Tibet Institute Rikon

The Tibet Institute Rikon is a Tibetan monastery located in Zell-Rikon im Tösstal in the Töss Valley in Switzerland. It is an established as a non-profit foundation because Swiss laws resulting from the 19th century secularization movement do not allow for the establishment of new monasteries.

In 1961 Switzerland was one of the first countries in the Western hemisphere that allowed Tibetan refugees to settle in large numbers. Henri and Jacques Kuhn (owner of Metallwarenfabrik AG Heinrich Kuhn, now Kuhn Rikon AG) offered work and accommodations to a group of refugees. They helped found a monastic Tibet Institute for spiritual and cultural care of Tibetan people in Switzerland, which would also preserve and maintain the Tibetan culture for future generations. Jacques Kuhn supported the monastic community until his death in January 2017.

The monastic community in Rikon claims to be the only Tibetan monastery in the Western Hemisphere. The monastic Tibet Institute in Rikon was established according to the advice and under the patronage of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, who emphasized the importance of monasteries for Tibetan people in exile. H.H. the Dalai Lama sent an abbot and four monks to Rikon from India. The Institute's buildings were designed by architect Ueli Flück (Baden AG), and the foundation stone was laid on 29 July 1967. On 9 November 1968 the monastic Tibet Institute was consecrated by H.H. the Dalai Lama's two principal teachers, Trijang Rinpoche and Ling Rinpoche. On 8 April 2010 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama visited the monastery community in Rikon for the 14th time, and was warmly received by Tibetan people, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Tibetan refugees in Switzerland. H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama visited the monastic community again in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

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