Land – Karmapa Center 16

Fourteenth Story Update: Guru Rinpoche blessing statues formed from KC16 earth

(From right to left) Soil, mold for the statues, statues made of blessed earth, and finally statues painted in gold

Last week, soil samples from deep within the land at KC16 were taken as the next step for our engineers and architects to move forward with foundation plans. The contractors gave us the surplus soil, which Drupon Rinpoche and the Lamas on site have been using to construct small Guru Rinpoche statues from the blessed land. They say the soil is so good that nothing extra was needed to hold it together or be strong enough to create the statues. Due to the blessings of the land as the Parinirvana site of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, and being blessed by the 17th Karmapa, this earth is saturated with blessings!

Reminder! KC16 is co-hosting Tara Drupchen with Nalandabodhi International/Nalandabodhi Seattle and Nalanda West from September 24-27. The Tara Drupchen will be especially dedicated to overcoming the current pandemic, to all beings suffering directly or indirectly from it, and to dispelling fear in our world. For registration information email: communications@nalandabodhi.org.

Stupa Land Successfully Purchased!

The Karmapa Center 16 is pleased to announce that at the end of May we successfully purchased the beautiful 10-acre prairie land, farmhouse and outbuildings in Wadsworth, Illinois! Blessed by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, the future site of the parinirvana stupa dedicated to His Holiness the 16th Karmapa is one major step closer to fruition.

Sincere thanks to all of you whose incredible generosity enabled the second challenge grant success thereby achieving the funding goal for the land purchase. Phase One of the three-phase project is now complete. How marvelous and auspicious!

Join our campaign to purchase The Karmapa Center 16 land by October 31st, 2015

His Holiness, the 16th Karmapa with Chogyam Trungpa RInpoche in the United States.

We have an incredible opportunity to purchase the Wadsworth, IL land located 5 miles west of the 16th Karmapa’s parinirvana at the cancer center and blessed by the 17th Karmapa. We invite you to join us in this auspicious undertaking to establish this pilgrimage site in North America!

As we complete ecological and traffic studies to prepare for the county and village meetings and permit approval process, we are simultaneously fundraising to purchase the land. To date, approximately $300,000 has been raised…

in order to close on this property, we require an additional $650,000 by October 31, 2015.

How can I help, you ask?

We’re so very glad you did! There are several ways to make a connection to the project and contribute meaningfully:

Donate in the following ways:
- Online
- Write a check to “The Karmapa Center 16” and mail to: 41230 Kilbourne Road, Wadsworth, IL 60083
- Wire transfer or direct deposit by contacting us at info@karmapacenter16.org, Subject line: DONATION

Spread the word
- Tell your friends!
- Share the news on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn
- Contact us at info@karmapacenter16.org for brochures/pledge card packages to distribute
Share your stories, experiences, pictures and memories with the 16th Karmapa by emailing us at info@karmapacenter16.org
- Video yourself sharing the story
- Write your story
- Scan your pictures or memorabilia

We look forward to hearing from you!

HHK blesses proposed Stupa ground — HHK17 blesses the proposed HHK16 parinirvana stupa ground at The Karmapa Center 16

16th Karmapa Proposed Stupa Ground Blessing Ceremony

Architectural Plans

The preliminary draft plans drawn by architect Keith Spruce show that the parinirvana stupa will be on the western third of the ten-acre property. The 30 foot stupa will be enclosed by a building with the entrance facing east towards the cancer center. This stupa and meditation hall will offer seating for over 100 meditators and enable circumambulation around the stupa from the inside as well as the outside. The current proposal includes windows around the top portion of the stupa in order to be visible from the outside.

The current 17th Gyalwang Karmapa continues to employ ethical programs for living in harmony with the environment, such as the Khoryug Environmental Protection Program: Khoryug Vision. To this extent, our goals include environmental conservation and sustainable environmentally responsible practices proposed wherever possible for new construction, remodeling or removal of buildings proposed on this site. For example, we are considering uses of gray-water recycling, composting toilets & dry urinals, green roofs, natural native landscaping, natural storm water retention and processing on-site, pervious pavement areas, low-energy use buildings utilizing passive and active energy conservation system, among other considerations. Our intention is to minimize the impact on the natural environment as much as possible while restoring and harmonizing our proposed site development plans with the natural rural surroundings and improvements.

Proposed Stupa Site

We have located a lovely 10-acre property in Wadsworth, IL 5 miles almost directly west of the cancer center. We are leasing the property with option to buy with successful completion of appropriate studies, permits and approval of the Wadsworth Village Board.

The property includes an existing single-family and caretaker’s house where we Lamas and religious workers reside. In the back third of the land is where we are planning the building of the stupa.