History
KCC's founder is the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche. Kalu Rinpoche, born in Tibet in 1905, was a renowned meditation master; he was the [primary] lineage holder of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage as well as a Karma Kagyu lineage holder. He spent the early part of his life in retreat, completing two traditional three-year retreats before departing at age 26 to pursue the life of a solitary yogi. After nearly 15 years, Tai Situ Rinpoche called him down from the mountains, after which he received the rare transmission of the Shangpa teachings. He spent the rest of his life teaching and establishing retreat centers. In the early 1970s, Kalu Rinpoche began traveling throughout the West, where he founded a number of centers for Western students, including KCC in 1976.
KCC's first resident teacher was Lama Thinley Drupa, asked personally by Kalu Rinpoche to leave his monastery in Sonada, India to help establish the center. Lama Thinley served from 1980 until 1991. During his tenure, KCC found a permanent home in its current location at 73 NE Monroe in 1981. Following Lama Thinley's departure, Michael Conklin arrived from California in 1993 to serve as KCC's resident teacher. Michael was among the first American-trained teachers authorized to lead a center, and remains KCC's resident lama.
KCC has enjoyed the support of some of Tibet's eminent spiritual masters during its 30-year history. In addition to Kalu Rinpoche, a number of these teachers visited KCC, including His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Jamgong Kongtrul, Dezhung Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsultrim, and Thrangu Rinpoche, among others. Following Kalu Rinpoche's death in 1989, KCC was fortunate to develop an active relationship with his spiritual heir, the Venerable Bokar Rinpoche, who visited KCC in 1996.
In 2000, KCC launched a capital campaign to acquire land and build long-term retreat facilities. KCC has currently raised over $1.45 million toward the project, and is midway through construction of a cloistered three-year retreat facility at Ser Chö Ösel Ling, KCC's 240-acre site near Goldendale, Washington.