Many Diamond Way Buddhists know Karma Berchen Ling, and most have at least heard of it: the wonderful retreat place of the Karma Kagyü Diamond Way lineage in Greece.
In the province of Corinth, at a height of 1,200 meters, one looks into open space, towards two oceans as well as to the mountains. The sun and the moon sometimes appear at the same time, and the weather plays freely, just like the phenomena in mind; it can appear in any form, the wind can come from any direction, and the atmosphere changes quickly at any time of the year.
The 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Thaye Dorje, blessed this place and Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche chose the building site for the last stupa he planned before he died. Lama Ole Nydahl said: “This place is the outpost of the free world towards the south—the southeastern leg of Europe—and it is a Mahakala place.”
With the blessing of the lamas and the activity of the international sangha, Karma Berchen Ling has become a genial place for retreats: comfortable yet wild. One can live there, yet at the same time it is untouched in its wild and free beauty.
The heart of the place is the Kalachakra Stupa.
The deep wishes of Lama Ole Nydahl and Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche started the process of building this stupa. It took more than twenty years. The wishes of the lamas transformed into the activity of the sangha. They pacified the place, which was full of mixed energies. Also, the resistance of the surrounding area was dissolved step by step, so that in 2010, Lama Chogdrup Dorje could finish the stupa and inaugurate it, together with Lama Ole. Twenty-seven hundred friends from all over the world, as well as many locals, came to connect with the Kalachakra Stupa and Karma Berchen Ling.
This is when the idea of building the Wall of Eight Stupas was born.
The blessing of the Stupa seemed to evoke a wish, and the idea for this next step appeared. It all started with the geomantic knowledge of Lama Chogdrup Dorje, who advised us again and again to build something between the Lama House and the Stupa, to complete the place in a geomantically perfect way.
As we were filling the Kalachakra Stupa, the sangha’s enthusiasm appeared. During this beneficial work, the idea came up—in the beginning it was just a playful idea: “We might as well keep going and fill eight more stupas.”
In response, Lama Chogdrup Dorje said, “Don´t make jokes about this but take it seriously.” Immediately our “givers of activity” rolled up their sleeves and went to work.
The first step was of course to ask Lama Ole for his blessing. Soon it became clear that we would not build eight stupas spread around the place as in a Greek pantheon, but that it should be a distinct building, a wall with all the eight stupas directly at the entrance to the place. Lama Ole was thrilled by this concept and gave his blessing.
The eight stupa forms represent eight special events in Buddha Shakyamuni’s life. They were built at different places according to the events and became holy sites. Seven of the eight forms can be built separately. One, the Paranirvana Stupa, can traditionally only be built together with the other seven. All eight of them, when built together in one place, create a strong protection field, to hold negative forces at bay.
When built at the entrance of the place, to the Mandala, this wall of stupas will mark the goal of the pilgrimage to Karma Berchen Ling. It will remind us of the deeds of the Buddha and protect the retreat place outwardly.
The Eight Stupas1
| 1. THE LOTUS STUPA was built in Buddha’s time in Lumbini. The main body appears in the form of a lotus and symbolizes Buddha’s birth. |  |
| 2. THE ENLIGHTENMENT STUPA or STUPA OVERCOMING ALL HINDRANCES was built by the dharma king Bimbisara,2 honoring Buddha’s enlightenment in Bodhgaya. On the evening before reaching enlightenment, Buddha Shakyamuni removed the last subtle veils and obstacles in his mind. This is also represented in this form. |  |
| 3. THE WISDOM STUPA or STUPA OF MANY GATES was built on the occasion of Buddha’s first teaching, that of the Four Noble Truths, which he gave in Sarnath/Varanasi. |  |
| 4. THE STUPA OF MIRACLES. Through the power of miracles Buddha converted the “followers of wrong views.” This form was built by a person named Lisabi in Shravasti. |  |
| 5. STUPA OF DESCENT FROM TUSHITA HEAVEN. Buddha gave teachings to his mother in the god realms, in the Tushita heaven. The descent from this realm is symbolized by the many steps on this stupa, which was built in Shankasa. |  |
| 6. THE STUPA OF RECONCILIATION or STUPA OF UNITY. Devadatta, the cousin of Buddha, had created difficulties among the practitioners. To mark the reconciliation of the sangha, this stupa was built in Rajgir. |  |
| 7. THE STUPA OF COMPLETE VICTORY. Shortly before his death, Buddha extended his life for three months, when his students asked him not to pass away. This happened in Vaishali. |  |
| 8. THE PARANIRVANA STUPA symbolizes entering Paranirvana, the death of Buddha, in Kushinagara. The main body of the stupa has the form of a bell, and is a symbol for the perfect wisdom of Buddha. |  |
The Kalachakra Stupa does not belong to these eight special stupas. It is related to the Kalachakra tantra and has its own very special protective power.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the eight stupas was held on May 31, 2017. The inauguration of the Wall of Stupas took place on August 27, 2017. Lama Chogdrup Dorje was present for that whole time, guiding the preparations leading to the inauguration. For details of the process of preparing and then inaugurating the Wall of Stupas, see the following article by Eva Javorszky.
