Our friends at Nalandabodhi Seattle are hosting Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen over two Sundays to present the First Karmapa’s teachings on Six Things for Quickly Achieving Enlightenment.
Düsum Khyenpa, founder of the Karma Kagyü school, dedicated his life to benefiting beings. His essential instructions remind us of the union of faith, wisdom, compassion, meeting the lama, requesting Dharma, and making effort—all timeless yet deeply meaningful for our lives today.
With gratitude for this precious offering, we kindly invite you to join this opportunity to learn from the wisdom of the First Karmapa. For details and registration, please visit seattle.nalandabodhi.org.
May we all be inspired by Düsum Khyenpa’s example to help others, pacify conflicts, and heal the sick with courage and boundless compassion.
This practice-intensive is preceded by a traditional lung transmission offered by Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, followed by an opening teaching from Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
Karmapa Center 16 is delighted to share that our friends at Nalandabodhi will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of their annual Tara Drupchen, a special practice-intensive gathering, taking place September 18–21, 2025, both onsite at Nalanda West in Seattle and online. This year’s Drupchen is particularly historic, as it is the first time in the West that practitioners will engage in The Ritual of the Five-Deity Tara and Tara Mandala—a compilation offered by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
The Tara Drupchen is guided by Nalandabodhi’s founder and Karmapa Center 16’s Advisor, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, together with Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, President of Karmapa Center 16, who will also play a significant role in this year’s event.
Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche will offer the Tibetan lung (reading transmission) for The Ritual of the Five-Deity Tara and Tara Mandala, ensuring practitioners receive the blessings of the lineage and are fully connected to this profound practice.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche will offer an opening teaching, illuminating Tara’s liberating activity and the compassionate essence of this practice for our times.
Acharya Lhakpa Tshering will help with the preparations and also join this practice-intensive retreat at Nalanda West.
The Drupchen also features the liturgy The Heart of the Two Accumulations: A Mandala Ritual from the Mind-Terma, Profound Drop of Tara, continuing the tradition of practice that has sustained many through these ten years. Participants will be able to join onsite, with their local sanghas, or online, ensuring the blessings reach far.
This 10th anniversary not only celebrates a decade of community practice but also deepens our connection with the activity of Tara, whose swift compassion has always been supported by the Kagyü lineage and the blessings of the Karmapas. From the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, who upheld the living heart of the lineage, to His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, who has carefully prepared this Tara ritual, the continuity of blessings is evident in this historic occasion.
For more details, registration, and prayer request forms, please visit Nalandabodhi’s website.
May the merit of this anniversary Tara Drupchen bring peace, healing, and the swift removal of obstacles for all beings.
Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
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Hosted by our friends at the Contemplative Resource Center
The Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origins to Buddha Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva, and Garab Dorje of Uddiyana, brought to Tibet in the eighth century by Guru Padmasambhava. Central to this ancient lineage are the Nine Yānas, with Dzogchen (Great Perfection) as the highest teaching.
The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339), born into a tantric Nyingma family, received complete transmissions within both the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions. It was through visionary experience during retreat that he received the Dzogchen teachings from masters Vimalamitra and Padmasambhava, unifying the Dzogchen tantras of the Nyingma lineage with the Kagyü Mahāmudrā.
This is a rare chance to receive guidance on these profound teachings from one of today’s foremost lineage masters and learn to bring the instructions of the Dzogchen into daily life and practice for the benefit of the world.
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Karmapa Center 16 commemorates His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s parinirvāṇa every year on November 5, the day of his passing at AIC, now called City of Hope Cancer Treatment Center, in Zion, Illinois. In addition to this full day of traditional pujas and practices in Tibetan, we will hold our second 16th Gyalwang Karmapa Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat on the weekend of November 1 and 2, and practice Amitabha on November 6.
On November 6, as part of this year’s 44th Parinirvāṇa Anniversary of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, we will practice the Namchö Dewachen sādhana—“The Recitation Manual for the Sādhana of Sukhāvatī from the Profound Cycle of the Whispered Lineage of the Heart-Treasure of the Namchö.” This Amitabha practice is especially relevant for our time because:
We have the opportunity to act for the benefit of ourselves and others, making our human life meaningful and fruitful.
Amitabha teaches that genuine aspiration toward Sukhāvatī or Dewachen, combined with focused mind and positive deeds, creates the path for rebirth there. One way of thinking about rebirth is simply as the next moment—supporting both our own well-being and that of the global community day by day.
To open this path, we need to sincerely aspire to be born in Dewachen or Sukhāvatī, cultivate virtuous actions, and dedicate the merit of these actions for the benefit of all beings.
Making Offerings Part of this practice includes making offerings and dedicating our practice for loved ones who have recently passed. The prayers and recitations will be chanted in Tibetan. The names of deceased loved ones will be screenshared.
You are warmly invited to join this practice onsite or online–participating through meditation and reciting Amitabha’s mantra–by registering for our 44th Parinirvana Anniversary. You can make a dedicated Amitabha offering during registration by selecting “In honor/memory of.”
16th Gyalwang Karmapa Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat 2025
In honor of the 44th Parinirvāṇa Anniversary, we will also host our second 16th Gyalwang Karmapa Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat on November 1 and 2. This will be held online and onsite in Hong Kong with special teachings by His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, His Eminence the 12th Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche.
We hope you will join us to learn more about the inspiring life and teachings of the 16th Karmapa and to receive instructions on elegantly concise and profound Guru Yoga Sadhana, “Rainfall of Nectar,” composed by the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje.
Teachings will be in Tibetan or English with translation into Mandarin, Cantonese, and English (when teachings are in Tibetan). Practice sessions will be in Chinese.
Recordings will be made available on November 12 to all registrants. You will receive information on how to access the recordings via email.
A Zoom link and more practical information for joining live (online or onsite) will be shared after registration.
Please note that the registration for this Guru Yoga Teaching and our Parinirvāṇa Anniversary on November 5 and 6 are separate.
We hope you will join us for our various activities on the occasion of the 44th Parinirvāṇa Anniversary of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. May we all be inspired by life and teachings of His Holiness and bring the same compassion and enlightened activities into our lives for the benefit of the world.
SCHEDULE
44th Parinirvāṇa Anniversary at Karmapa Center 16 and online
All times are shown in the local time zone, Central Standard Time (Chicago). Please note: Daylight Saving Time ends on November 2, 2025.
*Schedule for KC16 pujas onsite in Wadsworth, IL, USA on November 5, 2025 Click here to see the start time in your local time zone.
Registration
Please register for our 44th Parinirvāṇa Anniversary on November 5 and Amitabha practice on November 6 below. After making an offering (of any amount), a resource page with Zoom links and participation information will be automatically emailed to you. If you don’t see it, please check your spam folder.
Thank you for being part of this year’s Parinirvāṇa Anniversary. We look forward to practicing with you.
During the month of July, over 108 practitioners from around the world joined together for Karmapa Center 16’s first shared walk or “kora” (circumambulation) practice at the Boudha Stūpa (Jarung Kashor) in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Preparing for Our Walks
Before our practice began, Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche kindly shared some personal reflections on pilgrimage. Through the generosity of several organizations, we prepared a small bag with practical items to support participants on their walks around the Stūpa. Each bag also included a calligraphy card by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, as well as caring instructions for kora practice from Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
The Experience of Walking Around the BoudhaStūpa
Some participants began their walks in the quiet hours before dawn, while others came during the day or evening, joining the continuous stream of devoted Dharma practitioners walking around the Stūpa. In just a few days—or slowly, over the span of several weeks—everyone completed at least 108 circumambulations around this sacred place.
The practice was deeply felt by everyone. One participant shared the following heartfelt words:
“Since I could feel this practice was for the benefit of all living beings, Every step became charged with mindfulness. While we are circumambulating the Stūpa in this way, I felt our aspirations could reverse the wheel of karma. Slowly removing all obstacles, Alleviating disasters, Big things become small, Small things become nothing. So, when feeling tired I encouraged myself to continue. Circumambulating as much as I could. Since the more I walk, The more sentient beings could benefit.”
Many described feeling the gaze of the Buddha above them, and spoke about the inspiration and support they found through this shared practice. The experience of walking kora held an extra layer of significance for many, as this period also coincided with the Parinirvana Anniversary of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche—a direct student of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa and a great Kagyü master. This alignment further deepened our practice and strengthened our resolve to walk in their footsteps, inspired by their lives and teachings.
It was heartwarming to hear their stories and how they felt joining the kora practice during this time was a real support on their spiritual path and encouragement to continue practicing the Dharma after returning home.
16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga and Tshok Offering
During this month of July, On July 6, 2025, Karmapa Center 16 organized its first Guru Yoga practice and Tshok offering at the sacred Boudha Stupa (Jarung Kashor) in Kathmandu, Nepal, with the kind support of our friends at Dilyak Monastery—located near the Stupa and the residence of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa during his pilgrimages and teachings in Nepal.
A large tent was set up with a thangka of His Holiness at the center of a beautiful mandala. Under the gaze of the Buddha’s eyes from the Stupa, everyone—onsite and online—came together to practice the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga, Rainfall of Nectar, with heartfelt devotion. We chanted the mantra together, invoking the blessings of the guru for our path and awaken the enlightened qualities from within—Karmapa Khyenno!
Soon after completing the practice and tshok offering, a heavy rain began to fall, as if blessing the gathering.
Walking the Path of Freedom for the Benefit of All
We extend our deep gratitude to all who participated and all who supported our kora and guru yoga practice in countless ways. The funds raised, and the merit generated through our collective effort, will help advance our ongoing Stūpa Project, and we hope it may inspire many more to walk the path of freedom, for the benefit of all.
Karmapa Khyenno!
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When embarking on a pilgrimage to sacred sites, the most important thing is to first understand the reasons and significance behind visiting these holy places—their historical background, the benefits they offer, and how to maintain proper motivation throughout the journey.
Begin by taking refuge and generating bodhicitta, the wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. Then, make efforts to accumulate merit and purify obscurations. Finally, conclude the pilgrimage with dedication and aspiration prayers; these steps are essential.
During the pilgrimage, make a personal commitment—such as, “From today onward, I will maintain a five-minute daily meditation practice without interruption.” Carrying this intention throughout your pilgrimage will make the entire journey extraordinarily meaningful and powerful.
Sending heartfelt blessings, Dilyak Drupon
P.S. This July, 2025, Karmapa Center 16 is organizing for the first time a month-long practice of walking around (“doing kora”) the Boudha Stupa in Kathmandu (Nepal). If you are in Kathmandu and would like to join in this practice, please visit us at Dilyak Monastery (near Boudha Stupa).
Inspired by the Kagyü lineage and the lives and teachings of the Karmapas, as well as our recently discussed Ngulchu Tokmé’s classical text, The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, we continue our practice under the guidance of Acharya Lhakpa Tshering through meditation and dharma talks.
Sunday Meditation for All
In each Sunday Meditation for All session, we will practice śamatha (calm-abiding) meditation together and study and contemplate on Dharma topics. We explore how to live in harmony with the instructions of the great Dharma masters to find genuine freedom, happiness, and positive change.
What: Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice
When: Every Sunday, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM Central Time (Chicago, USA)
Where: Online on Zoom and Onsite at KC16
Whether you are new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, familiar with the Dharma or just curious, our Sunday sessions are open to everyone. We hope to support each other in cultivating wisdom and compassion on the path to freedom.
For online access, please register here for the Zoom link. Our sessions will begin at 10:30 am and finish around 11:30 am Central Standard Time (Chicago, US). Can’t join us live or would like to review a session? Please know that we’ll share recordings that you can (re-)view for 21 days on a dedicated resource page.
It’s our great honor and joy to practicing and traveling the path to freedom, loving kindness, and compassion with you and many others around the world, under the guidance of our resident teachers and the blessings of the lineage of the Karmapas.
Registration and Offerings
Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice. You can join for free by selecting a ‘free ticket’. If you would like, you can make a donation to support our Stūpa Project or make a teaching offering for Acharya Lhakpa, KC16’s resident teacher, of any amount. After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email.
KC16’s Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses
Alongside our Sunday morning Meditation for All dharma talks & practice, we will study and practice basic dharma discourses together with some colloquial conversations, grammar, and the art of translating Tibetan in our weekly Tibetan Language Class. Everyone is welcome to join.
