Buddhism

Buddhism

Sakyamuni Buddha was born about 2560 years ago in what is now Nepal, to royalty. At the age of thirty-five, after six years of deep meditation, he realised the true nature of consciousness and thus attained enlightenment. And for the next 45 years, the Buddha taught thousands of talented disciples the methods by which enlightenment could be achieved.
His teachings are called Dharma in Sanskrit and Chön in Tibetan, and are best explained by the Buddha himself. Both mean ‘the way things are’. Buddhism provides effective ways of seeing things as they really are – here and now.
The Karma Kagyu, one of the greatest Tibetan Buddhist transmission lines, guides practitioners through the direct experience of the nature of their consciousness through an authentic teacher. These powerful methods were taught by the historical Buddha to his closest disciples. In the twelfth century, the monk Gampopa gave these teachings to the first Gyalva Karmapa, who retained the power and freshness of these methods through his subsequent incarnations. Currently, the 17th Karmapa, Trinley Taiye Dorje is the lineage holder.

Lama Ole Nydahl

Lama Ole Nydahl, founder of the Meditation and Retreat Centre in Tchek, is one of the few Westerners who are fully-fledged lamas and meditation teachers in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He and his wife Hannah, one of the century’s greatest yogis and leader of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, became the first Western disciples of 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje in December 1969. Karmapa had a great influence on their lives. He asked Hannah and Ole to bring Buddhism to the West. For over 40 years they have travelled non-stop, teaching and establishing meditation centres in many countries around the world.

Since the first course in 1998, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of our Buddhist friends have participated in the teachings of the 17th Karmapa, Löpon Chechu Rinpoche, Serab Gyalcen Rinpoche, Lama Ole, every summer.
The year-round activity is also increasing, with regular meditation weekends, small courses and centre meetings.
In Becce, there is currently a couple who welcome visitors as permanent residents.
As the activity grows, more and more of us come, more and more opportunities open up for all our practicing Buddhist friends to connect with this fantastic place that belongs to all of us.

The history of the retreat centre in Becske

In 1997, the Diamond Way Buddhist Community bought its first land in Bečke. After a long search, we found an advertisement offering these lands and properties for sale. It was not easy to get it, because we had to convince the villagers to support our purchase as a second question in the referendum that was organised at the time.

We tried to dispel any misconceptions that we were completely harmless. We also organised a friendly football match with the village, where of course we lost. However, we did win a majority, albeit by a few votes.
We have now established a good relationship with the locals. We participate in the village fairs, invite them to our public performances and occasionally provide them with work.

Our courses have been attended by hundreds – sometimes thousands – of Buddhist friends every summer since 1998, with Lama Ole, Lopon Chechu Rinpoche, 17th Karmapa, Serab Gyalcen Rinpoche. All the Hungarian Sangha (community of practitioners) participate in the organisation of the courses, but also helpers from neighbouring countries come.

The 9-meter-high Enlightenment Stupa on Snail Mountain was built in 2008 in the space of 9 weeks under the guidance of Rinpoche Serab Gyalcen. The stupa was planned to be erected in Hamburg, but the local government did not allow the construction. We have been grateful to Hamburg ever since.

Marpa House has been under construction since 2010. The main activity of the meditation centre is concentrated here, and we can now have up to a hundred people meditating together in the new gompa. Our permanent programme on the third weekend of every month is the Ngöndro weekend, which is also regularly held here. And we have also started small courses with great travelling teachers from home and abroad.
We are also increasingly developing the conditions for individual retreats in Becce, currently in the Lama Houses. Our friends who have been authorised by Lama Ole to come on retreat can do so.

“My prescription is simple: show people the need to find something that will take them out of sickness, old age and death, let them glimpse your joy of life. Tell people that consciousness is like space: open, clear and boundless; talk about the journey as well as the destination.”