What is the history of the Sakya Monastery building?
Sakya Monastery’s building was initially erected in 1928 as the First Presbyterian Church. Over the years, different Christian denominations have owned the building. In 1984, a Baptist group sold it to Sakya Tegchen Choling center (Sakya Monastery’s predecessor). Since its founding in 1974, this center had successively outgrown accommodations in the Ravenna-Bryant, Capitol Hill, Wallingford, and University districts. When it moved to the Greenwood area, the center reorganized under H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya, and adopted the name Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism. Buying the large structure in Greenwood was a big step for the small center. A remarkable event helped catalyze the purchase of the building. While the search was being conducted for the center’s new home, Dagchen Rinpoche had a dream in which he saw the destined building. Upon waking, he had architectural plans drawn for the building as revealed to him in his vision. Amazingly, the Baptist Church was an exact match for thes
