HISTORY
On August 9, 1975, the Odiyan land was dedicated: the first stage in creating a center to preserve the heart of the Buddhist tradition. It had taken years to find the perfect property, about 1,000 acres of ridges and meadows, located 1,400 feet above the Pacific Ocean, at 108 miles from Padma Ling, Berkeley. On chosen ground, known to the Indians as the Crest of the Condor, a mandala of realization rose.
In the first years, Odiyan was like a wilderness outpost. The heavy construction and hard labor of developing the land and creating buildings of stunning complexity created a “cowboy” energy.
Since then, the retreat center has evolved and transformed into the physical manifestation of a mandala. With the completion of the Copper Mountain Temple, in the heart of the mandala, Odiyan’s transformation began. Drawn not with ink on paper, but with concrete and copper, earth, and water, a living, breathing, three-dimensional mandala emerged.
One by one the Temples took shape:
Enlightenment Stupa
(1980)
Copper Mountain
Temple (1983)
Vajra Temple
(1996)
Cintamani Temple
(2002)
Vairocana Garden
(2010)
Over the decades, countless sacred art projects were set up for temporary residents, supporting Odiyan’s sister centers and many Buddhist centers in Asia.
