CENTERS
“Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the spiritual life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, & comrades, he can be expected to develop & pursue the noble Eightfold path.” -Lord Buddha on the role of sangha (Upaddha Sutta)
Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche founded a center in Tularosa decades ago feeling a strong connection with the land.
Tularosa is a place of extremes. Here, striking natural beauty and the ancient cultural heritage of the Mescalero Apache, Lipan Apache, Pueblo, and Mansos peoples shares space the U.S.’s largest and most secretive military base and the site of the first atomic bomb test.
As such, Tularosa represents both the preciousness of Earth and its beings as well as the darkest destructive tendencies of modern technology and the mental afflictions.
Orgyen Choling (Tularosa, NM)
Sampa Lhundrupma Temple
It is not surprising that Rinpoche would bring the Buddhist teachings of universal compassion, ethics, and wisdom to Tularosa. Rinpoche built a temple devoted to a powerful Tibetan prayer called Sampa Lhundrupma (“Spontaneous Fulfillment of Wishes”), which invokes six different manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, the enlightened founder of Buddhism in Tibet. Each aspect protects from a different fear, such as illness, natural disasters, and violence.
ORGYEN DREKPA KUNDUL STATUE: The focal point of the temple is of Orgyen Drekpa Kundul, the manifestation of Guru Rinpoche, specifically invoked to prevent war and promote peace. THANGKAS (scroll paintings) of the other five deities are featured on the walls around the central statue.
Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche with the Orgyen Drekpa Kun Dul statue.
Ösel Khandro Duwi Ling, The Gathering Place of the Dakinis, was established by Bhakha Rinpoche as his organization’s retreat land—a serene place of peace and refuge, with ideal conditions for solitude and meditative contemplation during visiting season of May through October. It is also the home of the Zuni Mountain Stupa, which Rinpoche consecrated in 2009. The stupa is over 50 ft. high and houses a shrine room in its base, large enough for approximately 30 practioners to perform group pujas during our annual retreats.