About Us
World Peace Stupa Project
The recently launched World Peace Stupa Project is one of the many ways in which Tarthang Rinpoche invites us to do all we can to restore balance, peace and harmony -in ourselves, amongst us, and for all sentient beings and the environment.
His invitation to build large World Peace Stupas went out only recently to senior students located in very different regions of the world. Projects are now underway in Japan, South America, Middle East and Europe. In the summer of 2024 members of these project teams gathered together in California at the Odiyan Enlightenment Stupa to share plans and to receive further guidance and instruction.
The majestic World Peace Stupas will manifest to all its visitors the wordless power of goodness, peace and love and will help calm the forces of emotionality, violence and hatred that plague our world so much today. The stupas will be open to a general audience and visitors from all faiths.
In Europe this grand vision of Tarthang Rinpoche has blended with the long cherished wish of the European Nyingma Centers to open a retreat center close-by in natural surroundings: leading to the launch of the new World Peace Stupa Center Europe.
Three Jewels
Building a Stupa
The World Peace Stupa at the World Peace Stupa Center in Europe will be about 11 m high, and the spire is the ‘antenna’ through which the stupa broadcasts its positive message. At the heart of the stupa, a prayer wheel rotates with all the Buddha’s teachings in it. With each rotation, the path to peace is shown and positive energy flows into the world. At the base of the stupa will be a space for contemplation where 15-20 people can gather at a time. The stupa will be open to the public for circumambulation and visitors from all walks of life will be welcome.
Hosting Retreats
Guide by the vast vision of TNMC Head Lama Tarthang Tulku and working closely together with the existing TNMC city centers the new Stupa Center will offer human development programs in Buddhist Study and Practice, Buddhist Psychology and Tibetan Language and Literature. There will also be a rich array of programs offered to a general public of individuals, businesses and specific target groups aiming to restore well-being, insight, inner peace and balance. Additionally there will be residential volunteer work-study programs connected to the center’s central projects such as building the World Peace Stupa, establishing a food forest and meditation garden, taking care of guests and program development.
Residential Community
The center will house a residential community of 5-7 permanent residents and 2-3 part-time residents. The residents will be responsible for managing the center, together with a group of other regular and occasional volunteers. There will be central cooking and dining, and mornings and evenings there will be meditation and Kum Nye for residents, volunteers and guests alike. The vegetable garden and food forest are also established and maintained together. The community aims to create a harmonious, caring atmosphere as an expression of the center's vision.
Tibetan Buddhism
A lot of the programs and art you see at the World Peace Stupa Center has its root in the ancient eastern wisdom traditions. Buddhism and also Tibetan Buddhism has a way of creating a peaceful and harmonious atmposhere; both in the outer as well as in the inner environment. Being in such an environment one can connect more easily to the peaceful qualities that are already present within. You can be inspired by the sacred art, the World Peace Stupa and the retreat programs. Grounded in a 2500 year old tradition, and a lineage where teachings have been perserved from teacher to student, the World Peace Stupa Center offers a unique experience and can leave a profound impression on all guests, visitors, retreatants and residents.
World Peace Stupa Center Europe is connected to the Nyingma lineage through Tarthang Rinpoche, who has worked closely with Westernes in the US for over 50 years. The Nyingma school is the oldest school in Tibetan Buddhism dating back to the 8th century, where the transmission of teachings from teacher to student is alive today. Many people in the past have worked with these teachings of the Buddha and have found that they offer a real way to cultivating lasting inner peace. At the Stupa Center we offer many programs in meditation, caring, Kum Nye tibetan yoga and more, that are specifically designed for people in the West, and are coming from this rich Buddhist background. Engaging in these programs, with meditation, reflection and contemplation, together with being in a wholesome natural environment, people will have the opportunity to create a deeper sense of inner peace. This peace is not only for themselves, but will spread to their loved ones, colleges, friends and the world.
