OUR Mission

Kagyu Sukha Chöling is a Tibetan Buddhist center where the authentic teachings of the Shangpa and Karma Kagyu lineages are openly offered to the community. Timeless and accessible, these teachings cultivate inner peace, compassion and insight. KSC is dedicated to welcoming and supporting individuals at any stage of their spiritual journeys. 

OUR VISION

Kagyu Sukha Chöling is a dharma center of refuge, relevant and responsive to the challenges of an ever-changing world

§  Ensuring active continuity with the Tibetan Buddhist lineages as they are developing in the West, with robust connections to other dharma centers and communities.

§  Offering a welcoming and supportive environment for a diverse, multigenerational sangha.

§  Delivering programs available to all, regardless of personal circumstances.

§  Providing reliable support to Lamas and visiting teachers.

§  Operating effectively, with a well-supported staff, diverse and committed board, engaged sangha, and active volunteer community.

§  Safeguarding financial stability, with a balanced budget, broad donor base, and sufficient contingency funds.

§  Maintaining the temple and gardens, supporting sustainable environmental practices.

Developed by KSC sangha, board of directors and Lamas Pema and Yeshe. Approved September, 2024  KSC board of directors

TEACHERS 

For 2600 years, the teachings of the Buddha have been transmitted from teacher to student and from land to land, open to all who seek a path of peace and who wish to lead a life imbued with kindness and compassionate action. In our turbulent world, where the recognition of suffering is inescapable, there is an undeniable need for teachings and methods which pacify mental unrest, cultivate inner peace and lead to genuine altruistic activity.

Kagyu Sukha Chöling, a Tibetan Buddhist center in Ashland, offers the authentic teachings and practices of the Shangpa and Karma Kagyu lineages. Guided by two American women lamas (teachers), the Center is a contemplative refuge and wellspring of spiritual support for the community. Open to anyone who aspires for serenity, kindness and freedom, the center welcomes newcomers and regular practitioners to learn and practice the teachings of the Buddha.

Lama Pema Clark and Lama Yeshe Parke

Lama Pema Clark and Lama Yeshe Parke have been students of Vajradhara Kalu Rinpoche and Venerable Lama Lodru Rinpoche since the early 1980s. The lamas are editors of several books, including Foundations of Tibetan Buddhism by H.E. Kalu Rinpoche, as well as Bardo Teachings and The Quintessence of the Animate and Inanimate, by Lama Lodru Rinpoche. After completing the traditional three year meditation retreat under the guidance of Lama Lodru Rinpoche, they became the resident teachers of Kagyu Sukha Chöling, where they practice, teach and provide dharma consultations.

Lama Pema and Lama Yeshe possess clear and extensive knowledge of the dharma. Their teachings are given with humor, wisdom and practicality. The lamas’ commitment and approachability create a relaxed and heartfelt sense of community at KSC.

MEETING WITH THE LAMAS

The lamas are happy to meet and talk with anyone attending the center. This is easiest during the tea breaks on Sunday morning meditations and classes, or at in-person or hybrid meditations. They also stay after Newcomers’ Night to meet with those who want to introduce themselves.

If you wish to arrange a private meeting with one of the lamas, please email the office: office@kscashland.org. Before requesting such a meeting, the lamas ask that you be a regular attendee at KSC, and that you have determined that the meditations and teachings are positively affecting you. Lama meetings can address specific practice questions you have, or challenges in applying the teachings in your life. It is customary to make an offering to the lamas for their time and advice.

A student writes:

“The lamas are dedicated to bringing the practices and teachings of the Buddha to each individual. Authentic and profound instructions come through the calm minds and generosity of these two inspired women teachers. Their method is open-hearted, articulate and freeing.”

HISTORY OF KAGYU SUKHA CHÖLING 

Kagyu Sukha Chöling (KSC), a Tibetan Buddhist center, was founded in Eugene, Oregon by Vajradhara Kalu Rinpoche (1904 – 1989) in 1982. The name given to the center means The Blissful Place of the Kagyu Lineage Teachings. An alternative translation is Sukhasiddhi’s Home of the Kagyu Dharma. Sukhasiddhi was one of the enlightened women honored as the source of the Shangpa lineage. Between 1982 and 1988, KSC sponsored weekly meditations and hosted several important Tibetan Buddhist teachers, including H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and Venerable Dezhung Rinpoche in Eugene, Oregon. 

During these years, KSC was under the guidance of Venerable Lama Lodru; Venerable Lama Tsang Tsing also taught at KSC many times. The lay leaders were Pema Clark, Yeshe Parke and Norma Cordell. In 1988, when Lama Tsang Tsing expressed a wish to found his own Eugene meditation center, KSC became inactive.

Some years later, in 1999, Pema and Yeshe, two of the original sponsors of KSC, completed the traditional Three Year Retreat in the Shangpa lineage. With that training, and at the request of Lama Lodru, Lama Pema and Lama Yeshe activated KSC in Ashland, Oregon. Under their direction, and with Lama Lodru’s guidance, the center has flourished.

To accommodate the growing sangha (community), a new meditation center was completed in 2010, with all requisite Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies performed as the construction process unfolded. The beautiful building that now graces Ashland is truly a home for the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha. 

KSC offers several weekly and monthly meditations, seasonal classes and retreats. Visiting teachers have included Kyabjé Kalu Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Lama Lodru Rinpoche, Lama Sarah Harding, Ari Goldfield, Rose Taylor Goldfield and Lama Drupgyu (Tony Chapman).

about the building 

KSC’s meditation center opened in June, 2010. The sangha (community), the board and lamas, and the design team were committed to creating a green and sustainable structure which would unite traditional Tibetan stylistic elements with building materials easily available in the Pacific Northwest. 

The philosophy of sustainability was embodied in these ways:

Architecture – The building is centrally located in town, with a design and size appropriate to the site and the surrounding community. The natural slope of the property was utilized to provide earth shelter for the ground floor.
Community connection – Local architects, designers, contractors, suppliers, laborers and volunteers built the center, and volunteers maintain it.
Relationship to nature – Natural light is available on all floors and natural airflow regulates the temperature of the space with the aid of whole-house fans. The property is landscaped with regionally adapted plants for low water-use, and is designed to blend with the adjacent protected wetlands. 
Responsible energy use – Designed for low energy consumption, the building utilizes high levels of insulation, building mass, shading and appropriate window orientation to reduce energy needs for heating and cooling.
Systems efficiency – Passive heating and cooling methods are featured, which rely upon the occupants to modulate systems.

Sustainable materials:

Walls and roof – Steel beams and integrated concrete forms made with recycled materials; wall treatments of natural earth plaster or no-VOC paints; formaldehyde-free insulation; light-colored metal roof to reflect heat.
Windows – Wood frames with R 3.3 value, using low E-3 366 glass to let light in and keep heat out.
Lumber – Wood products principally from locally grown and sustainably harvested trees, amended by lumber from FSC-certified sources.
Floors and heating – Concrete floors with efficient hydronic heating systems and heat recovery ventilators.
Ventilation and cooling – Whole-building air movement utilizing fans, shading and window adjustments.
Electricity conservation – 100% Energy Star appliances; Energy Star fluorescent and LED light fixtures.
Water conservation – Low-flow fixtures; rainwater diversion for landscaping, highly efficient water heater and recirculation pumps for faucet use.

Design and Construction Team:

Designer: Michaeldavid Uri, Lucid Designs – lucid@97520.net
Architect: Carlos Delgado – www.carlosdelgadoarchitect.com
Consulting Architect: Joyce Ward, Architect – Ashland, Oregon
Landscape Architect: Laurie Sager – www.lauriesager.com
Contractor: John Fields – www.golden-fields.net
Volunteer Coordinator: Clay Colley, Clay Colley Builder, Inc.