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The Rime Center is Building a New Temple in Kansas City

The Rime Center is Building a New Temple in Kansas City

Last updated on: February 4, 2022 at 2:47 pm by Daniel Scharpenburg

The Rime Center is Building a New Temple in Kansas City 2022-02-04T14:47:44-05:00 Daniel Scharpenburg

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The Rime Center has existed in Kansas City for nearly 30 years. It was founded by Lama Chuck and Chaplain Mary Stanford in 1993. Lama Chuck passed away last year. It’s led by Lama Matthew Palden Gocha and Gabi Otto now.

Rime means “nonsectarian” It means all branches of Buddhism are honored and respected here. This means there’s a kind of spiritual openness at the Rime Center that isn’t necessarily present in all spiritual communities.

It’s hard to believe it’s been around so long. When I first visited back in 2010 it had already been around a long time.

From the Rime Center website:

“The Rime Buddhist Center is a (non-sectarian) Center dedicated to the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. The Center is a refuge for the nurturing of inner peace, kindness, community understanding and world peace. The Center’s primary objective is to provide a qualified program of Buddhist studies and Tibetan culture taught by monks, lamas and other Tibetan teachers, and to promote a harmonious relationship of understanding between both Tibetans and Westerners. We welcome, accept, affirm, and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community as valued members of our Sangha.

The Rime Buddhist Center & Tibetan Institute of Studies is a non-profit (501c3) religious and educational organization located in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded by Lama Chuck and Chaplain Mary Stanford in 1993. The Rime Buddhist Center & Tibetan Institute of Studies has evolved to reach an ever-increasing number of people interested in the study and practice of Buddhism in and around Kansas City. The Rime Center also sponsors meditation retreats and hosts special interest group meetings related to the teaching and practice of Buddhism in everyday life.”

It’s a wonderful and welcoming community in a part of the country that doesn’t have a whole lot of Buddhist communities, Missouri. For over 20 years the Rime Center existed in a beautiful old church in a cool part of town near the crossroads arts district on Pennway Road.

I ran the youth program there for many years (they call it Dharma School. Think of Sunday School but the Buddhist version) and I had opportunities to go on retreats with many amazing Buddhist teachers including Lama Lena Yeshe Katyup, Karen Maezen Miller, Santikaro, and many others. I (and many others) have had big opportunities to train under wonderful Buddhist teachers because the Rime Center is here. I would not have had these opportunities otherwise.

I’m writing all this to tell you that the Rime Center could use some help.

A few years ago the Rime Center had to move. That big building we were operating in kept raising the rent until it became impossible to keep up. Buddhist communities in the United States often struggle to keep the doors open. This is not a unique or unusual problem. And here in Kansas City real estate downtown has gotten increasingly expensive. So the Rime Center community bought some land a few miles away along with a little house and we vacated our location on Pennway. We started practicing in this house, which is a much smaller space. It is too small to do the things the Rime Center used to do but, again, the old facility was not something that could continue. So this new center was established with the intent of fundraising to build a meditation hall.

Shortly after that a worldwide pandemic showed up. Fundraising and events and purchasing building materials all became a lot more difficult. The Rime Center is still doing fundraising and has raised some funding for the meditation hall. So with all of that in mind, I want to share this noble effort with you in the hopes that you may be interested in contributing. Every little bit helps.

We are wanting to build a wonderful facility here in Kansas City, something better than we’ve ever had before. The details are below. If you could spare even a very small amount, it would make a big difference.

Rime Center Temple Project

The Rime Buddhist Center wants to be a positive force in the community. A sacred place that is full of learning, reflection and joy. We want to be a spiritual home to a vibrant sangha – your spiritual home. We invite you to participate in a truly unique project – building the first Tibetan Buddhist Temple here in Kansas City. Support us as we open the doors of loving-kindness and achieving peace through compassion.

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