The year after Lama Jigme Rinpoche and Lama Gendun Rinpoche arrived in Landrevie, the Dhagpo Kagyu Ling Association, created on November 9, 1976, provided the first legal structure for supporting Tibetan monks in exile, promoting the Kagyupa school, studying and practicing the Dharma according to all schools of Buddhism, and safeguarding Tibetan philosophy, culture, and sciences, including medicine.
The seat of this association, a non-profit under the French law of 1901, was located at the Château de Chaban. Its three founding members (Mr. Jossand, Mr. Dunoyer, and Mr. Renault) held positions at the Périgueux Court and the region’s Public Treasury, reflecting local involvement and a readiness to support the newcomers and their spiritual activities.
The Dhagpo Kagyu Ling association was registered with the sub-prefecture of Sarlat-la-Canéda and published in the Official Journal on July 6, 1977. Then in 1978, the seat was transferred to Landrevie and the association was restructured, with the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and Lama Jigme Rinpoche as honorary president and vice-president respectively. The board of directors counted a president (Jean-Claude Tavernier) and four vice-presidents, including Bernard Lebeau, future president of Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, Georgina de Swarte, who had officially invited the 16th Karmapa to the West in 1975, Dr. Jean-Pierre Schnetzler and Denis André, a treasurer (Louis Filippi) and a secretary (Anne Berry). Bernard Benson was a founding member. The 1979 program is the first to explicitly mention the Dhagpo Kagyu Ling association.
The current statutes (dating from 2010) specify the relationship with the Karme Dharma Chakra (KDC) Buddhist monastic community, which was legally recognized in January 1988. Until that date, it was the Karma Kagyu Ling religious association, established in October 1977, that was responsible for the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, particularly the Kagyupa branch.
The Karma Kagyu Lama association was dissolved with the official recognition by the French state of the Karme Dharma Chakra Congregation, the first Buddhist community to be recognized in France.
The DKL statutes specify that the association is responsible for implementing all measures enabling the study and practice of the Buddha’s teachings according to the traditions of the Kagyupa schools, as represented by the lineage holder, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, and taught by KDC.
For forty-nine years, the Dhagpo Kagyu Ling association has been the gateway for all practitioners who come to follow the teachings. Indeed, it is essential to be a member in order to participate in activities.
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.l
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.
