Deer Park

Deer Park

Artist Tenzin Choephel, one of whom worked on temple art for the new center at Deer Park, seen at right

Source: Madison.com Photo Gallery

As referenced in the last post, in the summer of 1981 a Kalachakra initiation was held at Deer Park, about ten miles south of Madison, Wisconsin. It was the first Kalachakra ceremony for world peace held in the West.

Deer Park was founded in 1975 by Ven. Geshe Lhundup Sopa, who began offering Buddhist teachings and hosting Tibetan cultural events in Wisconsin in 1975. Invited to the U.S.A. by the University of Wisconsin to teach Tibetan, Sopa later retired as Professor of Buddhist Studies and has been teaching and sharing his knowledge for over three decades in the heartland of the States. In addition to being the founder and contributing much to the heart and soul of Deer Park Buddhist Center and its community, Geshe Lhundub Sopa is also the Director and Abbot of Deer Park Buddhist Center and Monastery.

Ven. Geshe Sopa was also instrumental in what today is a vigorous and sizeable Tibetan community in the local area. A majority of the exiles in the growing Tibetan diaspora in the mid to late 20th century found refuge and new home in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Canada and the United States. In the United States, as elsewhere, efforts of numerous individuals merged to help create resettlement nodes where Tibetans and their families could gradually move, settle and create new homes. The Madison, Wisconsin area was one such node.

As with many other centers, Deer Park has a history of offering not only numerous Buddhist teachings, but also interreligious events, conferences and retreats. A monastery on the grounds is the home to resident monks and as with many other centers, the aspiration and efforts to establish a temple reflective of Tibetan Buddhist architectural principles has come to fruition at Deer Park.

As Sopa himself remarks-

“The Deer Park Buddhist Center is a mirror of a Tibetan Buddhist Temple specifically designed to embody Buddha’s teachings."

-Ven. Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Article: Deer Park Center- Just About Ready

In his Introduction to the Temple Project at Deer Park, Geshe Sopa also remarks on the usefulness of the visual form of a building and it's accompanying arts to present to visitors the Buddha's teachings in visual form. Not only was the temple envisioned to be heavily modeled off of Tibetan Buddhist principles, but also to embody strong elements of sustainable design. Modern concepts of sustainable design and building merge with a traditional approach towards layout with respect and regards of the surrounding landscape and incorporating Buddhist symbology and art throughout the physical form.

AEI Affiliated Engineer's Design for Deer Park's new center

Source: AEI website

Kalachakra Initiations

Kalachakra Mandala, Samye Ling, Scotland

Source: Wikimedia Commons

In the last post I briefly discussed the Kalachakra Initiation and my fingers are itching a bit to continue doing so. But patience....

The Kalachakra Initiation has been given many, many times all over the Earth by the various Kalachakra lineage holders and heads of different Tibetan Buddhist lineages. What follows below is a specific listing of Kalachakra Initiations given by H.H. The Dalai Lama, which can be found at the Dalai Lama's offical website along with the number in attendance.

May 1954-------------Norbulingka, Lhasa, Tibet

April 1956------------Norbulingka, Lhasa, Tibet

March 1970----------Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India

January 1971--------Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India

December 1974-----Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

September 1976-----Leh, Ladakh, India

July 1981-------------Madison, Wisconsin, USA

April 1983------------Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, India

August 1983---------Tabo - Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India

July 1985-------------Rikon, Switzerland

December 1985-----Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

July 1988-------------Zanskar, Jammu & Kashmir, India

July 1989-------------Los Angeles, USA

December 1990-----Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India

October 1991--------New York, USA

August 1992---------Kalpa - Kinnaur, Hiamchal Pradesh, India

April 1993-----------Gangtok, Sikkim, India

July 1994-------------Jispa - Keylong, Himachal Pradesh, India

December 1994-----Barcelona, Spain

January 1995--------Mundgod, Karnataka, India

August 1995---------Ulan Bator, Mongolia

June 1996------------Tabo - Spiti, Hiamchal Pradesh, India

September 1996-----Sydney, Australia

December 1996-----Salugara, West Bengal, India

August 1999---------Bloomington, Indiana, USA

August 2000---------Kyi - Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India

October 2002--------Graz, Austria

January 2003---------Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

April 2004------------Toronto, Canada

January 2006---------Amarvati, Andhra Pradesh, India

Source: H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet website

Kalachakra in Indiana

Kalachakra Stupa in foreground and Changchub Stupa in the distance

Photo Source: Stupas in the West website

The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana was founded in 1979 by the 14th Dalai Lama's older brother, Thubten J. Noru (a.k.a. Takster Rinpoche), who is a retired professor from Indiana University. The Center is now spiritually directed by Arjia Rinpoche. The grounds are also home to Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery.

Chamtse Ling = Field of Compassion

Two stupas have also been constructed on this wooded property- a Kalachakra Stupa and a Changchub Stupa. A Kalachakra Initiation was held on the grounds of the Center in August 1999. The eleven day ceremony was, as per tradition, presided over by H.H. the Dalai Lama. The Kalachakra Stupa is a commemoration of this event- of world peace and harmony. The Changchub Stupa was built in 1987 in honor of Tibetan refugees.

I have not yet been to a Kalachakra Initiation. As the most complex, rigorous and highly revered Buddhist rite, I do not purport to understand the depth of it's purpose and intent, though I would like to eventually be present at a Kalachakra Initiation and Ceremony. The Kalachakra Initiations are open to anyone who wants to attend them, although observers clearly will not be a part of taking the actual initiation.

Kala= Time

Chakra= Wheel

"The word “Kalachakra” refers to cycles of time (kala meaning “time” and chakra meaning “wheel”)...and the Kalachakra system presents three such cycles: external, internal, and alternative. The external and internal cycles of time (samsara) deal with time as we normally know it, while the alternative cycle consists of practices for gaining liberation from these two. The alternative cycle of time entails a graded series of meditative practices."

Source: Monastic Interreligious Dialogue/The Kalachakra Initiation

The first time the Kalachakra Initiation was offered in the West was at Deer Park, close to Madison, Wisconsin, where now Deer Park Buddhist Monastery and Center exist. The Kalachakra Initiation in Bloomington was the seventh Initiation to be given in the "West" and the fourth on the North American continent.

Kalachakra Chorten (Stupa) and Kumbum Chamtse Ling Temple Monastery

Source: The Pluralism Project's photostream at flickr

The history of the Kalachakra extends centuries into the past, as well as to future times, and is wound with religious literature, mythology and tantric practice. This is the first time I have mentioned the Kalachakra in these pages. I have looked at some historical references to the Kalachakra and find endless intrigue in the texts, particularly with the explicit relevance to a future era of planetary society. I gradually up the ante on my readings of both Buddhist history and teachings. Concerning the Kalachakra, the diverse implications of this rite, the meaning for the individual and the society at large, are truly of critical interest.