Sangha gathers after a teaching by Lama Zopa Gyamptso, resident lama for Drikung Seattle.
Photos by: Garchen Buddhist Institute, Magda Fong, Kin Kan

Drikung Seattle, founded by His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche in 2013, is in the final stages of completing a beautiful dharma house in Shoreline, Washington.

The center activities have quickly evolved due to the blessings of Garchen Rinpoche and sangha’s devotion to him, said Magda Fong, secretary for the center. Shoreline is a small city immediately north of Seattle.

“After we purchased the house, we started creating more projects and now people want to keep doing this…It’s kind of contagious. It feels like people want to do it. It’s really nice, it’s coming organically,” she said. “We’re really blessed and rejoicing that this is happening.”

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche is one of the few remaining lamas who was born and initially trained in Tibet before the Chinese invasion, and who has been teaching in the West since 1988. Much of his training and formative practice was during the 20 years he spent in a Chinese prison.

Garchen Rinpoche received many high teachings from his root guru, Khenpo Munsel, while they were sharing the same prison cell. After Garchen Rinpoche’s arrival in America, a benefactor donated land in Chino, Arizona, to him. There he created Garchen Buddhist Institute, to share the blessings of the practice lineage of the Drikung Kagyu tradition in Vajrayana Buddhism. Garchen Rinpoche also directs many dharma centers around the world.

The Shoreline center was originally envisioned just as a place for Garchen Rinpoche and other visiting lamas to stay during Seattle visits. The sangha purchased the Shoreline house in December 2019, said Yanfen Wang, director. Before that the group had utilized other public spaces for events, such as North Seattle Community College or Sakya Monastery in Seattle.

“When we purchased the house, our intention was not to be a center, we wanted to have a house for when the lama came,” Wang said. “Now Lama Zopa Gyamptso, who has been Garchen Rinpoche’s attendant his entire life and who was appointed by Garchen Rinpoche to be a resident lama at Drikung Seattle, comes to the center at least three months out of the year.”

Initially the group used the family room of the 1,600-square-foot single-story house as a shrine room. In 2023, the board approved converting the triple garage into a shrine to create more space for sangha to meditate and to participate in short retreats.

The new larger shrine room features a large gold-colored Buddha at the center, resting upon a wide altar area. The room is also enriched with numerous Tibetan thangkas, many smaller statues, and water offering bowls. The room itself is painted in traditional Tibetan hues, including yellow walls and green fabric trim.

In recent months the center has continued to evolve, with a high point the installation of a large statue of Ksitigarbha, a bodhisattva. This seven-foot statue has arrived from China and was installed in the front yard.

Another project initiated by the center this year was the Buddha Light project. The center installed 100 Medicine Buddha statues and 100 Amitabha statues in the shrine, which are perpetually lit. Fong said that people can donate $100 for a recipient of a light for a year, as an offering to that person. Drikung Seattle is one of the two centers in the U.S. that is sponsoring Buddha lights, she said.

Other additions included purchasing a shed for storage of dharma items, and creating space inside the house to showcase and sell dharma items.

The latest project, called “Soak It Up,” was this spring funded by the City of Shoreline to beautify the property, and to support bee pollination and low-maintenance plantings. Karma yoga work parties have been scheduled regularly this summer, to continue this project until its completion.

Another important feature added by our sangha was clearing a pathway around the new shrine, so sangha can walk around the entire shrine room in a sacred manner called circumambulation in Tibetan tradition.

Sadly, despite being a non-profit religious organization, the center had to install a fence around the entire property after several break-ins.

Because Garchen Rinpoche does not travel or visit any centers any more due to age and health concerns, he often meets with our sangha on zoom imparting blessings and words of wisdom. The center hosts many teaching and retreat events throughout the year, led by Ven. Lama Zopa Gyamptso and other visiting Drikung Kagyu lamas.