UK Sangha in Karma Berchen Ling

Karma Berchen Ling, Greece

Karma Berchen Ling, Greece

We want to produce Buddhism, not consume it“. This is how Lama Ole Nydahl started a very inspiring talk given in San Francisco in 1995. We all have and enjoy this wonderful possibility to produce Buddhism in every day life in our groups and centres all over the UK. This year however, such a precious opportunity for the UK sangha also appeared in a distant corner of Southern Europe. For the whole month we had the honour to be responsible for running one of our Diamond Way Buddhist retreat centres. In March 2011 the UK sangha became the host of Karma Berchen Ling centre in Greece.

The place itself is extraordinary. It is situated in a region called ‘Black Mountain’ in the beautiful Corinthian highlands of Peloponnesus. The centre is located at the altitude of 1,270 metres on an enchanting site overlooking the Corinthian Gulf. Since August 2010 it is also blessed by the powerfield of the Kalachakra Stupa.

Karma Berchen Ling is an ideal place for meditation retreats. Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche once remarked that “it is the best place for meditation in Europe” and the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje stated that the place is very powerful, and that he would like to do some meditation retreats there in the future. It is definitely worth visiting for a few days or more to meditate and all are very welcome to come at any time during the year. Part of the task for the UK friends while running the place in March was to keep it open to enable everyone who is interested to come and meditate.

Once the Kalachakra Stupa was built at KBL it became obvious that such a place cannot be left closed and empty even for few days. After the stupa inauguration Lama Ole decided that now the everyday running of the retreat centre should be the collective responsibility of our international sangha. That means that sanghas of different countries take care of the site for a month or longer. Following February, when friends from Hungary and Austria tended to the centre, the time had come for the UK sangha.

Friends from London, Glasgow and Manchester decided to spend some time in KBL taking care for running of the centre. Cooking, cleaning, looking after the Kalachakra Stupa, shopping for food (which is not that easy as the closest city is one hour drive from the centre) and providing shuttle service became their daily bread and butter. As the place offers perfect conditions for retreat they also found plenty of time to meditate, make wishes for the benefit of all and enjoy the wonderful time together.

UK Sangha in Karma Berchen Ling 2011UK Sangha in Karma Berchen Ling 2011UK Sangha in Karma Berchen Ling 2011UK Sangha in Karma Berchen Ling 2011UK Sangha in Karma Berchen Ling 2011

Tags: , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply