On Friday, July 24th — the 10th day of the 6th month of the Fire Horse Year, an auspicious day in the Tibetan calendar celebrating the birth of Guru Padmasambhava — Karmapa Center 16 will hold a special consecration ceremony of the Guru Rinpoche statue, followed by a teaching the next day.
His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, regularly teaches about the importance of living and acting in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, was well-known for his great love for animals, especially birds of all kinds. We are therefore deeply grateful that the groundwork was successfully completed with the intention of making a meaningful contribution to the protection of the environment. The existing pond was expanded and deepened, and will continue to offer a resting place for migrating birds such as the Canada Goose and Heron, while also providing water to help prevent fire in case of emergencies.
At the center of the pond now stands the beautifully crafted bronze statue of Guru Rinpoche, which was specially commissioned and made by an artisan in Nepal.
We are deeply honored that Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche will lead the consecration ceremony on Friday, July 24, followed by a profound teaching on Saturday, July 25.
We warmly invite everyone to join us — onsite or online — to mark this significant next step in the development of Karmapa Center 16, as we continue our work to build the temple that will be the home of the 16th Karmapa’s Parinirvana Stupa, Retreat Houses, and more.
July 24 Consecration Ceremony of Guru Rinpoche Statue
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!
Join Our Mailing List
Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
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).
Karmapa Center 16 commemorates His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s parinirvāṇa every year on November 5th, the day of his passing at the clinic which is now called City of Hope Cancer Treatment Center, in Zion, Illinois. Under the guidance of our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, and Lama Tashi Gawa, we will be hosting a full day of pujas and practice in Tibetan. Please register below to receive the Zoom link. If you’d like to join onsite, please make sure you indicate this on the registration form.
We are also deeply honored that our friends in Taiwan will be hosting a 16th Karmapa Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat with a special teaching by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, as well as practices and teachings by our advisor, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and our president, Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, from November 1 to 3, and November 5. You can join online (via Zoom) or onsite. Teachings will be in English or Tibetan with translation into English and Chinese. Recordings will be made available to all registrants.
In addition to the teachings, this special retreat includes a traditional lung (oral transmission) of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Sadhana (from Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche), and practicing this Guru Yoga together in the presence of sacred relics of His Holiness.
Please find a tentative schedule below. Registration includes access to both the Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat and the Parinirvana commemoration. When you register, we will share the Zoom links, how to access recordings, and other practical information. For more information and registration in Chinese, please visit KC16 Taiwan’s Facebook Page.
May we always honor the radiant compassion and enlightened activities of His Holiness.
After making an offering (of any amount) below, a resource page with Zoom links and participation information for the Taiwan and KC16 Wadsworth events will be automatically emailed.
Please see the detailed schedule of pujas prior to the 43rd Parinirvāṇa Anniversary program. The Zoom link will be delivered in a confirmation email. Thank you for being part of this year’s Parinirvāṇa Activities and kind support.
We feel extremely fortunate to announce there will be a Ullambana Festival Puja this year with our precious Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche on August 16 and 17 (Chicago Time).
The origins of this festival can be found in the Ullambana Sutra and is traditionally celebrated throughout the centuries in Asia during the 7th month of the lunar calendar. It relates to the story of Buddha’s disciple Maudgalyāyana wanting to repay his mother’s kindness. Therefore, this month focus on generosity to accumulate merit in general and the dedication of our practice for the benefit of our parents and ancestors.
Please find the schedule of teachings and practices below, how you can join us online, and make auspicious offerings during this special puja.
Schedule
Starts Live at 8PM (Chicago Time, CT) DAY 1 (August 16) – Oral teachings & Essential teachings; Namchö, The Sky Dharma Maha Sukhavati Sadhana (Tibetan/Chinese)
DAY 2 (August 17) – Namchö, The Sky Dharma Maha Sukhavati Sadhana (Tibetan/Chinese), Tsok Offering
On the occasion of this special Ullambana Festival Puja, you can make auspicious offerings. Find below the various options for donations and fill in the form to donate.
Learn more here about the auspicious offering options.
Sage Millennium Buddha Offering. Supporting the Relic Hall – For 1,550 USD, you can permanently sponsor a Buddha statue in the Nirvana Holy Land Relic Hall
(All donations will be used for the construction of the Relic Hall; installment payments are available; donation receipts can be issued for tax deduction).
Tsatsa Offering. Supporting the Relic Hall – For 2,062 USD, you can connect with a Tsa Tsa stupa prayer shrine.
Deceased – Option 1. Friends and relatives can place the most meaningful items of the deceased, such as clothes, jewelry, photos, rosaries, etc., in the Nirvana Holy Land. The sangha lamas will make a Tsa Tsa clay stupa and enshrine it together with the memorial items of the deceased as a source of blessings.
Deceased – Option 2. Regardless of how long the deceased has passed away, a portion of their ashes can be handed over to the Nirvana Holy Land, where the lamas will make a Tsa Tsa clay stupa to be permanently enshrined in the Nirvana Holy Land.
Pre-Reservation. It is also possible to pre-reserve a Tsa Tsa clay stupa shrine during one’s lifetime.
(All donations will be used for the construction of the Relic Hall; installment payments are available; the Karmapa 16th Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States; donations to the Karmapa 16th Center are tax-deductible according to U.S. law; the names of donors will be permanently kept in the Relic Hall of His Holiness and will be blessed and prayed for eternally).
Ignite the Courageous Heart of Compassion, Nalandabodhi’s annual Winter Retreat, will be held online via Zoom and onsite at Nalanda West in Seattle, from Thursday, December 28 to Monday, January 1.
Nalandabodhi is a global Buddhist community founded by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. Rinpoche was recognized, raised, and trained by His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, at Rumtek Monastery. He is a heart son of the Gyalwang Karmapa and serves as Advisor on our Karmapa Center 16 Board of Directors.
On a big screen, KC16 will join the other meditation sessions and teachings by Nalandabodhi Vice Chancellor Acharya Tashi Wangchuk, who will give teachings on Lojong Mind Training; Nalandabodhi senior teacher Mitra Mark Power, who will lead teachings on the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva; Nalandabodhi Karunikas Laura McRae & Ellen Balzé who will lead contemplative reflections; and there will be information about Mind Without Borders (MWB), a prison dharma-based program.
You are welcome to join us at KC16 anytime, for one session, a day, or the entire retreat (see schedule below).
KC16 will offer tea/coffee, lunch and (light) dinner.
Registration We kindly ask KC16 onsite participants to register for Nalandabodhi’s Winter Retreat here. Scholarships to join for a reduced price are available. If you don’t live near KC16, you can register for Nalandabodhi’s Winter Retreat via Zoom here.
Questions? If you have questions about joining us at KC16, please send an email to communications@karmapacenter16.org. If you have questions about Nalandabodhi’s Winter Retreat in general or online participation, please email help@nalandabodhi.org.
Please join Please join Nalandabodhi’s Winter Retreat, Ignite the Courageous Heart of Compassion, to practice meditation and for teachings on Mind-Training (Lojong) and the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva.
On the 4oth anniversary of the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje’s parinirvana, the Karmapa Center 16 held a five-day commemoration joined by Tibetan Buddhist masters with a special connection to His Holiness, such as His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche, His Eminence Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Khandro Rinpoche, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Ayang Rinpoche and Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche.
These special events included two days of prayers to Medicine Buddha and three days of practice on the Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje Guru Yoga. Tai Situ Rinpoche and Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche each composed a Guru Yoga for Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. Both of these are practiced in alternation at the Karmapa Center 16, annually. This year’s 40th anniversary coincided with the turn of the Guru Yoga composed by Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche. The events were joined in person by 13 members of the sangha, several lay practitioners and many more followers over the internet.
Guru Yoga shrine
The teachings and addresses offered by the various Buddhist masters centered, in general, on their experience with His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, and in particular, the teachings they received from him.
Karmapa Center 16 celebrated the extraordinary, enlightened activities of the 16th Karmapa on the occasion of his 40th parinirvana anniversary.
On the great occasion of Saka Dawa, the lamas of the Karmapa Center 16 performed praises and aspirational prayers to the Buddha Shakyamuni, today. On this day, the extraordinary deeds the Buddha manifested 2,600 years ago are remembered by Buddhists all over the world. Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche said that for Tibetan Buddhists, a small difference lies in the way the 15th day of this lunar month day is observed. Some commemorate this full moon day for the Buddha’s deeds of having entered into the womb of his mother, having attained enlightenment and passing into mahaparanirvana. While other Tibetan Buddhists regard his birth, his enlightenment and his passing into mahaparanirvana today. The difference between these two is that the first observes the conception, while the second the birth of the Buddha as the first deed.
Drupon Rinpoche said this lunar month makes special emphasis of six extraordinary deeds of the Buddha. On the seventh day, Tibetan Buddhists remember the Buddha entering his mother’s womb or taking birth; on the eight day, developing renunciation and becoming ordained; and on the 15th day, entering his mother’s womb, or taking birth, overcoming the Mara’s hosts, becoming fully enlightened, and manifesting passing into mahaparanirvana.
We have to apply these deeds of the Buddha to ourselves so that we can remember that we also can attain enlightenment, said Rinpoche. “We also have the capacity to attain these qualities,” Rinpoche added.
Before the change of the Lunar New Year, it is traditional to engage in practices to clear out any remaining negativity lingering from the previous year. Before the beginning of the Year of the Iron Ox, Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche and the lamas at KC16 held pre-Losar Mahakala pujas with abundant offerings to clear the way for hard work, steady progress, and abounding auspiciousness.
Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche and the lamas at KC16 offering a pre-Losar Mahakala pujaProtector Offerings on the Shrine
In a recent post, we learned that one of the main practices of the 16th Karmapa was Tara, but did you know that White Tara was His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s’ yidam? We practice Tara for three main reasons: She is powerful, her blessings are fast, and she is immeasurably kind.
White Tara is practiced by all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is the main deity of other Buddhist practitioners and scholars, including the great master Atisha. She played an important role helping Buddhism flourish once again in Tibet, following some great obstacles, when Atisha was invited to Tibet to reestablish the teachings. Wondering whether he should go or not, Atisha supplicated the White Tara statue in Bodhgaya. She appeared to him in a pure vision and said his journey would be a complete success, that it would benefit many sentient beings, but it would lessen the years of his life.
Due to his great bodhicitta, Atisha went ahead to Tibet and, as prophesied by Tara, accomplished the enormous task of revitalizing and reforming the teachings, and founding Kadampa Buddhism. With good reason, Tara has since been one of the four main yidams of the Kadampa lineage.
Tara is also an important deity in the Kagyu lineage that began when Milarepa’s student Gampopa integrated the Mahamudra teachings of Milarepa with the Kadampa teachings of Atisha, including the practice of Tara. Green Tara symbolizes the fearless and compassionate energy of our mind’s true nature and the resolve to dispel suffering and fear, while White Tara is associated with longevity and healing practice.
KC16 will join Nalandabodhi International for its fifth annual Tara Drupchen to be held online from September 24 to 27, 2020, offering prayers and smoke pujas in Tibetan.
As a precursor to the Tara Drupchen, please enjoy this special audio file of Tara practice in Tibetan recorded in the shrine room at KC16:
We hope you will join us for the Drupchen! The event is free and everyone is welcome to participate by joining practices online, making prayer requests, aspirations, and offerings, and choosing to #gokind in thought, word, and deed. For information and registration please email: communications@nalandabodhi.org.
