Notes from the Road
Mantra rolls for the eight stupas and the arrival of Lama Jampa
This summer, two of Dhagpo’s dormitories—left unoccupied due to current public health measures—have found a new use: they are hosting mantra rolling workshops! Those close to the center, many course participants, members of city Dhagpos (KTTs) and students of...
The Wood Structure for the Prayer Wheel: Sacred Architecture and Traditional Carpentry
The Wood Structure for the Prayer Wheel: Sacred Architecture and Traditional Carpentry Despite the less-than-pleasant winter weather, the artisans were able to complete the prayer wheel pavilion. Only the benches and the floor need to be finished.A prayer wheel,...
The Prayer Wheel: A story of Sanghas
Just before Dhagpo, like the rest of France, entered into a new lockdown, we were fortunate to receive the large prayer wheel that will stand in the pavilion of the meditation garden. Here is its story that stretches across Europe and two communities striving to...
Autumn Plantings | In pictures
Planting for the Meditation Garden began in mid-September. Close to one thousand plants of over forty different varieties will adorn the natural area behind the Institute. In some zones of the garden, newly seeded grass is already beginning to sprout. Albizia...
The Eight Stupas: Eight Steps in Shakyamuni Buddha’s Life
In Astamahasthanacaitya-stotras, the Indian master Nagarjuna associates the eight stupas with the four principle pilgrimage sites—the Buddha’s birth in Lumbini, his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, his first teaching in Sarnath, and his death in Kushinagar—and four...
Video – The meditation Garden – Filling the Bases
News from the Meditation Garden: A video showing the volunteers depositing the consecrated substances (mantra rolls and tsatsas) into the granite bases on which the eight stupas will be placed.
Video – The meditation Garden – The Consecrated Urns
News from the Meditation Garden: Lama Jigme Rinpoche carries out the meditation practices that precede installing the consecrated urns into the foundations of the eight stupas. A granite plaque adorned with the symbols of the five Buddhas seals the chamber.
Video – The meditation Garden – The Beginning
As we previously announced, the work on the Meditation Garden has intensified. We are happy to share the latest news with you.
The following video shows the ritual led by Jigme Rinpoche in the presence of Gendun Rinchen and Trinlay Rinpoche before the beginning of the earthworks; the arrival of two other stupas at Dhagpo; the machines now working everyday, and the mantra roll creation workshop.
Karmapa – Meditation Garden
Ce jardin est un symbole. Le lieu idéal pour la méditation n’est rien qu’une idée abstraite. Cela peut être le siège dans un bus ou un train. Cela peut être le ventre d’une mère. Un lit de mort peut-être. Vous ne pouvez pas vraiment déterminer le lieu idéal ...
A Garden Springs from the Earth
The major construction on the Meditation Garden was paused during the Covid-19 confinement period to prioritize finishing the living room area—a space for everyone to relax and exchange. Nevertheless, the team has continued work on the detailed technical plans of...
Two Stupas Arrive at Dhagpo
During this summer’s visit from Trinley Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Gerard Guinot—the artisan behind the eight copper stupas—delivered two of them: The Reconciliation Stupa and The Parinirvana Stupa. Here is some information ...
Trees and Flowers
From April to October 2018; we began landscaping the area around the stupa with trees and flowers. Course participants and local volunteers of all ages made the most of the good weather, taking part in planting and get their hands dirty—all according to the precise indications given by Jigme Rinpoche, who took on the role of head gardener ...
The Eight Stupas’ Foundations
Volunteers from Dhagpo and others who live close by met up in mid-March to dig and pour the foundations for the eight stupas. They dug four rectangles and then poured concrete into them. In the center of the concrete pad, they left a cube of empty space, which will become ...
