Reports From The Mandala
Head Lama of TNMC
The plaza at the Ratna Ling Retreat Center facing the conference center yoga room
Over the past decade, the Nyingma Mandala of Organizations has expanded dramatically and in unexpected ways. Existing organizations have continued their activities on behalf of the Dharma and all sentient beings, typically intensifying their efforts. At the same time, at least nine new organizations have been formed, adding new dimensions to the founding Head Lama’s vision.
In the reports that follow, we lay out recent developments throughout the mandala and introduce the work of our new organizations. We start with the work of TNMC, where the Head Lama is most directly involved: Yeshe De, Odiyan, the Light Foundations, and the Sarnath Institute. From there we move on to describe the structure and mission of the Nyingma Association of Mandala Organizations (NAMO), founded in 2011.
We go on to lay out the recent work of the organizations that belong to NAMO. As a structure for presenting this wealth of developments, we start with the organizations located in Sonoma County, then turn to developments in Berkeley, and finally report on the expanding efforts of our international centers, under the direction of Nyingma Centers.
Mandala Organizations In Berkeley
Nyingma Mandala of Organizations had its beginning in Berkeley in 1969, when Rinpoche founded the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center. In 1971, TNMC moved into its new home, an old fraternity house that Rinpoche named Padma Ling, Land of the Lotus. Padma Ling remains a center of community activity as a residence and place of practice and the site of ongoing art projects and editorial work. Its ample gardens are tended as an offering to the Dharma, and its stalwart bear statue, left behind by the fraternity, has been adopted as a Dharma protector.
The next development came in 1972, when Rinpoche founded the Nyingma Institute in another old fraternity house on the other side of the University campus. Active briefly at Padma Ling, the Institute moved to its present location the next year. We start our reports on the Berkeley mandala organizations with the Institute, which has now flourished as a gateway to the Dharma for more than four decades.
In 2009, the mandala expanded into downtown Berkeley. We had been looking for over a year for a new home for the Tibetan Aid Project, which had occupied the same building as Dharma Publishing and the Yeshe De Project prior to their move to Ratna Ling. In 2008, the opportunity arose to purchase two adjoining buildings in the heart of Berkeley. Although far grander in scale than what we had been looking for, the new buildings offered remarkable opportunities to develop new petals of the mandala. Renovated in secret for nine months as a surprise for the larger community, the buildings witnessed opening celebrations in the summer of 2009.
Mangalam Centers, a 26,000 square foot building next to the main Berkeley post office, built in 1913 and a Berkeley landmark, became the home of the Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages; it also houses a grand temple, office and residential space, and common facilities for dining, community events, and instruction. In addition, it serves as the headquarters for Light of Buddhadharma Foundation, the Center for Creative Inquiry, and NAMO. The smaller building next door became the home for the Tibetan Aid Project, the Dharma Publishing Bookstore, Nyingma Trust, a work space for the Prayer Flag Project, and (initially), the Guna Foundation. In 2010, another opportunity arose—this time to purchase the large building next to the Tibetan Aid Project Building. Known as Armstrong College (later, Armstrong University), it was over eighty years old, also a Berkeley landmark and built by the architect responsible for Mangalam Centers. Because it had been designed for use as a business college, it was perfectly suited for expanding the educational dimension of the mandala. Rinpoche named it Dharma College. After extensive renovation, Dharma College celebrated its opening in 2011. Soon after, it became the new home of the Guna Foundation, which moved from next door. It features a vast public space that Rinpoche lovingly prepared as temple capable of seating hundreds, as well dining facilities and a large lower level that is currently used mostly for storage.