As of 22nd August 2022, you can see on the photos that the houses have roofs. We had a difficult summer because the main constructor left and we had lot of trouble to find quickly another one. Finally we found one reliable person from Ukraine. He did not have much time to come up to now – he just managed to finish the roof works but from now onwards, he can work one full month for us.
From inside the wall insulation of 25 centimeters is done, now the floor insulation has to be finished (30 cm). Also the wind protection cover is placed.
We urgently need some funds to complete the window works for three houses (we have got an offer about 1000 euros per house – that is to say, we should get the windows for three houses (plus Khenpola’s house very soon).
We also need an urgent help for painting works that we could finish the boarding of the three houses. Please contact us if you have any help to offer.
As of 9th of May 2022, two houses have most of the insulation works done, one is missing a roof construction. We are still waiting for the wood for supporting rails for the roof – there has been an exceptional delay of two weeks and it may only arrive next week. Roof tiles arrived already.
As Rinpoche has announced that the first retreat of three-year should start latest in late summer 2024, we urgently need your help!
We have done all the work mainly with the help of few kind sponsors and the main sponsorship comes from the people who personally will start the retreat.
Thanks to their donations, we have money:
for sewage system and cables (around 30 000 euros).
But we do not have money:
for finishing works of the four houses that are already there (5000 euros each, that makes 20 000). This is possible in case we do all the work by ourselves and do not hire any constructors. All the inside works (walls, ceiling, bathroom etc) are not yet done.
for two new houses (15 000 each, that makes 30 000).
We also lack funds for kitchen (gathering hall) construction (only foundation is there).
As of 24th of April, three houses are almost up and as soon as the roof is installed, insulation works can start.
In March 2022, proper building works of the retreat huts have started. In winter, however, a parking space was created, more drainage work done and finally the well drilled. Also an official project of the house was done and the building works registered in a building register.
As of 15 of April 2022, one house is up and waterproof. (next works: walls: insulation and clapboarding, roof: a stone roof; windows and doors). For two houses, we have used thick plywood as a wind barrier board (one seen on the photo). Usually it is an expensive material but we obtained a quantity of them as a factory leftover with a very affordable price (there can be some darker spots or very tiny defects which does not influence the building quality).
Parts (floor, walls and rafters) of the second house are laying down and need to be put together (we have to wait for a soil to be a little bit drier because the telehandler cannot lift the pieces up when it is too wet on that location).
photo
For the third house, the floor is done.
Works for Khenpo Karma Wangyel’s house have started as well. This house is necessary for the teachers who come here to teach the retreatants (Khenpo Karma Wangyel as well as Gangteng Rinpoche). The house is located outside of the enclosure of the three-year retreat. This house is entirely made with Khenpo Karma Wangyel’s personal money up to now (buying of the building materials for more than 2000 euros, soon, post foundation works will continue).
Information about the three-year retreat for the students of Gangteng Tulku Rinpoche (and those with his consent) and the update about the construction works
As of August 2020, around five people have informed us of the interest of taking part in the first three-year retreat in Europe as soon as the construction works have finished.
Because of the Covid-19 crisis and difficulties which were created by the lack of the road that leads to the future meditation center, all the works have been delayed considerably.
As of September 2020, foundation works are in its final phase. The board members of Yeshe Khorlo Estonia have taken a decision that the works cannot be continued without the road and a drainage system around the meditation center’s site.
Therefore, to continue the works, the priority is the construction of the road (around 400 meters) which leads to the site. We have got several offers and the cheapest one is 13 000 euros.
We have now around 6000 euros which can be used for the construction of the road but much more is necessary to continue the construction works of the retreat huts and the kitchen (including a hall for gatherings). As we got one generous offering from Ukraine, the foundation works for the kitchen are also in its final phase (the main problem why the work has not been finished is the lack of the road – heavy vehicles with building materials cannot approach the site).
The cost of one retreat house is around 10 000 euros, but additional costs should be added (up to four houses: 5425 euros per each house, additional extra costs for the fifth, sixth etc house: 1900 euros as sewage system is already included):
sewage system
heating system (air-air pump);
water connection;
electricity.
All the details about the costs are thoroughly described here.
Shortly: to finish the four retreat houses and the road, approximately 67 500 euros is necessary. Every next retreat house (when the four are finished) will cost around 12 000 euros including everything. The cost of the construction of the kitchen (gathering hall) will be around 30 000 euros.
Cost for participants
The cost for the entire retreat is estimated at about 21 000 euros per participant.
From the 21 000, 6000 euros is meant to go toward construction. Participants of the retreat should first make the payment of 6000 euros for construction work and the rest can be paid later.
Foundation work for four huts are in its final phase. There is also enough money for a deep drilled well which cannot be drilled before the road is done. For the road, there is 6000 euros on the account.
Request to support building works and participants’ retreat fee
It is very possible that there may be some who wish to participate in the retreat but lack the necessary funds. In addition, Yeshe Khorlo Estonia does not have the necessary funds to finish the huts and the kitchen building.
It is only with the help of the entire Sangha that we can realize this project and give serious practitioners a chance to consecrate their full time for practice. It will benefit all of us if we can support this project. Even a small amount can be of great help!
Deadlines
Because of the corona virus and the lack of funds, the beginning time of retreat is postponed and the exact time can be told only when the sufficient funds are there to quickly complete the construction works (if the funds were here right now, it is possible to finish the construction works by autumn 2021. If there are still more people interested in starting the retreat, they should immediately contact Khenpo Karma Wangyel or their country’s coordinator.
The next step will be the meeting of all participants, and possibly a trip to Umbusi in Estonia to visit the site and discuss the necessary preparations for the retreat.
Information about the ongoing building works will be available on Yeshe Khorlo Estonia’s website (yeshekhorlo.ee). There is also information about the Yeshe Khorlo Estonia’s bank account and Paypal (https://yeshekhorlo.ee/contact/).
We are looking forward to the realization of the three-year retreat site which will allow practitioners to do their practice right here in Europe with no need to travel somewhere far away – India, Bhutan or the moon as Rinpoche said – crossing cultural, culinary and other borders. We hope that there will be a sufficient number of interested candidates as well as potential sponsors so that we may realize the construction of the retreat huts as soon as possible and start the first three-year retreat in Pema Lingpa’s tradition in Europe.
Here you can see the retreat house project (a view from east, west, main plan and views from different sides). It is a small house of 20m2 of size, including kitchen corner and bathroom. It also has a terrasse in front of the house. The house is planned in a way that is suitable for a cold climate (water system enter into the house from one place in the middle – as the house has a beam foundation, water pipes have to be insulated in a special way. If there are more donations that allow to build a bigger house, it is possible to change everything (add beams for a foundation etc). The room plan is not fixed – it is possible to move inside walls (probably the meditation room has to be bigger, kitchen and bathroom can be smaller). Construction of the foundations will start next week (from the 16th of December). We are very grateful for the donations we have received up to now. We have also received one bigger donation specially for kitchen. However, lot of donations is still necessary. Please use this great chance to practice generosity!
“In short, all apparitions are the forms of yidams, awakened beings. All sounds are reverberations of mantras, arising of the Speech of the awakened ones. All thoughts are indistinguishable from the mind of the awakened ones. This is how the three types of apparition appear. You should practice that either during and after your meditation session, in real life. Recognition of purity is a continuous process.” Extract from Gangteng Rinpoche’s public talk in Estonia 2017.
In 2016, a group of Gangteng Rincoche’s students in Estonia found Yeshe Khorlo Estonia, a non-profit organisation to fulfill the goals of Gangteng Rinpoche in Estonia. Rinpoche, who is the lineage holder of Pema Lingpa’s tradition of Nyingma school, has an objective to establish here a 3-year retreat center for his students and other followers of Buddhadharma, who are interested in practices of Pema Lingpa’s tradition.
Gangteng Rinpoche, who is also the current head of Nyingma school in Bhutan, visited Estonia in summer 2017, from 28th of July to 29th July. He gave a fascinating public talk in Tallinn about the Vajrayana tradition in general, having the focus on Dzogchen tradition in particular. The video of the public talk is found here. It is in Tibetan, translated into English (oral translation) and Estonian (subtitles).
After that, Gangteng Rinpoche gave in the village of Umbusi, Umbusi Dharma center in Põltsamaa parish, an introductory lecture about the essence of Dzogchen teachings, from three aspects – ground, path and fruit.
On the last day, on the 29th of July , in the morning, Rinpoche performed the riwo sangchö ritual on the Yeshe Khorlo retreat center’s land which was offered by Khordong association in Estonia (Umbusi Buddhist center). Ths particular plot of land was personally chosen by Khenpo Karma Wangyel, the resident Khenpo of Europe in November 2016. The riwo sangchö ritual was accompanied by a short story about the merits accumulated by those who are acting as sponsors for the Buddhadharma.
In the afternoon, Rinpoche gave an initiation of Amitayus, belonging to the treasure cycle of Pema Lingpa (tshetri dorje threngwa).
Khenpo Karma Wangyel, the resident Khenpo for Europe, appointed by Gangteng Rincoche, who has resided in France in Blye in Pema Yangdzong from 2011, visited Estonia for the first time in November 2016.
As Khordong association in Estonia had decided to offer a plot of land to Yeshe Khorlo Estonia, Khenpo Karma Wangyel came to visit the land in order to decide which part of it to take. The size of the land of Khordong association is 48 hectares and we walked through all the land, finally deciding for the plot situating in the south-western edge of the land. On the eastern side of the land, there is Umbusi river, together with some forest, and on the western side, there is a view to the open plains surrounding the village of Umbusi.
Since that time, Khenpo Karma Wangyel has supervised the retreat center project, every decision in regard to this project is made with his consent.
Khenpo Karma Wangyel came back in March in 2017 to give teachings about preliminary practices, Dzogchen ngöndro according to Pema Lingpa’s tradition which was preceded by a public talk about the main techinques of meditation – shamatha, the calming of mind practice, and vipashyana, the practice of clear seeing.
Khenpo Karma Wangyel supervised each and every aspect of Sungtrul Rinpoche’s visit in Aprill 2018. It was also him who placed the central naga vase for the future retreat house building at the right place.
In accordance with the request of Gangteng Rinpoche, from 7th to 9th April 2018, Sungtrul Rinpoche, an emanation of Pema Lingpa, gave teachings and performed the earth ritual (sa’i cho ga) in the future retreat center’s land, placing the naga vase in the middle of the 3-year retreat center building.
On April 7th in Tallinn, Sungtrul Rinpoche gave the Künzang Gongdü empowerment (Samantabhadra’s gathered intention, introduction to the nature of mind). This is the basis for all the future teachings in the Pema Lingpa’s tradition starting from the Dzogchen preliminary practices, ending with the trekchö, thögel and bardo teachings. After that, on April 8th, Sungtrul Rinpoche gave the combined Hayagriva-Vajrapani-Garuda empowerment belonging to Dudjom Tersar in Umbusi in Põltsamaa county in the middle of Estonia, nearby the location of the future retreat center.
On April 9th Sungtrul Rinpoche performed the earth ritual ( the main part of this ritual is “requesting the land” – sa blang).
About the earth ritual
In Tibetan Buddhism, the earth ritual (sa’i cho ga) is an essential preparatory ritual to make the land suitable for the Vajrayana practice. Earth ritual is necessary for a variety of occasions, for example, before going to a retreat or while doing a spiritual practice session, marking the outer borders of the practice place, so creating a clean and perfect place – mandala. The transformation of the earth is also used for making a new place suitable for Vajrayana practice. This is what will be done in Umbusi Yeshe Khorlo’s retreat center’s land as well.
One part of the earth ritual is requesting the land from visible and invisible beings (sa blang). Visible beings are people to whom the land belongs, but a longer and more extensive ritual is associated with the invisible owners of the land. Both in Tibetan Buddhism and in many other traditions it is believed that the natural environment affects the lives and well-being of beings living in it, including humans. Earth and energies from the nature are called earth spirits (sa bdag), the ground is also considered to be the location of a serpent-like creatures, nagas (klu). If these energies or the invisible creatures are disturbed, this can manifest in the form of disasters in the lives of humans, or as obstacles in the form of natural disasters.
Different rituals, which create harmonious relationships between invisible spirits and people who use the earth, are used to balance these energies, or to calm down the spirits. Invoking the earth spirits is also related to the awakening of the Buddha Shakyamuni, while the Buddha asked the earth goddess to witness his awakening. The request of the Vajrayana Buddhist practitioner is similar here to the request of the Buddha – the main landowner is requested to accept the use of the land as Vajrayana mandala, and to become a protector of the Buddhist teachings that the spiritual progress will be swift on the blessed surface and the signs of awakening will manifest with ease.
With that, all preparations for the successful construction of the retreat center have been done and the building works may start.
