Our Tradition & Lineage

Dekeling—Place of Happiness—is rooted in the living transmission of the Karma Kagyu and Shangpa Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. In the Kagyu tradition, lineage refers not only to a historical succession of teachers, but to the unbroken transmission of meditation instructions, textual teachings, and experiential realization passed directly from teacher to student. This stream of transmission traces back to the historical Buddha and continues through generations of accomplished practitioners whose realization gives life to the teachings in the present moment.

Our lineage is closely connected to Kalu Rinpoche, one of the great meditation masters of the twentieth century and a principal holder of both the Karma Kagyu and Shangpa Kagyu traditions. Kalu Rinpoche devoted much of his life to extended retreat and later became instrumental in making the Kagyu teachings accessible to Western students. Through founding retreat centers and dharma centers across Asia, Europe, and North America, he emphasized meditation practice as the direct means of discovering the innate awakening present in all beings. His approach was practical, rigorous, and rooted in lived experience rather than abstraction.

Following Kalu Rinpoche’s passing, the continuity of these lineages was carried forward through his foremost disciple, Bokar Rinpoche, a deeply respected teacher known for his clarity, humility, and devotion to retreat training. Bokar Rinpoche served as abbot of Bokar Monastery in Mirik, India, where he oversaw monastic education, retreat programs, and a flourishing nunnery. For Western students, he developed a progressive curriculum emphasizing the integration of meditation practice with ordinary life—work, family, and relationship—without dilution of the depth or integrity of the tradition.

Today, Dekeling maintains its connection to these lineages through Khenchen Lodrö Donyö Rinpoche, the current abbot of Bokar Monastery and a modern day luminary of the Karma Kagyu and Shangpa Kagyu traditions. Under his guidance, the teachings continue as a living, embodied transmission—one that honors deep retreat practice while supporting sincere practitioners engaged fully in contemporary life. 

At Dekeling, our grateful connection to these lineages is not treated as history, but as the roots of our own spiritual undertaking, transmissions to be practiced and realized—here, now, and in the midst of our everyday human experience.