There are still small finiishes to add to the Temple builoding. Please go to our
page to assist. The President of Zandokpalri Foundaton visited the monastery in late 2010 for the official consecration and openin ceremonies and has returned with stunning images of the progress made to date.
A unique group of the finest artists from Bhutan and Nepal have gathered over the past two years to work under Kunzang Dechen Lingpa Rinpoche, one of the last remaining visionary masters of Tibetan Buddhism. These artists are assisting in the construction of a new monastery and temple with a community called Zangdokpalri, named after the changeless visionary abode of Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), who subdued demonic forces and established the practice of Buddhism in Tibet in the 9th century.
According to the Nyingma (Ancient) Buddhist tradition, Guru Rinpoche promised that in the future he would reappear in the form of tertons (revealers of Dharma treasures) to revitalize Buddhism for the benefit of all beings. Kunzang Dechen Lingpa Rinpoche is considered such a terton and is widely known as one who personifies compassion and spiritual power, combined with integrity and a playful delight in life.
Instructions to construct a new monastery and temple were revealed to Kunzang Dechen Lingpa Rinpoche in a dream after seven years of solitary retreat, along with an exact vision of where the structure should be placed and what it should look like. Some years later, Rinpoche found the site on a hilltop in Arunachal Pradesh in the Himalayas, one of the poorest and most remote areas in the world although also one of the most spectacularly beautiful. The location is exactly as described in his dream, including its relationship to eight surrounding major mountains and to local caves to the north, south, east and west.
With his own limited resources, Rinpoche acquired the land and started work; a monastic community of over 170 monks and nuns has since come together under his guidance. It is Rinpoche's aspiration that this community will become an oasis of Buddhist scholarship, sacred art, meditation and service. A new medical clinic is planned and will have a staff of doctors both Western and Tibetan, a social worker to teach hygiene, and a large supply of medicines to distribute to the needy throughout the surrounding impoverished community.
The precise size, appearance and architectural details of the new temple are being constructed exactly according to Rinpoche's dreams of Guru Rinpoche's Palace of Lotus Light in the Copper Colored Mountain pure land. The external form of the structure is complete and now the artists can proceed to make the statues and paintings. Those of us who appreciate this sacred art can now give back to the traditional cultural origins to preserve the art and carry on these traditions. So far, nearly US$500,000 has been raised in four years, mostly in small donations of $100 or less; a million more is needed.
Rinpoche's activities in the West are sponsored by the Zangdokpalri Foundation for Great Compassion, a registered charity. All donations are tax deductible in the USA. Please click on the links below to support the work of the Foundation or for additional information on this unique community, photo galleries, and an online store.
GO TO THE REPORT ON THE CONSECRATION & OPENING OF THE TEMPLE & VIEW LATEST PHOTO GALLERIES OF THE TEMPLE ~ DECEMBER 2009!