Benalmádena Stupa is a

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

Benalmádena Benalmádena () is a town in Andalusia in southern Spain, 12 km west of Málaga, on the Costa del Sol between Torremolinos and Fuengirola. Benalmádena is rich in attractive beaches and interesting places like the Colomares Castle, the 33-me ...

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

in the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

n region of southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, overlooking

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (; literally "Coast of the Sun") is a region in the south of Spain in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of ...

. It is high and is the tallest stupa in Europe. It was inaugurated on 5 October 2003, and was the final project of

Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche (; 1918 in Bhutan – 10 June 2003 in Bangkok) was a master of Tibetan Buddhism, widely regarded in the Himalayas, with many students in both the East and the West. Overview As a young boy, he was ordained as a monk in the ...

Overview

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, a stupa is a monument which represents peace, prosperity and harmony, as well as being a place for

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

. Benalmádena Stupa (''Chan Chub Chorten'' in Tibetan) symbolizes

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

, the realisation of the nature of the mind, and is one of the eight different forms that stupas are built. Whereas stupas are typically sealed structures, the Benalmádena Stupa is unusual as there is a 100 square metre meditation room and a room that can be used for exhibitions about

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

and Himalayan culture inside the structure. The walls of the meditation room are painted with the life story of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni. Bhutanese Lama Lopon Tsechu guided the ritual elements, while German-based Polish architect Woitek Kossowski, oversaw construction. The stupa was inaugurated on 5 October 2003 by H.H. Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, the second-most important teacher within 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, M ...

lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Also present was Lömpo Sangye Ngodup, a minister from the Himalayan Kingdom of

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

Lama Ole Nydahl Ole Nydahl (born 19 March 1941), 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 ...

and the Mayor of Benalmádena, Enrique Bolin. Sr Bolin was inspired by another large Karma Kagyu Diamond Way stupa near Vélez-Málaga, Spain, and was instrumental in providing the land on which the stupa is situated. The stupa is run by the non-profit A''sociación Cultural Karma Kagyu de Benalmádena'', under the spiritual guidance of the

17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje Trinley Thaye Dorje () (born 6 May 1983 in Lhasa) is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa. The Karmapa is head of the Kagyu, Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Thaye Dorje are the per ...

Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche

Lopon Tsechu visited Spain for the first time in 1990, where he gave teachings and empowerments at Karma Guen, a Buddhist meditation centre near

Vélez-Málaga Vélez-Málaga () is a municipality and the capital of the Axarquía comarca in the province of Málaga, in the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the most important city in the comarca. Locally it is referred to as Vélez. Vélez- ...

, about from Benalmádena. Rinpoche built his first stupa at Karma Guen in 1994, a symbol of peace and prosperity for Spain. Rinpoche went on to build 16 more stupas in Europe before his death in 2003. Rinpoche became a resident of Spain in 1995 and began visiting the country regularly, giving further teachings and empowerments. Tsechu Rinpoche guided this stupa project from the beginning but died near its completion. The final inauguration was performed by the 14th Shamar Rinpoche.Seegers, Eva, ''A Tibetan Stupa within the Flow of Cultural Transformations: The Opportunities and Challenges of Transplanting Buddhist Architecture from Asia to Europe'', Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University, volume 2, Spring 2017, p 72

References

External links

* *https://www.andalucia.com/benalmadena/benalmadena-pueblo/buddhist-temple
Tourism In Andalusia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benalmadena Stupa Buildings and structures in Andalusia Stupas Tourist attractions in Andalusia Buddhism in Spain