Buddhist Centre Copenhagen

The Buddhist Centre Copenhagen is a part of the Karma Kagyu School in Denmark. Hannah and Lama Ole Nydahl founded the centre in 1972 on request of their teacher, His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. The Buddhist Centre Copenhagen is a centre for laymen and laywomen and it represents Diamond Way Buddhism as practiced by the Karma Kagyu School. His Holiness the 16th Karmapa gave the centre the name Karma Drup Djy Ling – ”the place of Karmapa’s practice lineage”. In everyday jargon the Karmapa called the centre ”the mother centre” as from this centre a large number of other centres and groups would spring. Buddhist Centre Copenhagen was the first Karma Kagyu centre in Denmark and one of the first Buddhist centres in the West. The centre is the largest and most visited Buddhist centre in Denmark.

The history of the Buddhist Centre Copenhagen

From 1972 to 1975 the centre was located in a modest basement apartment in a street called Skindergade near central Copenhagen. During the first visit of the 16th Karmapa to Denmark in 1974 His Holiness pronounced the wish that the centre would settle into better facilities. The Karmapa had shown particular interest in the embassy-quarter of Østerbro (Copenhagen’s East End), and in 1975 the sangha pooled their resources and bought the house at Svanemøllevej 56, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø. In 1990 the Karma Kagyu School of Denmark bought the house at Svanemøllevej 54, and in 2004 the school bought a third house at Svanemøllevej 52. The three large and impressive turn-of-the-century mansions are situated right next to each other and function as one big Buddhist centre.

Facilities

The Buddhist Centre Copenhagen is particularly well known for its meditation room decorated in traditional Tibetan style. Moreover the centre includes a library of Buddhist literature and a small shop offering meditation texts, accessories for meditation practice, books, etc. The centre conducts daily meditation sessions and lectures are held on most days of the week.

In addition to the Buddhist Centre Copenhagen the Karma Kagyu School Denmark also manages a retreat centre in Lolland (an island of southern Denmark) as well as Buddhist groups in the towns of Holbæk, Taulov, Silkeborg, Århus, Esbjerg, Randers, and Aalborg.

The centre also conducts courses and lectures on various Buddhist subjects on a regular basis. During the day school classes and college students from all over Denmark visit the centre to listen to lectures on Buddhism and get a feel for what life at Buddhist centre is about. Usually the Tuesday lectures are well visited with up to 30-40 attendees including new and experienced Buddhists as well as newcomers.

Lectures and meditation

Diamond Way Buddhism is in essence very practical. Therefore lectures and courses are primarily about meditation and how you can use Buddhism in everyday life.

About 200 Buddhists are associated with the centre and are regular visitors. Most of these are in the process of practicing or have perhaps already completed the Preliminary Practices known as ngondro in Tibetan. The four Preliminary Practices consist of Refuge & Prostrations, Meditation on Diamond Mind, Mandala Offerings, and Guru Yoga. Since every practice must be repeated 100,000 times it often takes from two to six years to complete the ngondro depending on available time and amount of personal effort.

Working at the Centre

All work at the centre founded by Hannah and Ole Nydahl is voluntary and unpaid. Work is based on friendship and idealism and the centre’s organisation is entirely flat. People living as the centre as well as associated Buddhists carry out the work.

The centre has assigned work responsibilities to a number of committees each having a number of specific duties. The information committee writes and designs communications material on Buddhism, the web committee manages the school’s websites, the finance committee manages the school’s finances, the program committee arranges and conducts lectures and courses, and the estate committee maintains the school’s buildings at Svanemøllevej and Sungraph (publisher, shop, and library).

The school’s governing body consists of 11 members, namely a representative from each committee, representatives of the sanghas of Fyn/Jylland, Lolland, and Sjælland, respectively, a treasurer, a chairman, a person responsible for the school’s real estate, as well as Hannah and Ole Nydahl.

Everyday life at the centre

The centre’s three houses accommodate approximately 30 residents. The residents live ordinary lives with families, partners, work, studies, and interesting leisure activities. In addition Buddhist from Denmark and abroad often visit the centre to meditate or work.

The residents of the centre share the house and dine together every evening. Other common activities include house meetings and other social events, such as parties and informal gatherings. All the residents of the centre are practicing Buddhists.

External links

* http://www.buddha.dk (national homepage for the Karma Kagyu School of Denmark)
* http://www.buddha-kbh.dk (homepage for Buddhist Centre Copenhagen)
* http://www.karmapa.org (homepage for H.H. the Karmapa, the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu Lineage)
* http://www.lamaole.org (homepage of Lama Ole Nydahl, founder of more than 500 Diamond Way Buddhist centres of the Karma Kagyu School)