The «Ripa International Center» was founded in 2012, in the Swiss capital of Bern – in the heart of Europe – as an international Buddhist Center, a place where the humanitarian and spiritual aspects of Tibetan Buddhism can be developed and practiced.

Since the early 1990s, first Ven. Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche and later his father, H.E. Namkha Drimed Rabjam Rinpoche and brother, Lhuntrul Dechen Rinpoche, had been teaching Buddhism in various countries throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. An ever-growing community of students would regularly attend those rare retreats and teachings in rented venues. Various national organizations were established– Padma Lings and Ripa organizations – in order to support the activity of the Ripa lineage throughout the world.

Thanks to the outstanding generosity of a key sponsor of the Ripa lineage, the venture was made possible and the purchase was closed in 2011. Many other Sangha members also contributed and continue to contribute generously towards the accomplishment of this auspicious project.
As an old boarding school, the site offered a wide range of possibilities to be transformed as a residential retreat and seminar center. In a six-month-long renovation scheme, the property was adapted to serve as a venue for meetings and seminars. The conversion involved the installation of private bathrooms in a number of rooms, the renewal of the main kitchen, as well as the complete transformation and refurbishment of seminar and conference rooms.