Guided by Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, Our Groundwork is Moving Forward

In May of 2015, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, blessed the proposed site of the Parinirvāṇa Stūpa at Karmapa Center 16. Ten years later, almost to the month, the lamas at the Center held traditional pujas and a Vase Ceremony in preparation for the construction of the temple that will house the Parinirvāṇa Stūpa for His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. From aspiration to manifestation, a decade of collective, continuous, and heartfelt effort led to groundbreaking for the Stūpa Temple, which will house the Parinirvāṇa Stūpa, and other buildings in July, 2025. 


Sacred Site

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje was the first Karmapa to display parinirvāṇa outside of Tibet. There is no coincidence that His Holiness did so here in Zion, Illinois, consecrating this site as sacred. The Parinirvāṇa Stūpa will be a physical commemoration of His Holiness, encouraging and allowing visitors to make a direct connection with him. 1

“There is a spiritual power in the earth of a sacred place, and it influences the activities performed there,” Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, advisor to KC16, once said. “A sacred place has the energy to bring more joy, compassion, love and awakening from a deep state of delusion. …when we recollect the life-example of His Holiness, full of loving-kindness and compassion, we can extract blessings to manifest those teachings in our own life.”

Stūpas not only represent the enlightenment and/or the life activities of great lineage masters like the 16th Karmapa, they also benefit and protect the environment, and offer a source of merit for countless beings, now and in the future.

Throughout the construction of the Temple and other buildings, we remain steadfast in our commitment to honor the vast love and care that His Holiness embodied for all beings. There are and will be necessary changes to the land, yet we are inspired by the blessings the Temple will bring for the birds and other animals who live here, and for the practitioners and pilgrims who visit or stay for retreats. 

First next steps

Before the engineers and construction team could begin their work, the site needed clearing. The first step, taken by our devoted volunteers and kind friends from Asia, was to respectfully take down the prayer flags marking the circumference of the Temple. It was a poignant moment to see the flags removed, after their sending prayers and blessings on the wind for so many years, yet it meant an exciting move closer toward the building of the Temple.

Next, with great care, the lamas gently cut the grasses—revealing the spaciousness and beauty of the grounds—to prepare the land for the engineers, workers, volunteers, and machines to lay the necessary pipes, pumps, and underground infrastructure. 

With utmost attention and prayers, we are now enlarging and deepening our beautiful, natural pond that has long been a peaceful refuge for birds and other beings at KC16. The change will continue to bring well-being to countless creatures, and if needed, serve as a source of water for the future Parinirvāṇa Stūpa Temple. 

Next spring or maybe sooner, we will place a statue of Guru Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) in the center—the heart—of the pond and humbly dedicate it to the benefit of all who visit. We hope it will help make the future residence of the 17th Karmapa a calm and inspiring place for His Holiness whenever he honors us with a visit. 

A Meaningful Journey

As the work continues, each small action becomes part of a steady, meaningful journey, moving the project forward day by day, week by week, with the support and aspirations of you, all our friends and community around the world. Under the caring guidance of our president, Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, we can move not only this project forward, but also find inspiration to progress on our personal spiritual path and bring our shared aspirations for the world to fruition.

Every step, both seen and unseen, inspires confidence, trust, and devotion. All the ongoing groundwork is in service to the Karmapa lineage and the enduring presence of the teachings. Our shared project is dedicated to the benefit of beings for generations to come. Your continued support makes it all possible; it is deeply appreciated and gratefully received.

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  1. The aspiration of Karmapa Center 16 is to establish a place for pilgrimage, meditation, retreat, study, and refuge, in honor of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. Building a Temple for His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Parinirvana Stupa will offer powerful connections with the compassionate life example and teachings of HH the 16th Karmapa. Creating this temple will fulfill vast aspirations to benefit beings and encourage individuals to visit for pilgrimage, study, and practice of the dharma in general, the Kagyü in particular, and especially the lineage of the Karmapas. ↩︎

For the World: Our First Shared Kora and Guru Yoga in Kathmandu

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 Boudha Stūpa

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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A Personal Note on Pilgrimage from Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche

གཤམ་གྱི་བོད་ཡིག་ལ་གཟིགས། 见以下中文

Dear dharma friends,

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). 

༈ རྣམ་པ་ཚོ་གནས་སྐོར་ལ་ཕེབས་པའི་སྐབས་སུ།  གནས་སྐོར་དུ་འགྲོ་བའི་དགོས་པ་རྒྱུ་མཚན།  གནས་དེ་དག་གི་ཁུངས་ལུང་ལོ་རྒྱུས་དང་ཕན་ཡོན། འགྲོ་སྐབས་ཀུན་སློང་ཁྱེར་ཚུལ་མཁྱེན་དགོས་རྒྱུ་གལ་ཆེ། 

ཐོག་མར་སྐྱབས་འགྲོ་དང་གཞན་ཕན་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་བསྐྱེད་ཀྱི་རྩིས་ཟིན་པ།  བར་དུ་ཚོགས་བསགས་སྒྲིབ་སྦྱང་ལ་འབད་པ།  མཇུག་ཏུ་བསྔོ་བ་སྨོན་ལམ་བཟང་པོའི་མཐར་རྒྱན་པར་བྱ་རྒྱུ་ནི་གལ་ཆེ་བ་ཡིན།

གནས་མཇལ་སྐབས་རང་ཉིད་ནས། དཔེར་ན་དེ་རིང་ནས་བཟུང་ངེས་ཉིན་རེར་སྐར་མ་ལྔ་རེ་མ་ཆགས་པར་སྒོམ་བརྒྱབ་གི་ཡིན་བསམ་པའི་དམ་ཅ་མཁས་ལེན་རེ་ཙམ་བྱེད་ཐུབ་པ་ཡིན་ན་དཔེ་མེད་ཡག་པོ་ཡོད་རེད། 

གུས་དིལ་ཡག་སྒྲུབ་དཔོན་ནས་ཕུལ།

當大家前往聖地朝聖時,最重要的是,應當先了解前往這些聖地的必要性和原因、聖地的歷史緣由與利益,以及在前往時,又該如何持守正確的動機。

首先,要以皈依和為了利他而發起菩提心作為開始;其次,盡力積聚資糧、淨除罪障;最後,則以迴向祈願作為圓滿的結尾,這些非常重要。

在朝聖期間,如果自己能夠立下一些誓願,例如,「從今天開始,我每天一定會不間斷的保持五分鐘禪修練習。」,以這樣決心和誓願朝聖,這是非常善妙殊勝的。

諦雅竹奔 謹啟

Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses

Would you like to get closer to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings through learning the Tibetan language? Do you wish to deepen your understanding and practice of the Dharma by learning basic conversations and reading in Tibetan?

In our weekly online Tibetan Language Class, we focus on daily conversations and, especially, Dharma discourses. Mirroring our Sunday Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice series, we practice reading and discussing basic Dharma conversations in Tibetan, and explore the art of translating them into our native languages.

  • What: Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses
  • When: Every Sunday, 7:00–8:30 PM Central Time (Chicago, USA)
  • Where: Online on Zoom

You are warmly invited to join our Tibetan Language Class.

Registration and Offerings

Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses. 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 the facilitation of this class. After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email.

Learning Together

Some prior knowledge of Tibetan—or a willingness to do some (supported) self-study of the basics, especially the alphabet and pronunciation—is needed to make the class meaningful for you and for all participants.

Recordings will be made available to all participants to review or catch up when you can’t join live. If you have any questions about the class, please email communications@karmapacenter16.org

We look forward to studying, contemplating, and discussing the Dharma together through basic Tibetan discourses, and to deepening our practice on the Dharma path—for the benefit of all.

ཀརྨ་པ་མཁྱེན་ནོ།།

Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice

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. 

Please join us onsite at KC16 or online!

Traveling Together

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.

Traditional Pujas and Vase Ceremony Ahead of Onsite Groundwork

From April 11 till April 19, special pujas (meditation practice with melodic chants and instruments) will be held at Karmapa Center 16 in preparation for the onsite groundwork that will begin later this spring. This is a significant step forward in our three-phased project and will literally create the foundations for the Parinirvāṇa Stupa Temple, a residence for His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, and two retreat houses. 

The pujas are intended to remove any obstacles, create the most auspicious conditions for the engineers, all workers, and volunteers to start our work together, and to promote environmental harmony. You are warmly invited to join our practices onsite or online, and make offerings in support of the lamas, practices, and the second phase of our Stupa Project. A link will be sent after an offering of any amount.

Schedule

Friday April 11 to Thursday, April 17

time (Central Time, UTC-6)puja
9:00–10:00 AMཟབ་ཏིག་སྒྲོལ་མ། Green Tara
10:30–12:00 PMམགོན་པོའི་བསྐང་གསོལ། Mahakala Practice 1
2:00–3:30 PMམགོན་པོའི་བསྐང་གསོལ། Mahakala Practice 2
4:00 – 5:30 PMམགོན་པོའི་བསྐང་གསོལ། Mahakala Practice 3
Schedule for KC16 pujas onsite in Wadsworth, IL, USA from April 11 to April 17, 2025
Click here to see the start time in your local time zone.

Saturday, April 19th, 2025

time (US Central Time, UTC-6)puja
10:00–12:00 PMལོ་ནག་བཅོས་བུམ། Vase Ceremony
Schedule for KC16 ceremony onsite in Wadsworth, IL, USA on April 19, 2025
Click here to see the start time in your local time zone.

Be Inspired by the Lineage of the Karmapas

We feel very fortunate to take this next step as part of creating a place for pilgrimage, study, and practice of the Dharma, the Kagyü, and especially the lineage of the Karmapas. In particular, to commemorate and be inspired by the life and teachings of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. May all be auspicious! 

Karmapa Khyenno!

16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Practice: Every First Saturday of the Month

To find happiness and support on the path to full awakening for the benefit of the world, we need to rely on spiritual friends. The practice of guru yoga is, therefore, a profound method to connect with the heart of our teacher and lineage of dharma masters, to receive blessings and help us move away from negative qualities, and cultivate positive qualities in terms of body, speech, and mind.

Rainfall of Nectar

The Guru Yoga Sadhana, “Rainfall of Nectar,”  composed by the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, is elegantly concise and contains the essential pith instructions of the Vajrayana tradition. 

Every First Saturday of the Month

Every first Saturday of the month, we will offer an opportunity to practice His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga together. Regardless of whether you are familiar with the practice and who you consider to be your personal teacher, this practice allows us to connect with the enlightened qualities of the Buddha and, in a way, truly become the activity of the Karmapa, embodying the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion. 

  • What: 16th Gyalwang Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Sadhana
  • When: First Saturday of the Month, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM Central Time (Chicago, USA)
  • Where: Online on Zoom and Onsite at KC16. (Liturgies will be screenshared)

Registration, Offerings & Donations

Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our monthly 16th Gyalwang Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Practice. You can join for free by selecting a ‘free ticket’. If you would like to make a donation to support the stupa project or make an offering to our teachers and resident monastics, please choose an option below.

Fulfilling Our Aspirations

After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email. 

We warmly invite you to join us and together fulfill all aspirations for ourselves and others through our devotion and virtuous activities. 

Karmapa Khyenno!

Heartfelt Wishes for a Blessed 2025 from KC16

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a blessed New Year. May kindness and compassion guide our hearts, bringing well-being and care for everyone. 

Sometime at the beginning of 2025, we aspire to publish a summary of Acharya’s commentary on our website. After a break for one week, you are also welcome to join us again for Meditation for All: The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, starting on Sunday, January 5.

As Acharya Lhakpa expressed at the end of last Sunday’s Meditation for All session, may you all have happy holidays and a happy New Year!

Karmapa Khyenno! 

From your friends at Karmapa Center 16

On the passing into parinirvāṇa of His Eminence Chöje Ayang Rinpoche

It is with heartfelt sorrow that we received the news of the passing into parinirvāṇa of the great Kagyü master, His Eminence Chöje Ayang Rinpoche. His absence will be deeply felt by many within our community and beyond.

In this time of mourning, our resident Lamas at Karmapa Center 16 are offering butter lamps and prayers to support everyone affected by this loss. We invite all to join us in honoring Rinpoche’s memory and legacy.

In heartfelt support, may the Dharma guide us.

Karmapa Center 16

A Fortunate and Blessed 43rd Parinirvāṇa Anniversary

Last year (2024) marked the 43rd Parinirvāṇa Anniversary of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. Preceding our annual pujas and prayers on November 5th, the day of His Holiness’ passing, we hosted our first extensive 16th Karmapa Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat onsite in Taiwan and online from November 1 to 3. We felt humbled and honored by the hundreds of people who joined us from around the world, and especially for His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, who gave a special teaching during this retreat. Below is a summary of the teachings and practices, and how to make guru yoga a lifelong remembrance of the inspiring life and enlightened presence of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa.

QUICKLINKS

Day 1: Guru Yoga and Lung of the Rainfall of Nectar
Day 2: Devotion and special teaching by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa
Day 3: Genuine Practice
November 5: 43rd Parinirvāṇa Anniversary
Words of Gratitude
Photo Gallery
Next year: 44th parinirvāṇa anniversary

Day 1: Guru Yoga and Lung of the Rainfall of Nectar

Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche opened our 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat by briefly explaining the meaning and practice of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga, “Rainfall of Nectar,” and the Karmapa’s personal connection with this practice. Rinpoche noted that this was one of the very first Dharma teachings he received, as a small child, from His Holiness. 

Later, the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, instructed Rinpoche to offer reading transmissions or lungs of “Rainfall of Nectar” as one of his responsibilities. After Rinpoche received the lung from His Eminence the 12th Gyaltsab Rinpoche, he then supplicated Gyaltsab Rinpoche to explain how to do the practice and to compose a commentary. Drupon Rinpoche’s teachings on the first evening of our Guru Yoga Teachings were based on His Eminence’s instructions and commentary. 

One of the aspects Rinpoche pointed out is how the guru is equal to the Buddhas in terms of excellent qualities. Yet, the guru excels the Buddha in terms of kindness as he/she can directly guide someone to move away from negative qualities and cultivate positive qualities in terms of body, speech, and mind. 

Sharing the qualities and activities of  the 16th Karmapa, Rinpoche added that His Holiness was able to liberate the mindstream of others with his enlightened speech. Rinpoche shared various stories to illustrate this. He also pointed out how His Holiness’ great love and compassion for animals was made evident by his actions. 

In addition to his teachings, explanation of the practice, and reading transmission/lung of the 16th Karmapa’s “Rainfall of Nectar” Guru Yoga practice, Rinpoche said that he doesn’t have the prajna of hearing, the experience of meditation, or the power of giving blessings himself, but through what was offered  during the Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat, the compassion and blessings of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa would be transferred to all present. Along these lines, we concluded the evening with the following prayer: “May everyone attain the state of the enlightened body, speech, and mind of the guru.”

Day 2: Devotion and special teaching by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa

On the second day of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat, we started practicing HH16K’s “Rainfall of Nectar,” under the guidance of Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche.

Later that morning, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche gave his first retreat teaching. He shared that “we are very fortunate to have this opportunity to be together and remember such an enlightened master [the 16th Karmapa], and having this opportunity to connect with the heart of the Karmapa lineage through the heart of the guru.” He taught that practicing is the key emphasis of this lineage and, therefore, this lineage is called the practice lineage. He also shared how His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, in countless ways, was the very embodiment of this lineage, which he passed on to others, and how his presence showed the meaning of being a genuine guru, the Buddha in person. 

In the afternoon, following another Guru Yoga Practice Session, Acharya Jampa offered more instructions about how we find a guru and, once we do, that our practice is not only something we do on the cushion. We have to put it into action in everyday life and, like the great masters, benefit all sentient beings. By doing so, we can be the enlightened activity of the Karmapa. This is, Acharya Jampa-la said, what His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, always encourages us to be. 

In the evening, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa kindly offered a special teaching. He pointed out that the main point of guru yoga is devotion. Since having devotion towards someone you have never seen or met is not that easy, His Holiness said it would be good to hear stories about the 16th Karmapa from those who were familiar with him. This way we can know his activities and qualities. So, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa passed on some of the stories as told by people close to the 16th Karmapa, along with his personal feelings, which concluded our second day.

Day 3: Genuine Practice

Both Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche expressed how fortunate and blessed they felt by receiving teachings and hearing stories about the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, from His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Both Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche then generously  shared some of their own experiences and offered further instructions on how to practice dharma and deepen our inner experience in general, and how to rely on a genuine guru with a heart of devotion in particular. 

Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche pointed out how illness can deepen our experience and understanding of the teachings, like the nine ways of the genuine ones, and the importance of putting them into practice. He also kindly offered some time for questions. 

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche taught about the five things we need to know regarding guru yoga practice based on the oral lineage of Patrul Rinpoche and his disciples. He emphasized that “the method of relying on the guru is devotion, not protocol.” It is a matter of the heart, he said, not our heads. Through our hearts, we can see the excellent qualities of the guru, have the realization of wisdom arise in our mind-stream, and do everything we can to benefit sentient beings. 
This concluded our 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat for 2024.

November 5: 43rd Parinirvāṇa Anniversary

The following Tuesday, on November 5th, we commemorated the 43rd anniversary of the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa’s parinirvāṇa with our annual pujas and prayers. 

We recited the supplication to the Dagpo Kagyü, practiced His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga, sang songs, did Mahakala practice, and made offerings and dedications at Nalandabodhi Taichung’s dharma center, Namkha Ösal. Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche presided over the activities.. 

Towards the end, Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche shared a little bit about the history behind Karmapa Center 16. He pointed out that the place of the passing of a great master, in this case His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, is traditionally considered a sacred area, full of blessings. Therefore, building his Holiness’s Parinirvāṇa Stūpa and the entire Stūpa Project is a way to honor the great dharma king, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. It  also offers a place for pilgrimage, study, and practice of the dharma in general, the Kagyü in particular, and especially the lineage of the Karmapas. 

Under the guidance of our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, and kindly joined by Lama Tashi Gawa plus many dharma friends onsite and online, our annual parinirvāṇa pujas and guru yoga practices were also held (in Tibetan) at Karmapa Center 16. A beautiful mandala was created with a special statue of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa for the day’s practice. Acharya expressed his gratitude to everyone who helped make this offering possible. 

With these practices, we fully concluded the 43rd Parinirvāṇa Anniversary of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje.

Words of Gratitude

Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche noted at the conclusion of our Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat and completion of our pujas on Tuesday, November 5th, that we were very fortunate to be  able to have this year’s extensive commemoration onsite in Taiwan and online, with teachings on His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. 

All of this was only possible thanks to everyone at Karmapa Center 16 in the United States, members of KC16’s team in Taiwan, all benefactors and sponsors, and all volunteers. While many of the volunteers never met His Holiness the 16th Karmapa in person, everyone helped so much through their appreciation of His Holiness’ kindness and enlightened activities.

It is with deep gratitude that we were able to gather and practice together onsite and online, with the presence of the sacred relics of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa. 

In the words of Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche: “I want to thank His Holiness the 17th Karmapa for his great compassion, giving us the lung (reading transmission) of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga, and teaching us about Rangjung Rigpe Dorje’s life and enlightened qualities. I want to thank Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche for his teachings on Guru Yoga and personal advice. Finally, I want to thank all coming from far and wide for this year’s significant anniversary of the 16th Karmapa. Thank you.” 

We feel extremely grateful and blessed for the precious words by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, and wish for His Holiness to live long and continue to benefit all sentient beings.

May all of our activities to remember and honor the compassion and enlightened activities of the 16th Karmapa, along with putting the teachings of the Dharma and the lineage of the Karmapas into action, be for the benefit of everyone in this world. 

Karmapa Khyenno!

Next year: 44th parinirvāṇa anniversary

Together with our annual pujas and prayers on November 5th, 2025, we will commemorate His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, with another guru yoga weekend retreat from October 31st till November 2nd, onsite in Hong Kong and online. Please save the date and join us again to make guru yoga a lifelong remembrance of the inspiring life and enlightened presence of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa. 

Karmapa Khyenno!