Vajradhara-Ling is a center affiliated to the

Karma Kagyu 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, Mon ...

school 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 ...

located in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 ...

near the city of

Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the l ...

History of the centre

Vajradhara-Ling is connected to

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 ...

in Paris, and both centers are linked to 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 ' ...

, Orgyen Trinley Dorje. It is said that, before his passing away, the

16th Karmapa The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of Tulku, reincarnate lamas in ...

preview the construction of Vajradhara-Ling. Vajradhara-Ling, meaning « The garden of Vajradhara Buddha », was inaugurated in 1982 by

Kalu Rinpoche Kalu Rinpoche (1905 – May 10, 1989) was a Buddhist lama, meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West. Early life and teachers Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 during the Female Woo ...

, 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 stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

, a

prayer wheel A prayer wheel is a cylindrical wheel () on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone, leather, or coarse cotton, widely used in Tibet and areas where Tibetan culture is predominant. Traditionally, a mantra is written in Ranjana script or Tibeta ...

and a center of

spiritual retreat The meaning of a spiritual retreat can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities. In Hinduism and Buddhism, meditative retreats are ...

. 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

, 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

. 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 The Temple for Peace (French: ''Temple pour la Paix'') 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 ...

of a size of 700 m², a future place for teachings,

interfaith Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

dialogue, cultural and scientific events, and will be dedicated to

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

in the world. 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 ...

of the building was laid on September 21, 2003 by Tenga Rinpoche. Today, the Congregation continues to collect the funds necessary for the

construction. In August 2008, during a visit in France, 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 ...

came to Vajradhara-Ling in particular to consecrate the place where the Temple will be constructed.Bouddha dans le bocage normand - Le dalaï-lama dans l'Orne, le jeudi 14 août !
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Notes and references

External links

Web site of Vajradhara-Ling
Asian-French culture Karma Kagyu Organizations based in Normandy Religious buildings and structures in France Tibetan Buddhism in France Tibetan Buddhist organizations

History of the centre

See also

Notes and references

External links