Dharma Hall: Photo taken from Urban Dharma NC Facebook page

The celebration, free and open to the public from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, will be led by the Most Venerable Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche and visiting lamas. The day begins with a traditional opening ceremony, followed by community festivities, expressions of gratitude to the many supporters who made the project possible, and a shared potluck lunch. Organizers warmly invite all attendees to bring a vegetarian dish to share and to explore the land that will soon become a home for contemplative practice.

At the heart of this new hermitage will be a small resident community of Drikung Kagyu monastics, a steady presence offering support and inspiration to all who come seeking stillness. While monastic life will anchor the site, the hermitage is envisioned as a place open to all. In time, it will welcome short-term visitors for personal retreat, guided by three simple principles: “Work with us. Eat with us. Don’t do what we don’t do." Guests are invited to experience days or weeks of living, working, and practicing in rhythm with the community.

This milestone marks fifteen years of Buddhist presence in the Asheville area through Urban Dharma NC, and a decade of national support from the Drikung Kagyu Foundation USA. Together, these organizations have cultivated a vision of the Dharma made accessible, rooted in tradition, yet reaching outward to all who seek it.

The Drikung Kagyu Foundation (USA), established in 2013 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, supports spiritual, educational, cultural, and environmental projects across the Americas under the guidance of His Holiness Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang. Urban Dharma NC, founded in 2011 by Dr. Hun Lye, has long offered free meditation, study, and recovery programs in West Asheville, welcoming people of all backgrounds and beliefs.

Now, in the forested mountains of North Carolina, that openhearted vision takes on new form, a hermitage where the ancient rhythms of monastic life meet the quiet seeker, and where the Buddha’s teachings find a new home in the West.


Event Details:

- What: Opening celebration of the Dharma Hall at the Drikung Forest Hermitage
- When: Sunday, July 19, 2026 · 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (ceremony begins at 10:00 AM)
- Where: Green Mountain, North Carolina (approximately one hour north of Asheville)
- Cost: Free; potluck lunch—please bring a vegetarian dish to share
- Registration: Required

For more information or to register, visit www.udharmanc.com or www.drikungkagyufoundation.org.