The Temple for Peace ( French: ''Temple pour la Paix'') is a construction project of the congregation

Vajradhara-Ling Vajradhara-Ling is a center affiliated to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism located in France in Normandy near the city of Lisieux. History of the centre Vajradhara-Ling is connected to Kagyu-Dzong in Paris, and both centers are linke ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

to promote

world peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...

. The cornerstone was laid in 2003 and construction started in 2010. This

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

will be built in the same style as the

Samye Samye (, ), full name Samye Mighur Lhundrub Tsula Khang (Wylie: ''Bsam yas mi ’gyur lhun grub gtsug lag khang'') and Shrine of Unchanging Spontaneous Presence is the first Tibetan Buddhist and Nyingma monastery built in Tibet, during the reign ...

monastery, the first temple built in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

that was founded by

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

in the 8th century CE.

Aims of the Temple

The aims of the Temple for Peace is not only to share teachings of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

but also to welcome demonstrations linked to peace: symposia, inter-religious meetings, expositions and performances. It will be a place to encounter and favor the exchanges between different schools of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, as well as

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Moslem Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and other traditions such as those of Indians of North America and

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

. Meetings will be organized between wise representatives of these traditions, enabling a better knowledge of their diversity as well as common values: their contributions in building a better world, mutual tolerance and the respect of others, in particular through peace and

non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

. Conferences will gather recognized personalities working to promote peace such as

Nobel Peace Prize laureates Nobel often refers to: *Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel Nobel may also refer to: Companies *AkzoNobel, the result of the merger between Akzo and Nobel Industries in 1994 * Branobel, o ...

, women and men involved in

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

projects, religious dignitaries of different confessions, artists working to promote respect and tolerance between peoples.

Genesis of the project

In 1995 and in 1998,

Lama Gyurme Lama Gyurme (born in 1948), or Lama Gyourmé, is a Buddhist Bhutanese Lama and musician. He has lived in France since 1974, and he is the director of the Kagyu-Dzong center in Paris, since 1982, the Vajradhara-Ling center in Normandy and since 20 ...

visited

in a pilgrimage and met Orgyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th

Karmapa The Karmapa (honorific title '' His Holiness the Gyalwa'' ��ྒྱལ་བ་, Victorious One''Karmapa'', more formally as ''Gyalwang'' ��ྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, King of Victorious Ones''Karmapa'', and informally as the ' ...

Tsurphu Tsurphu Monastery ( or Tölung Tsurphu (, "Tsurphu of Tölong") is a gompa which serves as the traditional seat of the Karmapa, the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in Gurum in Doilungdêqên District, Tibet Auto ...

. He presented him his project for construction of a temple for peace. The authorization to construct the Temple was granted by the French authorities in March 2002. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid by Tenga Rinpoche on September 21, 2003. The project was consecrated by the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

on August 14, 2008, at this occasion, the Dalai Lama delivered a speech on peace. The construction started in 2010.

Temple architecture

The Temple will have a surface area of m² on five levels.

Peace and Light Festival

Since 2006, each year at

Kagyu-Dzong 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. History It is situated in a temple of Tibetan and Bhutanese style ...

, the Peace and Light Festival was started to support the construction of the Temple. It includes

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhib ...

and performances, and takes place in the

Pagode de Vincennes The Pagode du bois de Vincennes is the seat of the founded by Jean Sainteny who was the manager of the institute. It is located in a former building of the exposition coloniale de 1931, designed by the architect Louis-Hippolyte Boileau. On th ...

. In 2008, it included a concert by Lama Gyurme and

Jean-Philippe Rykiel Jean-Philippe Rykiel (born 1961) is a French composer, arranger, and musician, primarily a keyboard player. He has been blind since his birth, a result of negligence in the hospital incubator, and is the son of fashion designer Sonia Rykiel. Disc ...

. In 2010, songs by Lama Gyurme were presented by the French actress

Véronique Jannot Véronique Jannot (born 7 May 1957) is a French actress and singer. She was born in Annecy, Haute-Savoie. Discography Albums *2012: ''Tout doux'' Singles *1975: "L'Atlantique" (with Pierre Bachelet) *1981: "Pause café" *1982: "J'ai fait l ...

, while Tshering Wangdu also gave a performance.Festival Paix et Lumière

References

External links

Temple pour la Paix

TEMPLE POUR LA PAIX (3D)
(video, LAMAGYURME) {{DEFAULTSORT:Temple For Peace Interfaith dialogue Tibetan Buddhism in France Normandy Buddhist temples in France Peace and conflict studies Festivals in France 21st-century Buddhist temples Buildings and structures completed in 2010