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).