Nechung Dorje Drayang Ling

Nechung Dorje Drayang Ling—whose name translates to "Small Immutable Island of Melodious Sound"—was established in 1973 by the Venerable Nechung Rinpoche (Thupten Konchok), the grand lama of Nechung Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet and Dharamsala, India. Situated on 25 acres in Wood Valley, the Ka'u District of Hawai'i's Big Island, the retreat center was created as a space for the dissemination of Buddhist teachings and for students to receive and actualize these instructions through contemplation and meditation. His Holiness the Dalai Lama dedicated the temple in October 1980 and returned in April 1994, when over 3,500 people gathered to hear him speak from the temple veranda.

The physical structures carry their own layered history. The main temple was originally built at the turn of the twentieth century as a Japanese Nichiren Mission. The present retreat center is a two-story building; its upper level, originally a Shingon shrine in lower Pahala, was relocated to the Wood Valley site in 1978. The facility includes a large carpeted room suitable for multiple activities, a screened kitchen, dining hall, and both private and dormitory quarters, accommodating groups of up to 15 people. Over five decades, the temple has hosted programs with more than 50 lamas representing all four lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, offering teachings on foundational practices, Highest Yoga Tantra, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen.

The landscape itself has been carefully cultivated into what the temple describes as a beautiful park. Towering eucalyptus, palms, and bamboo encircle the brightly painted temple and its cluster of buildings. Tropical flowers punctuate the rich green foliage, and the scent of wild jasmine and ginger blossoms often permeates the grounds. Wood Valley itself is one of the most secluded areas in the Hawaiian Islands, located 28 miles south of Kīlauea Volcano in a region considered the spiritual heart of Hawai'i.

The temple operates as a non-sectarian center, welcoming not only Buddhist practitioners but also teachers of other denominations and secular groups. Programs have included Zen, Vipassana, Permaculture, and Lomi Lomi Massage instruction, among other subjects and practices. The guesthouse and retreat facilities serve both individual visitors seeking quiet introspection and groups booking the full facility for workshops and retreats. The temple's mission, as articulated on its pages, is to continue developing programs addressing the spiritual and environmental concerns of local and international communities, offering a conducive environment for the cultivation of compassion and wisdom in service of happiness and world peace.