About us

Bratislava's center has currently 60 active members. It's the largest of the 8 centers and groups of Diamond Way Buddhism in Slovakia. On the center’s busiest weekday about 30 people come for the meditation. The center’s members are responsible for regular program consisting of common meditations, explanations for newcomers, lectures and weekend events with Buddhist teachers.

We also organize public lectures of lamas of the Karma Kagyu lineage in Bratislava and Slovakia and publish books and a magazine. We organized a Tibetan art exhibition under the name Space and Joy together with the Slovak National Museum in February 2015.

Our centers belong to around 600 Diamond Way Buddhist Centers worldwide. Their founder and our main teacher is lama Ole Nydahl and the head of the lineage is H.H. 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje. The centers have open and transparent structure based on friendship, idealism and voluntary work. They make it possible for people to get access to Buddha’s timeless wisdom, learn to meditate, develop and share experiences. Find more information about us at www.buddhism.sk.

About the Bratislava Buddhist Center Project

The place

After years of searching for the right place for our activity, we managed to buy the building of a former sanatorium on Kyjevská st. in February 2015. It is a freestanding building in the wider center of the city. Total usable space after completion of the project (including the terraces on the 2nd floor) will be more than 1200 m².

Implementation of extensive green roofs

This project (401202FLX4), co-funded by the European Union under the Programme Slovakia, involves the construction of two extensive flat green roofs on our cultural and social facility. The impermeable surface will be replaced by a retention green area. Why a green roof? Its purpose is to increase resilience and mitigate the undesirable effects of climate change through sustainable rainwater management. These green roofs will perform a retention function
(retaining rainwater in the landscape) and also promote biodiversity in the environment. The planted vegetation (low grasses, succulents, perennials, and herbs) will be low-maintenance and will visually and functionally connect the green areas of the surrounding environment.

The aim of the project is to increase the resilience of the urbanized area and its ability to adapt to the effects of climate change, or to mitigate undesirable impacts through sustainable rainwater management - by retaining water in the landscape (instead of it draining into the sewer system and preventing excess runoff into the sewer system during heavy rains), improving air quality (reducing dust pollution from PM₁₀ suspended particles), improving the microclimate (evaporation of water from green roofs cools the surrounding air), increasing the eco-stabilizing function and biodiversity of the environment, etc.

"This project is co-funded by the European Union under the Programme Slovakia."

Architectonical study

Renovation of the place

We have started to renovate the building ourselves to a high level by our own volunteer activities. Later on, due to a big scale of necessary works, we have also involved several professionals and companies. 

After 5 years of reconstruction the building has been approved for its oficial use in March 2020.

Already completed activities:

• project documentation
• demolitions
• sanitary (canalization, water system)
• electricity
• gas heating system (on the ground floor and the second floor)
• structured cabling (internet, security)
• new roof
• new plastic windows
• masonry work, plasterings
• concrete screed (on the ground floor and the second floor)
• plasterboard walls and ceilings
• tiling works - bathrooms, toilets
• wooden and laminate flooring
• lamps
• interior doors
• ventilation
• toilete and bathrooms equipement
• kitchen
• movable wall between the gompa and the social room
• insulation of the attic
• renovation and insulation of the flat roofs over the corner rooms
• green roof on both sided of the building

Planned activities:

• insulation of the outer shell of the building

Few impressions from the working activities

Finances

We have been gathering funds for our own buddhist center since 2008. We bought the building in February 2015 for € 600,000. The total cost of renovating the building was estimated at € 450,000, with € 225,000 allocated for interior work and another € 225,000 for exterior work. The international Diamond Way Buddhism Foundation supported us with a loan of € 175,000 and Lama Ole Nydahl with a gift of additional € 25,000.

In 2016, he designated the new Bratislava Buddhist Center project as one of three international Diamond Way projects for the next year eligible for worldwide support. Through voluntary contributions we raised two‑thirds of the purchase price, while the remaining third was covered by private loans that are now being repaid with regular donations.

In 2025 we paid the final installment of the loan from the Diamond Way Buddhism Foundation. We also received a grant of € 136,628.60 for the “Implementation of Extensive Green Roofs” project, which is co‑funded by the European Union under the Slovakia Programme.

Thank you for all your support in securing the additional funds needed to renovate the flat roofs over the corner rooms, insulate the building, and repay the existing loans.

Support us

Benefits for the public

• Development of human potential and responsibility for one's own life
• Well-rounded functioning of center's members in the center of society
• Positive influence of Buddhist meditation on human psychological well-being
• Preservation of the spiritual and humanistic values of Tibetan Buddhism
• A friendly environment where people of different generations share experiences and collaborate also on the international level

If you wish to support our project financially, you can do so by wiring your donation to our association's bank account: 

• IBAN code: SK03 1100 0000 0026 2072 6856, SWIFT code: TATR SK BX
• Bank: Tatrabanka, name of account: Spoločnosť buddhizmu Diamantovej cesty
• Receiver note: NAME + PROJECT BRATISLAVA BUDDHIST CENTER

If you have any questions regarding the finances, please contact:

protected e-mail
0903 838 043 (Ján Kysucký)

Every donation — no matter how small — brings us closer to our goal. Thank you.

Address and contacts

Diamond Way Buddhist Center Bratislava
Kyjevská 1632/9
Bratislava
831 02
Slovakia

You can find information about the program at our center on our website: www.buddhizmus.sk.

If you have questions regarding the activities of our civic association, you can reach us by email protected e-mail or by phone: +421 903 838 043 (Ján Kysucký) and +421 948 513 108 (Zuzana Ilavská)