The Founding of Karma Migyur Ling (1974–1976)

1974–1975: The Birth of the Project and the Purchase of Montchardon

During a stay at Kalu Rinpoche’s monastery in India, at Sonada near Darjeeling, Jean-Pierre asked Rinpoche whether he would agree to send a lama to a center to be founded near Grenoble. With Rinpoche’s agreement, Jean-Pierre set out to look for a suitable piece of land.

Searching for the Place
JJean-Pierre explored several options in the region, asking for Rinpoche’s own opinion along the way. Faced with negative responses, he kept looking until the end of 1974, when he found the Montchardon property near Saint-Pierre-de-Chérennes, recently put up for sale. He was won over by the beauty of this secluded site, close enough to Grenoble. He sent a description and photographs to Rinpoche, who gave his approval.

The Karmapa’s Blessing
In early January 1975, His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, traveling by car through the Isère valley on his way to Geneva, stopped at Saint-Pierre-de-Chérennes. Jean-Pierre told him about this future center of the Kagyu lineage. The Karmapa gave it the name Karma Migyur Ling, « the unchanging garden of beneficial activity, » just a few days before the preliminary sales agreement was signed. With both masters having given their approval, this boded well for what was a risky undertaking. The final signing took place on April 26, 1975.
During his visit, the Karmapa asked Jean-Pierre to come to Geneva, where he was to stay for several days, because he wanted him to become his representative for France. On the appointed day, Jean-Pierre went to Geneva to meet His Holiness, but by the time he met him, this appointment was no longer being considered. Since he already had many other responsibilities of his own, he felt honored by the offer, but was not disappointed!

The Montchardon Property at the Time of Its Purchase

The main buildings, still standing today, are built of stone and are arranged according to the slope of the land, in a stepped layout. In the upper part stands the old farmhouse — today’s Building B — which most likely dates back to the late 19th century, as suggested by an inscription carved into the lintel of one of the doorways. Further down, today’s Building A is made up of two distinct parts. On the right, a barn once housed carts and farm equipment, with a large loft above. On the left, the hay barn — now converted into offices — stood above the cowshed, which corresponds to today’s shop.

Alongside this group stood a smaller, more run-down outbuilding, which included a goat pen, a pigsty, and a large bread oven, probably meant for communal use. Lofts also occupied the upper floor. This building was torn down in 1995 to make way for today’s Building F. In front of this modest dwelling was a small vegetable garden, no doubt essential to everyday life at the time.

The whole property gave a striking impression of poverty. Everything spoke of the harshness of farming life in this steep, rocky landscape, where bare rock constantly broke through the surface and arable land was scarce. There was no flat ground at all: everywhere was slope, sometimes steep. The stone walls that today hold up the terraces did not yet exist; they would be built up gradually by Lama Teunsang and the residents over the following decades. This austere character was reinforced by the general state of neglect: brambles and undergrowth spread right up to the edges of the buildings, adding to the impression of a place slowly being reclaimed by nature. The surroundings familiar today did not yet exist: the whole area around the temple and the retreat centers was then dense forest, made up of thickets and young trees, on a very steep slope. The site where the boiler room now stands was then an impenetrable thicket of giant brambles and hawthorn. There was nowhere from which one could admire the sweeping view over the valley and the distant mountains of the Ardèche that visitors enjoy today. At that time, the center seemed almost swallowed up by wild nature.

The First Work and the First Residents (1975)
Jean-Pierre Schnetzler tells the story: « I bought the Montchardon property in January 1975. In the first year, this old, run-down farmhouse had to be made fit to use: waterproofing the roof, putting up shutters, fitting doors that actually closed properly. I was not alone in this work at first. I had bought bags of cement, hammers, and many tools, which I had stored in the empty house, since no one was living there yet.

One day, when I arrived, I found the door smashed in and everything gone. I had to buy it all again, plus another door. I told myself this could not go on like this, with my door being broken every week. So people needed to actually live there.

I looked for someone willing to live there as a caretaker. At that time, in 1975, there were not many Buddhists in France. The first two residents were people on the margins of society whom I had happened to meet. That is how things began. They stayed for a little under a year. They did not do anything in particular, but they had a place to live and were happy with that. They may have had some vague interest in the Dharma, but they were not really practitioners. »
From autumn 1975 until the following summer, we hosted a young woman from America with her young child. She had practiced a little with Chögyam Trungpa. She was looking for a place to live with her son. I gave her the job of resident caretaker. She lived here for about a year.

Every weekend, I would bring her food, and in winter I pulled the supplies on a sled. I could drive as far as the Martin farm (the entrance to the Montchardon plateau). After that, the road was in very poor condition and was not cleared of snow. So I had to do the rest on foot, dragging the sled. This went on for quite a while, at least a year. »

The Story of the Karmapa’s Pill

Jean-Pierre Schnetzler tells the story: « Shortly after the purchase, while the building work was beginning, I was visited by a French traveler on his way back from India. Having heard about the project, he gave me a large black pill that he himself had received from His Holiness the Karmapa, telling me it had medicinal properties, without giving any further details. Not knowing the properties of a pill blessed by the Karmapa, I carefully put it away in my wallet.

One autumn evening, after a day’s work at the center, I was struck by an acute attack of duodenal ulcer, as had happened to me before. I was alone, very tired, with no medication, about fifteen kilometers from Saint-Marcellin, with no way of getting help. I lay down, and then I remembered the pill. Without really knowing what to expect, I took it and fell asleep almost at once.

I woke up in the middle of the night completely recovered, with no pain at all. I had had a very strange dream: I saw myself floating in space, and the 16th Karmapa was sitting on my stomach, looking at me affectionately while bursting into a cosmic laugh that rolled out to the farthest edges of the universe. His Holiness was clearly having a good laugh at my expense, and I was delighted by it! This dream remains unique in my life for its indescribable quality. The attack had vanished as suddenly as it had come. »

The Arrival of Venerable Nyanadharo

Venerable Nyanadharo is a Theravada monk of the Forest Tradition. Originally from Laos and fluent in French, he had begun engineering studies in his home country. As is customary, he spent time at a monastery before starting his working life. For him, this experience proved decisive: what was meant to be temporary became a lasting commitment. He received full ordination as a bhikkhu and became a monk in his own right. One of his teachers was none other than the renowned Ajahn Chah.
The circumstances of his arrival in Grenoble were a happy coincidence. It was 1975. Having fled Laos, he found himself in Europe and was spending a day or two in Grenoble, where his brother had taken refuge.
He was approached in a shop by a woman who greeted him as a Buddhist monk. Surprised that she recognized his status, he struck up a conversation. She explained that there were Buddhists in Grenoble and offered to take him to meet the person in charge of the center: Jean-Pierre Schnetzler.
That is how the meeting came about, quite simply. As they were about to part, the Venerable explained that he had to leave the next day for London, where he had continued his engineering studies and where he hoped to find old friends. Jean-Pierre then told him: « If things do not work out in London, you will always have somewhere to come: Grenoble, and my home. »

Two or three months later, a letter arrived. The Venerable had not been granted a residence permit in England and no longer knew where to go. Jean-Pierre immediately invited him to come back.
He first stayed at Jean-Pierre’s home, and then, once the house at Montchardon had been made somewhat livable, he came to live there in the spring of 1976. The place was still very basic, but a new stage was beginning.
At that time, Jean-Pierre told him: « I have, in spirit, given this property to Kalu Rinpoche and the Kagyu school, but you may stay here for as long as you need. »

1976: The Founding Year

January 1976: The Visit of Nenang Pawo Rinpoche
The year 1976 was a turning point for the center. It began with the visit, in January 1976, of one of the great masters of the Kagyu lineage, Nenang Pawo Rinpoche. He gave a long-life empowerment at the CEB in Grenoble and visited Montchardon the following day, where a ritual was performed. He was the first in a long line of Kagyu masters who would come to bless the place.

Venerable Nenang Pawo Rinpoche and Jean-Pierre at Montchardon

Spring 1976: The Arrival of Venerable Nyanadharo
Venerable Nyanadharo’s presence soon attracted people interested in Buddhism. A small group formed, still modest — four or five people — but more committed than before.
Among them, Jeannine Boitel played an important role. Secretary of the Centre d’Études Bouddhiques, she took advantage of her retirement to come and settle at Montchardon. She became the Venerable’s assistant, helped with the day-to-day organization, and fully devoted herself to the practice.

June 1976: Consecration by Kalu Rinpoche
In June, Kalu Rinpoche came to see the place for himself, during a stay of several days. On June 18, the consecration of the Karma Migyur Ling center took place, performed by Kalu Rinpoche, in the presence of several lamas and Western monks. A consecration ceremony was held in the small temple of that time, set up in a simple, makeshift way. Rinpoche then walked around the center to consecrate the whole place.

Kalu Rinpoche, with on his right Jean-Pierre and Lama Gyurme, behind him Venerable Nyanadharo, and on his left Gyaltsen, his nephew, and Western monks

Kalu Rinpoche consecrates the center

In the temple of that time

November 1976: The Arrival of Lama Teunsang
On October 19, 1976, Lama Teunsang arrived in France, at Orly. He began with a tour of France with other lamas before heading to Montchardon. On November 15, he arrived at Montchardon, accompanied by the monk Migmar Tsering, who would later become Lama Monlam.
Lama Teunsang would sometimes tell the story of his arrival at Montchardon, with great humor.
The evening before his departure, Kalu Rinpoche simply told him: « Tomorrow, someone will come to pick you up by car and take you to the center where you are invited by Jean-Pierre Schnetzler. »
The next day, they set off by car. The whole way there, Lama Teunsang looked at the landscape and tried to imagine where he was going to end up. At first, they passed through some very beautiful places, well-situated houses, open landscapes. He thought to himself: « Ah… it would be nice if it were somewhere like this… »
Then, after a while, they drove through much less inviting areas. There, he thought: « I hope it won’t be somewhere like that… »
The road went on, and became narrower and narrower, more and more winding. The car climbed higher and higher… and he began to seriously wonder where he was being taken. Finally, they arrived at an inhospitable spot, in front of an old, run-down house. Lama Teunsang used to say, laughing: « At that moment, I thought to myself… I really do have strange karma! »

Lama Teunsang in 1976

Jean-Pierre tells the story: « When Lama Teunsang arrived, Venerable Nyanadharo was living at the center. The two of them got along well, but they had no way of communicating, since Lama Teunsang spoke neither French nor English, while the Venerable spoke both. They had to rely on an interpreter. The first problem at the time was exactly that: we did not have one. »

Venerable Nyanadharo stayed a little over a year at Montchardon. The two of them lived together for a period of somewhere between six months and a year. By the end of this stay, the Venerable felt that he, too, needed to find a place to set up his own center. Jeannine Boitel then helped him financially to acquire a small property in the Ardèche, in Tournon, where he still lives today. »

Jean-Pierre tells the story: « My first memory of Lama Teunsang is of him working. He was very active right from the start. There was everything to do. He, together with a small team of two, three, or four people living here, did it all. I immediately found him to be a man who had charisma, certainly, but above all an absolutely incredible strength, power, and determination. It was not flashy — it was humble, day-to-day determination — but remarkable enough that I noticed it. If he had not been that kind of person, it would never have worked. »

 

Lama Teunsang with Venerable Nyanadharo, on the left

← Previous : Biography of jean-pierre Schnetzler
← Précédent : The Story of Lama Teunsang’s Life
Back to the introduction : Karma Migyur Ling – 50 Years of History

Back to the Karma Migyur Ling homepage