The esteemed Tibetan Buddhist teacher and Dzogchen adept Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche on 3 July personally inaugurated Dharma House Lisbon, a new center of Buddhist practice near the Portuguese capital that is affiliated with the growing global mandala of Rinpoche’s Dharma activities.
Dharma House Lisbon was founded with the vision of creating a venue where practitioners in Europe could receive authentic teachings of the Buddhadharma and engage with meditative practices in the Tibetan tradition.
“Our wish is to create a space of openness, where people, especially people from Portugal, can come to get familiarity with their mind and its essence,” Dharma House Lisbon noted earlier this year. “Practicing the Buddhist teachings means creating the right circumstances for our inherent qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, and wisdom to unfold naturally. In our Dharma House Lisbon one can enjoy and practice with a beautiful view over the wide Atlantic Ocean. This helps [us] to calm down, develop a kind heart, and a clear mind.” (Dharma House Lisbon)
Dharma House Lisbon is located in the village of Azenhas do Mar, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, a short distance from Lisbon and a 40-minute drive from Lisbon Airport.
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche’s formal inauguration and blessing included his first in-person Dharma teaching at the new Dharma center. In April, Rinpoche had sent Khenpo Pema Namgyal—an expert scholar practitioner in Buddhist philosophy and meditation and one of Rinpoche’s most trusted personal attendants—to offer the first weekend Dharma seminar at Dharma House Lisbon.*
“The unsurpassed teacher is the precious Buddha,” Rinpoche said during the inaugural teaching on Wednesday. “In this world there are many, many teachers, but our teacher, the Buddha, has inconceivable qualities. The inconceivable quality of his awakened wisdom is such that not only does he know the natural state just as it is, he also knows everything that there is to know. And in this way, his wisdom is truly inconceivable.
“His loving compassion is so incredible that it extends to everyone, to all beings, without any differentiation between friends, enemies, or strangers. His care and love extends to all beings, and this is an inconceivable quality of the Buddha’s love. His qualities are truly amazing. The inconceivable quality of his awakened activity is that it remains in this world today, bringing benefit to so many beings. . . .”
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche is considered to be one of the greatest living masters of the Dzogchen or “Great Perfection” tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism—a gentle yet imposing figure whose of warmth and compassionate presence.
The eldest son of the revered Dzogchen master Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and the devoted practitioner Kunsang Dechen, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche was born in Tibet in 1951. He was recognized as the seventh incarnation of the Drikung Kagyu lama Gar Drubchen, a Tibetan mahasiddha and an emanation of the second-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna.
Following the invasion of Tibet, Rinpoche spent his youth in India, studying for 11 years under the care of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa at Rumtek Monastery. He also studied and practiced under the venerated masters Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen, as well as his own father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.
In 1974, Rinpoche joined his parents in Kathmandu, where he assisted them in establishing Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, a monastery on the outskirts of the city, just a short walk from the benevolent gaze of the venerable Boudhanath Stupa. Rinpoche became the abbot of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling in 1976, at the age of just 25, and has since overseen the welfare and spiritual education of many hundreds of male and female monastics.
Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, a dedicated sanctuary for studying and practicing the Buddhadharma, lies at the heart of Rinpoche’s growing mandala of Dharmic activities. Among his numerous initiatives and projects, Rinpoche, now 72 years old, has authored several books and founded a network of meditation centers around the world.
In 1997, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche established the Rangjung Yeshe Institute within the grounds of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling. The institute affiliated with Kathmandu University in 2002 to form the Center for Buddhist Studies. Today, the center offers a range of courses at various levels, including BA, MA, and PhD degrees in Buddhist studies and Himalayan languages, with classes held at the monastery’s monastic college.
A Dharma House should be an environment dedicated to making authentic Buddhist teachings and meditation practices easily accessible to everyone. — Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
* Dharma House Lisbon to Open in April with Inaugural Teaching from Khenpo Pema Namgyal (BDG)
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Dharma House New York City
Dharma House New York City (Facebook)
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche (Facebook)
Rangjung Yeshe Institute
Shedrub
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