Looking Back on 2025, Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s Fiftieth Anniversary

We began our retrospective of Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s fiftieth anniversary with the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje’s first visit to the Côte de Jor on January 21, 1975, the day he marked out the land that would become the European center of the Karma Kagyu lineage.

Month after month, through some sixty articles, hundreds of photos, press clippings, and archival documents, we retraced the events, encounters, and activities that sowed the seeds of blessing here, allowing thousands of people to come into contact with the wisdom of the Buddha. These events were commemorated by numerous practice sessions—recitation of sutras and guru yogas, yidam practices, smoke offerings, as well as the broadcasting of teachings given by masters. All these were ways to connect us to the living history of the place and the lineage.

Deeply convinced of the benefits of the Dharma for all sentient beings, the 16th Karmapa outlined five resources to help it take root in our lives in an authentic, lasting, and living way. Over the course of the year we presented the gradual realization of these resources: a network of learning and meditation centers to provide access to Buddhism; a network of libraries to preserve the teachings and make them accessible; institutes to acquire precise knowledge of the teachings; retreat centers to deepen meditative practice; and places of residence, including a monastery, to perpetuate a living tradition.

These conditions constitute a solid foundation for the development of learning, reflection, and meditative practice. They were brought together thanks to the immense generosity of qualified teachers sent by the 16th Karmapa to France, notably Lama Jigme Rinpoche in May 1975, aged twenty-five, and Lama Gendun Rinpoche in August 1975, aged almost sixty.

These conditions constitute a solid foundation for the development of learning, reflection, and meditative practice. They were brought together thanks to the immense generosity of qualified teachers sent by the 16th Karmapa to France, notably Lama Jigme Rinpoche in May 1975, aged twenty-five, and Lama Gendun Rinpoche in August 1975, aged almost sixty.

From 1981 until his parinirvana in 2014, Künzig Shamar Rinpoche, the Red Hat Karmapa, taught and conferred empowerments almost every year at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, also taking care to confer the essential transmissions of the lineage in the retreat centers in Auvergne. Over the years, the historic temple of Dhagpo Kagyu Ling has welcomed many eminent masters from all lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.

In 2000, Thaye Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, then aged sixteen, taught for the first time at Dhagpo. Künzig Shamarpa also ensured that the young Karmapa received, notably at Kundreul Ling, not only the complete transmissions of the Karma Kagyu lineage practices, but also those associated with other Tibetan Buddhist lineages from the most eminent masters who held them.

In a letter written on the eve of his departure for France in 1977, the 16th Karmapa stated that:

Thus, the Gyalwa Karmapa indicated key texts of Buddhist philosophy to be taught. Künzig Shamar Rinpoche and Lama Jigme Rinpoche worked to make this possible with the assistance of Khenpo Chödrak Rinpoche—through the creation of the summer university in 1994, then gradually, by setting up the so-called internal study and meditation curriculum, and later, the Chenrezig curriculum, with the arrival of khenpos and acharyas, trained in the shedrás in India and invited by Jigme Rinpoche to share their knowledge in the West.

Dhagpo was built with masters, but also with the commitment and skills of generations of people touched by their example of wisdom and compassion, and by the answers provided by the Dharma to the ills of existence. The old dilapidated farmhouse of the early days has given way to a complex of renovated and new buildings, allowing for the implementation of a rich program intended for both curious beginners and experienced practitioners in search of precision. In addition to all the driving forces that contributed to the creation of Dhagpo as it is today, it is also through everyone’s generosity via participatory financing that the site has developed, from building the Institute to the ongoing construction of the Institute’s residences today.

This retrospective was above all a collaborative journey, initiated by Jigme Rinpoche: groups organized by five-year period combed through the programs, the Tendrel journal and other documents to identify potential events to communicate about. These were presented to Jigme Rinpoche month after month, who at the same time indicated the practices to be performed in order to commemorate these dates. Throughout the year, the Dhagpo teams worked in joyful spirit to disseminate teachings, make articles, photos, and archival documents available on the multilingual website and welcome practitioners for the various commemorations.

This journey was rich in inspiring encounters and exchanges, with public talks by Lama Jigme Rinpoche, Khenpo Chödrak Rinpoche, Thinley Rinpoche, Dongsung Shabdrung Rinpoche, Anne Benson, and others. Many practitioners were able to join in the body-speech-mind offering made to Lama Jigme Rinpoche to celebrate his fifty years of continuous activity at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling and throughout the world on May 3, by copying the Sutra of Longevity and participating in the acquisition of the beautiful statue of Chenrezig, now placed in the historic temple.

We sincerely thank each and every one of you for your support and participation, and for all the connections that have been created or renewed throughout the year. It is important to us that this exceptional retrospective and the many archives collected remain accessible to all. You can continue to view them on Dhagpo’s website.

Lama Jigme Rinpoche tirelessly encourages everyone to simply continue making the Dharma of the Buddha accessible. Each person’s study, practice, and activity contributes to Dhagpo’s stability and influence, and to anchoring the Dharma in our daily lives. Last November, Jigme Rinpoche explained that the resources recommended by the 16th Karmapa were available, but that it was now very important to maintain the continuity of the transmissions received so that the practice would remain alive.

These photos come from our archives or were collected as part of the research for Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s 50th anniversary. We have not been able to identify all the authors. The use of these photos is solely for informational purposes within the context of Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s 50th anniversary celebration. Their use is limited to this event and our website and is not for commercial purposes.