Forest Hermitage

Drikung Forest Hermitage

A Drikung Kagyu Foundation USA Project

With the Blessing of His Holiness Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang Rinpoché

“A remote place full of tranquility
is an abode where practice goes easily.
Meditative experiences and realizations flourish
in such solitary mountain retreats.”

- Kyobpa Jikten Sumgön in “Wandering Alone in the
Wilderness for the Benefit of Beings”

“The Buddha was born in the forest at Lumbini, achieved awakening in the forest of Gaya, taught his first five disciples at the forest of Sarnath and passed into mahaparinirvana in the forest outside of Kushinagar. Forests therefore hold special significance for Dharma practitioners.”

- Dorjé Lopön Dr. Lye

Our Hermitage is located near Burnsville, NC.

A quaint, historic & increasingly diverse mountain town with good motels and restaurants is 1/2 hour away.

And an easy hour-long and visually stunning drive from Asheville, NC

Asheville Regional Airport is another 1/2 hour away.

His Holiness has blessed this forest hermitage with the Tibetan name: Drikung Kunzang Naktsel Ling (“The Drikung Ever Excellent Forest Monastery”)

Kunzang or Ever Excellent is the translation of the Sanskrit “Samantabhadra.” Kyobpa Jikten Sumgön refers to his teacher Protector of Beings, Pakmodrupa’s hermitage community as “Kunzang Naktsel” (otherwise more commonly known as Densatil Monastery). Blessed with this name, we aspire to follow the pure and sincere example of the early Kagyu communities dedicated to living in simplicity, clearing the mental defilements to actualize the ever excellent buddha qualities for the benefit of all mother sentient beings!

PROJECT PHASE #1

More details on the First Phase of the Project.
From years 0-5

Click Here

project phase #2

More details on the Second Phase of the Project.
From years 6-10

Click Here

WE NEED YOU!

“… all conditioned phenomena arise through the interdependence of myriad causes and conditions. Thus the Buddha taught.”

We need your help! We need thinking hats and working hands! We need your prayers and your skills!

Join us in building this first forest monastery in the Americas for the Drikung Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.

To learn more, contact us at: info@drikungkagyufoundation.org

how to donate

The best way to send your donations to support this project is to send us a personal or bankers check (from a US bank).

You can make your check out to:
Drikung Kagyu Foundation USA

And mail it to:
Drikung Kagyu Foundation USA
8 Rich St
Asheville
NC 28806

Drikung Kagyu Foundation USA is a US federally registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, religious organization. All donations are generally tax-deductible.

Donors who don’t have access to a US bank to draw money from can email us at
info@drikungkagyufoundation.org
to arrange alternatives.