-Panthou. [1]
Vajradhara-Ling is connected to Kagyu-Dzong in Paris, and both centers are linked to the 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje. It is said that, before his passing away, the 16th Karmapa preview the construction of Vajradhara-Ling.
Vajradhara-Ling, meaning « The garden of Vajradhara Buddha », was inaugurated in 1982 by Kalu Rinpoche, who entrusted the responsibility of the centre to his disciple, Lama Gyurme.
The congregation Dashang Kagyu Vajradhara Ling is focusing on Buddhist prayers and practices. It is structured around a Temple, a stupa, a prayer wheel and a center of spiritual retreat. The prayer wheel contains 100 000 pages on which are printed mantras invocating Dorje Sempa, the Buddha of purification.
In 1987, Lama Gyurme initiated the construction of a stupa, which site of construction was consecrated by Kalu Rinpoche and foundations were finished 2 years later. The stupa was dedicated to the memory of the 16th Karmapa. [2] After its construction was completed, the stupa was consecrated by Taï Situ Rinpoche July 15, 1997.
In 1999, the congregation received in donation a property situated 60 km away from the center; it is now named Mahamoudra-Ling and transformed in a retreat center for individuals wishing to practice for 6 months, 1 year or more.
The congregation also bears the project of constructing a Temple for Peace of a size of 700 m2, a future place for teachings, interfaith dialogue, cultural and scientific events, and will be dedicated to Peace in the world. The cornerstone of the building was laid on September 21, 2003 by Tenga Rinpoche. Today, the Congregation continues to collect the funds necessary for the Temple for Peace construction. In August 2008, during a visit in France, the 14th Dalai Lama came to Vajradhara-Ling in particular to consecrate the place where the Temple will be constructed. [3] [4]
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyu, itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Karmapa was Tibet's first consciously incarnating lama.
Ole Nydahl, also known as Lama Ole, is a lama providing Mahamudra teachings in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the early 1970s, Nydahl has toured the world giving lectures and meditation courses. With his wife, Hannah Nydahl (1946-2007), he founded Diamond Way Buddhism, a worldwide Karma Kagyu Buddhist organization with over 600 centers for lay practitioners.
There are currently two, separately enthroned 17th Gyalwang Karmapas: Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Trinley Thaye Dorje. The Karmapa is the spiritual leader of the nine-hundred-year-old Karma Kagyu lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, also written as Urgyen Trinley Dorje is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.
Trinley Thaye Dorje is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.
Karma Kagyu, or Kamtsang Kagyu, is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal and Bhutan, with current centres in over 60 countries. The spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu is the Gyalwa Karmapa; the 2nd among the 10 Karmapas had been the principal spiritual advisors to successive emperors of China. The Karma Kagyu are sometimes called the "Black Hat" lamas, in reference to the Black Crown worn by the Karmapa.
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Benalmádena Stupa is a stupa in Benalmádena, Málaga in the Andalusian region of southern Spain, overlooking Costa del Sol. It is 33 m (108 ft) high and is the tallest stupa in Europe. It was inaugurated on 5 October 2003, and was the final project of Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche.
Although there was regular contact between practising Buddhists and Europeans in antiquity the former had little direct impact. In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals and during the course of the following century the number of adherents has grown. There are now between 1 and 4 million Buddhists in Europe, the majority in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Sherab Palden Beru was an exiled Tibetan thangka artist who played a key role in preserving the art-form through the training of western students over a period of more than four decades.
Tenga Rinpoche was a Tibetan teacher (lama) in the Karma Kagyu tradition.
Khenpo Karma Tharchin Rinpoche, widely known by his abbreviated name Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, was a senior lama of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Before his death he served as abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) Monastery in Woodstock, New York.
Pema Dönyö Nyinje is the 12th Tai Situpa, a tulku in Tibetan Buddhism, and one of the leading figures of the Karma Kagyu school. He is the head of Palpung Monastery.
The Temple for Peace is a construction project of the congregation Vajradhara-Ling in Normandy to promote world peace. The cornerstone was laid in 2003 and construction started in 2010. This Temple will be built in the same style as the Samye monastery, the first temple built in Tibet that was founded by Padmasambhava in the 8th century CE.
The Kagyu-Dzong center is a Buddhist center in Paris, affiliated to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. This center is linked to the 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje.
Lama Gyurme, or Lama Gyourmé, is a Buddhist Bhutanese Lama and musician.
Susan Kathryn Hookham, known as LamaShenpen Hookham is a Buddhist teacher who has trained for over 50 years in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
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