Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre

Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre is a Tibetan Buddhist

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

complex associated with the Karma Kagyu

Karma Kagyu

Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...

school located at Eskdalemuir

Eskdalemuir

-External links:*...

, near Langholm

Langholm

Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the River Esk and the A7 road.- History:...

, Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

History

The building that now houses Samyé Ling was originally a hunting lodge called Johnstone House. In 1965 the Johnstone House Trust was formed with the objectives

to make available to the general public facilities for study and meditation based on Buddhist and other religious teaching leading to mental and spiritual well-being: and to provide guidance for those in need of such help: and in particular the utilisation of the property known as Johnstone House, Eskdalemuir, for such purposes.

Initially the community there was led there by a Canadian Theravada monk named Anandabodhi. When the community declined, Anandabodhi returned to Canada; he was subsequently ordained in the Tibetan Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

tradition and enthroned as Namgyal Rinpoche

Namgyal Rinpoche

Namgyal Rinpoche, Karma Tenzin Dorje , born Leslie George Dawson in Toronto, Canada, was a Tibetan Buddhist lama in the Karma Kagyu tradition.-Early life:...

by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa.

In 1967 the Johnstone House trustees invited the Tibetan lamas and refugees Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Chögyam Trungpa

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...

and Akong Rinpoche to take over. They were then in their late twenties. They named the new community "Samyé Ling". Samyé

Samye

The Samye Monastery or Samye Gompa is the first Buddhist monastery built in Tibet, was most probably first constructed between 775 and 779 CE under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet who sought to revitalize Buddhism, which had declined since its introduction by King Songtsen Gampo in...

refers to the first Buddhist monastic university in Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

, while Ling means 'Place'.

Trungpa Rinpoche quickly came into conflict with both Akong Rinpoche and the trustees. He drank heavily and slept with his students. He married one of these, a fifteen year old girl at the time the relationship began, attracting press attention. By this time he had already been banished to a nearby house and divested by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa of his position as an official representative of the Karma Kagyu lineage. In 1970 he left for America to form other centres definitively ending his association with Samyé Ling, except for a single, brief visit at the end of the 1970s to recuperate his seals of office, once the Karmapa had agreed to reinstate him as a Kagyu lama.
Shortly after Akong's and Trungpa's arrival they were joined by the thangka

Thangka

A "Thangka," also known as "Tangka", "Thanka" or "Tanka" is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting...

artist Sherab Palden Beru

Sherab Palden Beru

Sherab Palden Beru is a celebrated exiled Tibetan thangka artist who has played a key role in preserving the art-form through the training of western students over a period of more than four decades.-Life and work:...

and the monk Samten. For about the decade 1970 onwards these two and Akong Rinpoche together were the main resident Tibetans at the centre. They were joined during 1976 and 1977 by the Mani-pa Lama bLa mChog. During this seminal period of the 1970s, Samye Ling was the main and oldest Tibetan centre in Europe. As such, it received important visits from eminent teachers of many traditions, including first the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche (1973 and therefater), His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa (1975 and 1977), Khamtrul Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyense Rinpoche and Urgyen Tulku.

In 1969, musicians David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

and Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...

were students at Samyé Ling.

The centre flourished and developed under the guidance of Akong Rinpoche and his brother Lama Yeshe Losal, who serves as both Abbot and Retreat Master. The centre includes one of the first Tibetan temples to be constructed in Western Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, a large stupa

Stupa

A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....

, and accommodation for those taking a range of courses on Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, meditation

Meditation

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

, spiritual development and art.

ROKPA trust

The Johnstone House Trust ceased to exist in 1995 and the centre now describes itself as part of the ROKPA trust whose objectives are

to promote Buddhism and to foster non-sectarian inter-religious dialogue and understanding. To provide medical care and therapy. To provide education. To relieve poverty.

The ROKPA trust administers a number of other centres and projects worldwide, notably the Holy Island Project and its Overseas Projects on behalf of ROKPA International

ROKPA International

ROKPA International is an international humanitarian organisation founded in 1980 by Akong Tulku Rinpoche, Lea Wyler and Dr. V. Wyler which operates principally in Nepal and Tibet...

based in Switzerland.

A ROKPA International project based at Samyé Ling to raise funds for the girls school at Kandze Monastery

Kandze Monastery

Kandze Monastery is situated 2 km north of Garzê Town on a hilltop overlooking the town, in Tibet.-History:...

was successful in reaching its target of £9,449. As at 2010 the trust was actively involved in relief efforts following the Yushu Earthquake

2010 Yushu earthquake

The 2010 Yushu earthquake struck on April 14, 2010, and registered a magnitude of 6.9Mw or 7.1Ms . It originated in Yushu, Qinghai, China, at local time. According to the Xinhua News Agency, 2,698 people have been confirmed dead, 270 missing, and 12,135 injured of which 1,434 are severely injured...

In 2008 the total declared income of the ROKPA trust was £2,916,136. The total funds received for Overseas Projects was £294,586 of which £260,361 was disbursed to ROKPA International.

The trust is planning a further expansion of its Samyé Ling temple project involving a major multi million pound extension which will eventually house a museum, a library, lecture theatres, offices and accommodation. Work began on this in early 2008. It lodged an amendment to the layout of this second phase with the Dumfries and Galloway Council on 18 June 2010.

Preservation of Tibetan art and crafts

Under the guidance of the Tibetan artist Sherab Palden Beru, Samyé Ling has also become a centre for the creation, repair and restoration of thangkas, principally in the Karma Gadri style. Since the 1970s Sherab has trained a number of western practitioners in the highly specialised techniques needed to create thangkas. The temple walls are decorated with many examples of the work of both Sherab Palden Beru and his western pupils.

Traditional deity and monumental sculpture and the creation of prayer-wheels are also carried out at the centre under the direction of resident and visiting Tibetan experts. The grounds of the centre feature many examples of their work, such as a statue of Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna

Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

Abuse allegations

In September 2000 the centre became the subject of newspaper reports alleging sexual abuse of minors by monks at the centre. The centre responded by saying that they were cooperating with the police in their enquiries and had drawn up guidelines to help them better respond to "the needs of the young, the disabled, ageing or vulnerable people who may be staying here". The allegations served to heighten tension between the centre and the local community.

The allegations are referenced in Piya Tan's

Piya Tan

Piya Tan Beng Sin , also known as Piya Tan or Piyasilo , is a Peranakan full-time lay Buddhist writer-cum-teacher in Singapore. He actively teaches the Buddha's Dharma, meditation and Pali to various Buddhist groups and organisations, and also works as a meditation therapist and counsellor at The...

essay Avoiding unwholesome teacher-pupil relationships.

Scottish sensibility

Listed as a tourist attraction

Tourist attraction

A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....

by VisitScotland , the centre attracts visitors who come simply to see a spectacular gilded temple, stupa

Stupa

A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....

s and gardens with statue

Statue

A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...

s of bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...

s and Buddhas

Buddhahood

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

.

In a 2003 interview with the Sri Lanka Daily News Lama Yeshe Losal said that the Scottish Tourist board had told him it was the 10th most visited place in Scotland

"There seems to be something about Tibetan Buddhism which appeals to people in the West, where so many people are disillusioned with the stress and the lack of a spiritual aspect in their lives," he told Reuters.

Popular Scottish comedian Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly

William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...

often visits Samyé Ling.

Lama Yeshe Losal has designed a Buddhist tartan

Tartan

Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...

whose colours represent the five elements in Tibetan cosmogeny

"We are fortunate to be established as part of the Scottish community and wanted a tartan for our Sangha to show how much appreciation we have for the people, culture and tradition of Scotland"

External links

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