Karma Kagyue Foundation
The Karma Kagyue Foundation
Kreuzackerweg 4, 4148 Pfeffingen Switzerland
The Karma Kagyü Foundation, founded in 1990 and domiciled in Pfeffingen, Basel Country (BL) is an autonomous charitable/non-profit Swiss foundation that acts in in accordance with the Swiss Civil Law, Art. 80 ff. Its founders are the five Buddhist associations of the Karma Kagyü Foundation of German speaking Switzerland and serves as an umbrella organization.
Its goal is to foster activities of the Karma Kagyü Lineage – a lineage of Tibetan Buddhismn – in the fields of meditation practice, science, research as well as general education, art and culture, based on Buddhist philosophy.
In the past, any activities of the foundation confined to invitations of Tibetan Lamas and statutory surveillance of their member organizations.
The Karma Kagyü lineage is one of four lineages in Tibetan Buddhismn, and it is the second oldest. One of its branches, the Drukpa Kagyü, is the state church of Buthan. Beside the many monasteries and Buddhist universities in Tibet and other Himalayan countries, there are on a worldwide basis more than 500 different centers and monasteries. Spiritual head of the Karma Kagyü lineage is the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Thaye Dorje.
The Swiss centers predominantly invite Western meditation teachers and to a lesser extent Tibetan lamas. All our Karma Kagyü centers are members of the Swiss Buddhist Union and maintain regular friendly contact with centers of other Buddhist lineages.