The establishment of centers offering traditional retreats lasting three years, three months, and three days is an important part of anchoring the Dharma in the West and was the main reason Lama Gendun Rinpoche came to Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in 1975. In a letter dated July 13, 1978, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, wrote,
In Europe, in France, in Chaban area,
I established Dhagpo Kagyu Ling,
an essential foundation including a temple and a monastic environment
where the profound methods of the Six Yogas of Naropa and the profound path of the Mahamudra
can be practiced in an appropriate way in retreat centers.
Although the retreat center project had not yet come about at this time (the location was still to be determined due to difficulties in establishing it in the Dordogne), the preparation of aspiring retreatants had nonetheless begun. Indeed, withdrawing from the world for three years to practice the liberating methods of the Karma Kagyu lineage is not an ordinary decision. Future retreatants must undergo training and acquire certain theoretical knowledge (reading Tibetan, explanation of certain meditative practices) and practical skills (making tormas, learning musical instruments, etc.). Thus, beginning in 1981, Dhagpo Kagyu Ling organized teaching sessions specifically for future retreatants, such as explanations of the practices of Mahakala and Dorje Pamo. In August 1981, Mipham Chökyi Lodrö, the 14th Künzig Shamarpa, came to teach at Dhagpo for the first time. Following his teachings, from September 11 to 20, 1981, he gave the empowerment of Gampopa practice as well as the major empowerments of the yidams that would be practiced in retreat:
- Gyalwa Gyamtso
- Korlo Demchok
- Dorje Pamo
- Mahakala
Empowerment is the sine qua non condition for the practice of the Mantrayana. It is accompanied by the ritual reading and practice instructions. We might ask ourselves the following question: as we all possess buddha nature, why is empowerment so important? Tselé Natsok Rangdröl gives us the answer in his book entitled The Wish-fulfilling Nectar that Delights the Fortunate, a work recommended by Shamarpa,
With regard to empowerment, the cause or seed is already primordially present in our stream of being. The blessing of the master and the methods [employing] symbols act as the conditions that reveal it: for example, consider the enthronement of a universal monarch. The individual enthroned must be faultless and of royal lineage; yet until he is established on the throne, he is called prince and not king. Once he is enthroned and entrusted with the governance of the kingdom, he truly becomes the king. In the same way, even though the seed of the four empowerments—the constituent of the disciple—is primordially present in the stream of his being, as long as it is not ripened by empowerment, wisdom will not be actualized. Once the disciple embarks on the path of ripening and liberation, the wisdom of the stream of his being will be actualized
In The Wish-fulfilling Nectar that Delights the Fortunate, offered in response to questions on the essential points of the empowerment that brings about maturation and the path to liberation, the Mahamudra.
The empowerments transmitted by Shamarpa during these few days were ones that introduce the practitioner to the mandala of the given yidam; they are called major empowerments. During the Chenrezig course in May 2023, Jigme Rinpoche emphasized that an empowerment can certainly be transmitted by a qualified teacher; however, when conferred by a Karmapa or a Shamarpa, the quality of their enlightened blessing is such that it activates the practitioner’s maturation all the more efficiently, provided the latter is well- prepared and well-equipped:
It is important to understand that many people can transmit an empowerment, but its effect depends on the level of the person transmitting it. If the person is an eminent bodhisattva, the effect will not be the same as if it were someone who follows the empowerment procedure in the same way but without having the same quality. From an external standpoint, the empowerment will be exactly the same, but from the point of view of the effect, what is called jinlap (blessing), it will be very different.
The transmission of these empowerments by Shamarpa, at a time when Dhagpo was still in its infancy, marked this land, which was discovering the Buddha Dharma, with the subtle seal of enlightenment. Künzig Shamarpa gave the Gyalwa Gyamtso empowerment again at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in June 2013, during the inauguration of the Institute.
1 སྨིན་བྱེད་དབང་དང་གྲོལ་ལམ་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོའི་གནད་དོན་གྱི་དྲི་བ་ལན་དུ་ཕུལ་བ་བསྐལ་བཟང་དགའ་བྱེད་བདུད་རྩིའི་འདོད་འཇོ།
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.
Event
To commemorate this event, on September 11, the extensive Dorje Pamo ritual will be performed throughout the day at the Dhagpo Kagyu Ling Institute.
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.
