Warsaw
The Buddhist Meditation Center in Warsaw is one of seven hundred secular Diamond Way centers in the world. It was founded by Lama Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah, and is under the spiritual care of Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa.
In the late 1960s, Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah, while traveling to India and Nepal, met the greatest meditation master of their time, the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, and became his disciples. After a few years, at his request, they began to pass the teachings of the Diamond Way and establish centers all over Europe, the Americas, Russia, and later Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, Nepal and Israel. Since then, they have founded over 700 secular centers, including several dozen in Poland.
The Diamond Way Centers are places where lay Buddhists meet for joint meditation, do individual practice, and take part in lectures and meditation courses. Both lectures and meditations are held in native languages and in a style appropriate to our culture. Both beginners and more experienced people can take part in them. The centers are co-created by all practitioners on a voluntary basis.
The center in Warsaw was established at the turn of the 70s and 80s of the last century. For many years we met in private apartments, and now the center in Warsaw is one of the largest in Europe. It is located in Wola and consists of two buildings, Stupa House and Buddhas Hall, connected by a glass connector.
Stupa House was bought in 1998. This dilapidated city bathhouse required a major renovation, which took a total of seven years. The Buddhas Hall became our property in 2008, but it took eight years to transform the former warehouse and production hall into our magnificent facility. There is an over 200-meter gompa (a room for meditation), a hall with a kitchen and dining room, and rooms for residents and visiting guests. It is home to both the Karma Kagyu Diamond Way Buddhist Association and the Stupa House Foundation, as well as the editorial office of the Diamentowa Droga magazine.