Taiwan Rime Kalachakra Buddhist Association (台灣不分教派時輪金剛佛學會) is seeking support for a landmark project: the expansion of Jonang Duekhor Jordruk Gomdra Choekhor Ling in Dharamshala, India. Its official name in English is the Jonang Kalachakra Meditation Institute, and its unique retreat practice is that of the Jonang lineage’s Kalachakra Sixfold Yoga (sbyor drug).
A fresh announcement and push for support was made on 27 March, during a three-day series of empowerments bestowed by His Holiness Kyabje Jonang Gyaltsab Khenpo Chökyi Nangwa Rinpoche in Taipei. These empowerments were held at Taiwan Rime Kalachakra Buddhist Association. Jonang Gyaltsab Rinpoche is the Dorje Lopon or Vajra Holder of the Jonang lineage.
Established in 2015 at the instruction of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Jonang Kalachakra Meditation Institute’s founding was confirmed through divination and serves as the retreat center for the Jonang tradition’s Kalachakra lineage under the guidance of Jonang Gyaltsab Rinpoche.
The Sixfold Yoga or Six Vajra Yogas of the Kalachakra Tantra constitutes the “completion stage” (sampannakrama) practices in the Kalachakra’s highest yoga tantra. It is particularly central to the Jonang tradition and was regarded by some historical masters like Tāranātha (1575–1634) as the direct, complete path to Buddhahood in a single lifetime. These six stages represent a methodology based on yoga to control the body’s internal energy winds and achieve unchanging bliss by focusing on the “empty form” of the Kalachakra deity.
In a recent Facebook post from 9 March, the Association noted that as the number of monastics has steadily increased, it was decided by the Meditation Institute’s managers, in consultation with His Holiness, to expand the retreat center with more spacious accomodation premises and a guesthouse. “To ensure the continuation of the Kalachakra teachings and the sustainability of the Jonang lineage, expanding the retreat center has become an urgent priority.” (Facebook)
Taiwan Rime Kalachakra Buddhist Association’s Facebook account and fundraising page note: “Expanding the retreat center is of utmost urgency for the transmission of the Kalachakra teachings and the perpetuation of the Jonang lineage. We earnestly request the support and assistance of all devotees for the expansion of this retreat center.” Donors can offer support at seven tiers, ranging from the “Joyful Merit Patron” at the most basic level to the “Perfect Merit Patron” at the highest. Each tier comes with its own benefits (such as gifts or a name inscribed on a stupa) for donors depending on the amount given.
The Jonang Kalachakra Meditation Institute is one of the most unique centers for religious practitioners in not only Dharamshala, but the entire Vajrayana world. The wellbeing of its monastic residents ensures the preservation and propagation of the Kalachakra’s most authentic and profound teachings.
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覺囊 印度達蘭薩拉-時輪金剛寺院擴大閉關中心募資 (Facebook)
Jonang Kalachakra Meditation Institute
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