In the sacred continuum of the Buddha’s teachings, certain places hold a timeless resonance—lands where the Dharma once flourished continue to carry its blessings deep within the soil. One such place is Muaro Jambi, in Jambi City, Sumatra, where His Holiness Tulku Karma Trinley Thubten Chöje Gyaltsen Rinpoche established a branch of Dhonggar Palri Monastery known as the Dhonggar Palri Six Pāramitā Foundation.

This region, once part of the ancient Śrīvijaya kingdom, was among the great centers of Buddhist learning in the world. It is said that from these very shores, the revered master Śrī Siṅgha Serliṅpa (Dharmakīrti of Suvarṇadvīpa) transmitted the profound teachings of bodhicitta—the mind of awakening—to the great scholar Atiśa Dīpaṅkara Śrījñāna, who later carried these teachings to Tibet. The compassionate wisdom that Serliṅpa embodied, and the transformative lineage that Atiśa preserved, became the very heart of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna practice for centuries to come.

To establish a Dhonggar Palri branch upon such sacred ground is therefore deeply auspicious. The land of Jambi bears the subtle imprint of Dharma activity stretching back over a thousand years. In 1970, archaeologists discovered an extraordinary site in Muaro Jambi, spanning close to 2,000 hectares and containing numerous temple complexes and ancient stupas. Scholars have noted that the arrangement of these sacred structures mirrors the architectural layout of Nālandā University—the world’s first Buddhist university and the very seat of learning where Atiśa once studied before journeying to Suvarṇadvīpa (Sumatra) to meet Serliṅpa. This striking resemblance suggests that Jambi, too, was once a vital node in the same network of enlightened scholarship, where wisdom and awakening were cultivated and shared across lands.