Karma Triyana Dharmachakra

In July 1980, after a full day of Red Chenrezig puja, the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa consecrated the land at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, accompanied by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, Dzogchen Polop Rinpoche, Tenzin Chonyi and the 3rd Jamgon Kongrul Rinpoche. The monastery grew from the supplication of Western students who wanted an authentic Tibetan Buddhist monastery for study and practice.

The Karmapa's reasons are on record in the minutes of the board meeting of July 28, 1980. He said he had made divinations and supplications to the Three Jewels, and "all indications seemed to be that this must be the place." He described it as the first Karma Kagyu monastery in the United States, a base for the continuous study of the Mahayana teachings, which "the people of this country definitely need." He hoped it would last for hundreds of years.

Today KTD, at 335 Meads Mountain Road in Woodstock, is the North American seat of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Its first abbot, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, is remembered with an annual day of Milarepa Guru Yoga and Songs. The Chenrezik puja is practiced nightly from 7 to 8:30 pm. The chanting is in Tibetan, with English and transliteration texts provided, and visitors may join in or sit quietly. Chöd practice is held on the third day of each month, with monthly pujas offered in person and by webcast.

The calendar includes a one-day Shamatha retreat taught by Lama Zopa Tarchin and the Lhabab Düchen Nyungne, a fasting and silence retreat centered on Chenrezik that requires Buddhist refuge. Individuals can also apply for a personal retreat, with a private room at $96 a night, a shared room at $62 per person, or a dorm bed at $48. Applications are reviewed by the lamas and are due a week ahead. The residential building is currently raising funds for a copper roof, after persistent leaks through rain, snow and freeze-thaw cycles.