June 11-13, 1987: Coming out of First Retreat at Dhagpo Kundreul Ling and Arrival at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling

After three years, three months, and three days in seclusion from the outside world, the first group of fourteen men and five women to complete the traditional retreat emerged on June 11, 1987 from their drupkang, retreat center, at Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, and then traveled to Dhagpo Kagyu Ling on June 13,1987.

In the presence of Lama Gendun Rinpoche and Lama Teunzang, the retreatants were welcomed by their families, friends, and practitioners for this joyous occasion. The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa indicated five resources for the Buddha’s teachings to take root and remain in a place where they are unknown 

Providing the conditions for the accomplishment of retreats is one of them. Thus, this first traditional retreat guided by Lama Gendun Rinpoche is an important step in anchoring the blessing of the Buddha Dharma and meditative practice in the West.

A month before, everyone was stressed, but at the same time, Gendun Rinpoche had told us how to behave when leaving retreat, both in terms of outward appearance and spiritual advice,” recalls Nicolas Henry, who then participated in construction work at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling after this first retreat. “He was very attentive to us. We could sense his pride in having led us to the end of the three years.

On the road to the Auvergne for the occasion, the late Bernard Lebeau, president of Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, recalls that as he approached the site,

a huge double rainbow shone before us in the direction of Kundreul Ling. The heavy rain stopped.

For Lama Deundam, then aged 25, this outing was eagerly awaited by the retreatants.

I was happy to get out. We had completed a cycle, we had reached the end, it was something important, but at the same time we saw the need to spend three more years.

The path was set for this young practitioner who had come to Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in 1982, completing short retreats with Pawo Rinpoche at the Nehnang Samten Choling center in Les Tranchats, in the Dordogne, and leaving behind his classical guitar studies at the Bordeaux Conservatory.

It was the end of a cycle, but we wanted to begin a second retreat.  Lama Gendun had asked us, and almost all of us were in favor of it. We knew we were going to be away for about a month and a half and that we would return to Le Bost to build the second retreat center. We knew our time out was temporary

A large Mahakala puja was held the next day, and on June 13, the first retreatants set off for Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, where the Dorje Pamo ritual, practiced throughout the third year of retreat, was performed.

On the same day, the 3rd Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche traveled to Dhagpo, where he gave the Tara, Dorje Drolo, and White Manjushri empowerments to the retreatants along with more than 600 people gathered in the tent. “It was the highlight of coming out of retreat. There was a buzz, something very alive,” recalls Deundam. Rinpoche also spent a whole day giving the disciplines of fully ordained monks (gelong) in the small temple.

The retreat group also visited La Pechardie, the residence and practice center of the eminent Nyingma master Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, not far from Dhagpo on the Côte de Jor. Dudjom Rinpoche had passed away in January 1987, and his body remained in the Dordogne for a year and a half before being transported to Nepal.

Most of the retreatants then returned to Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, where they began construction of the second retreat center before embarking on a second retreat in November 1987…

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.