Dashang Kagyu Ling (also called Temple of a Thousand Buddhas) is a Tibetan Buddhist Temple located in the heart of France, among the rolling green hills of the South Morvan Forest in Burgundy. You might expect a clash of visuals and cultures seeing golden temples and bright primary colors, set against a backdrop of verdant flora, but the combination somehow creates a feeling of harmony and balance.

Despite the thousands of cathedrals scattered throughout all of France (and despite the quote from the Dalai Lama above), a percentage of the population (French, East Asian immigrants and expats in France) embrace eastern philosophies and religions such as Buddhism, and those numbers are progressively increasing. Buddhism is France’s fourth largest faith after Christianity, Islam and Judaism and some say that Buddhism in France is booming with an estimated 600,000 practitioners (Hundreds of Buddhist centers have opened in the last 30 years).

Under the general umbrella of Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism has a following of its own that is growing and there are already many Tibetan Buddhists temples in France, though many of them are in very remote and in hidden areas, much like the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas in La Boulaye. Tibetan Buddhism is the combination of Indian Tantrism, Vajrayana Buddhism (a branch of Mahayana Buddhism), also incorporating traditional pre-Buddhist beliefs. In Tibet, rather than rejecting folk tradition, Tibetan Buddhism embraced it and absorbed it — and in doing so, allowed a global Tibetan Buddhist diaspora.

Dashung Kagyu Ling in La Boulaye bases its beliefs on the lineage from one of four Tibetan schools of Buddhism focusing on the practice of Vajrayana Buddhism. They’ve established many temples all over France [see the list of Kagyu Ling centers in France] and people are welcome to come to the temple for teachings on Buddhism. You can also spend extended periods at the temple living there for several months to study under the guidance of experienced Buddhist masters. There are also pilgrimages to Tibet. (see their website for details)

This is the current Mandala at the temple. Briefly, a Mandala, a Sanskrit word meaning circle, community and connection, and is a symbol on which Tibetan Buddhists focus and meditate to gain spiritual freedom. It is meticulously made with dyed loose sand thoughtfully and carefully arranged within a circle, and usually depicting a palace with all shapes of the mandala symbolizing important deities or other objects with religious signficance. It is never permanent and this particular mandala will be dismantled next month.

Dashang Kagyu Ling
Temple des Mille Bouddhas
Chateau de Plaige – 71320 La Boulaye France
Tel: 03.85.79.62.52 / 03.85.79.62.53
Email: dashang.kagyu.ling@wanadoo.fr
Admission: 4 Euros
Hours: Open every day 2pm – 5pm; Weekends 2:30pm – 6pm; July/August: 10am-noon and 2pm – 6:45pm
Events: Sacred Dance Festival every August

Related: Buddhist Temples in France

Book: The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus by HH Dalai Lama
Related Links: Plum Village and the Art of Mindful Living, Kagyu Centers Worldwide
========================
Lulu Lundi* features an adorable Boston Terrier named Lulu somewhere in France every Monday.