March 17, 1984 – A Historical Step: The First Three-Year Retreat

Close to 6:30 in the evening, after a day of rituals, a convivial buffet, the receiving of their sacred  texts, and a procession around their future place of practice, fifteen men and five women crossed the threshold of the retreat center or drupkang located in Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, which they would not leave for the traditional period of three years, three months, and three days.

His Holiness the 16th Karmapa had advised that at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling “a temple, a monastery, and a retreat center to welcome those who wish to practice the profound means of Naropa’s Six Yogas within the guidelines and those who wish to follow the profound path of the Great Seal, Mahamudra, must be built.” (Dhagpo Kagyu Ling Informational Letter, 1980).

As early as 1980, a letter from Dhagpo Kagyu Ling to supporters emphasizes the necessity of building a place for retreat. Gendun Rinpoche, who had himself spent some thirty years in retreat, insisted on

the importance of longterm retreats, which allow for the states of meditative absorption without which realization is not possible.”

In this pioneering period of the Buddha Dharma’s arrival in the West, setting up traditional three-year retreats allowed for planting the seeds for intensive practice of the methods that liberate. Gendun Rinpoche also emphasized

the motivation of those who participate in building retreat centers. They must do so for the benefit of beings. Otherwise, construction will not be able to be completed.”

Practitioners living at Dhagpo expressed their interest in accomplishing such a retreat to Gendun Rinpoche and in helping to build a dedicated center. Having been moved by the coming out of retreat in Plaige at Kalu Rinpoche’s center, François Theaux, who was twenty-seven at the time, was the first to request participating, though he admits with humor that he had some doubts leading up to the day itself. 

Though the retreat center did not yet exist, spiritual preparation began immediately. In September 1981, Shamar Rinpoche gave Dorje Pamo, Korlo Demchok, and Mahakala empowerments to the retreat applicants along with several public teachings. He notably transmitted Mahamudra, Pointing Out the Dharmakaya (chakchen chöku dzuptsup ཕྱག་ཆེན་ཆོས་སྐུ་མཛུབ་ཚུགས།), by the 9th Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje, which is one of the essential texts on Mahamudra. He also explained the fundamental texts by the 3rd Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, which are a prerequisite for approaching the view that underlies the practice of the Buddhist tantras:

• The treatise entitled Revealing the Essence of the Tathagatha (Dezhin shekpa nyingpo tenpa zhejawa tenchö དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།)
• The Treatise that Distinguishes Object-Oriented Knowledge from Primordiale Knowledge (Namshé Yeshé Jépé tenchö རྣམ་ཤེས་ཡེ་ཤེས་འབྱེད་པའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།)

Tenga Rinpoche gave them the explanation of Mahakala practice and Dorje Pamo practice in October of that same year. Furthermore, as Lama Namgyal recalls, “We learned Tibetan—because it was important to know how to read very well and how to play the musical instruments for the rituals. Lama Gendun gave teachings ceaselessly and many empowerments.”

But they still needed the place. Administrative difficulties hindered getting a building permit on the Côte de Jor. Research in a radius around Dhagpo Kagyu Ling extending as far as Sarlat failed. Then, an occasion presented itself elsewhere, in Auvergne, where Arnaud Desjardins—an author and filmmaker who introduced the public to the wisdom of Tibetan masters—offered very favorable conditions  for the acquisition of buildings in Le Bost, where he had a center for teachings and meditation. There was a strong spiritual imprint there, and he wished for it to be an authentic place for the Dharma. The 16th Karmapa had been received there in 1977 and had carried out the Black Crown Ceremony. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Dujom Rinpoche had also stayed there.

A first house was bought in late 1983, and the future retreat participants quickly set to work preparing the building—setting up individual rooms, the temples, the enclosure walls, and the boundary between the men’s and women’s retreat center. Events occurred in quick succession. In late February 1984, Kundreul Ling invited the local authorities to visit the site and Gendun Rinpoche gave a short teaching. “On March 7; the Tibetan New Year; Losar, an open house was organized and despite the cool weather, the day allowed for meeting the retreat participants and presenting the Karma Kagyu school to them. Gendun Rinpoche conferred monastic disciplines upon the retreat participants. During this time, a new team of residents settled in at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling to take care of the center following the retreat participants departure,” we can read in Tendrel magazine issue number six (July 1984).

On the day itself, Lama Teunsang, Lama Pema Dorje, and Lama Purtsela were present for the entry into retreat. Lama Namgyal recalls, “We knew each other well because we had lived together at Dhagpo for at least four years. We were a very united group, and we had such devotion for Lama Gendun.” 

The first year, the retreat focused on the preliminaries, Lojong, shine, and lhaktong, the second year on Dorje Pamo practice, and the third on Naropa’s six yogas. Lama Gendun specified, “I go to the retreat center every month to see what’s new and measure the progress of practice. Each person relates their experiences, and, according to this, gradually, the teachings are given.” (Tendrel, Issue 7, 1985). Additionally, the retreatants received a visit from Pawo Rinpoche and Kalu Rinpoche in 1984, and Shamar Rinpoche came twice over the course of the retreat, while Situ Rinpoche and Lama Teunsang each came once. 

Thinking back on this time and the evolution of the place since then, François Theaux, a member of this first retreat, remembers, “We didn’t realize the scope of what was happening and what it would become. Gendun Rinpoche and Lama Jigmela had the vision for what was to come. A wish resonates; it grows.”

Since that date,  eleven cycles of three-year retreats have taken place at Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, marking a decisive step for the establishment of Dharma in the West.
Over the course of establishing the Dharma in the West, as generations of retreatants succeeded one another, it became clear that a solid foundation in knowledge of the Buddha’s teaching constitutes an indispensable basis for this type of intensive practice. Additionally, the program for the three-year retreats evolved under the direction of Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa.