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How We Started
IIn the early 1970’s, a young mother was looking for a place to pray and meditate. The churches and chapels were all locked unless a mass or service was taking place, and she was unable to find a place of solace. She vowed at that point to someday, somehow find a way to create a place of spiritual refuge where people could pray and meditate at any time of the day or night.
IIn 1985, the young woman, Alyce Zeoli, was sharing what she had learned through her many years of meditation and prayer. She was teaching concepts such as the oneness of all life, universal compassion, prayer without ceasing, and the need for one to be empowered and to act as a "Caretaker of the Earth." Because of her inspiration and guidance, on April 18, 1985, her students began a continuous, 24-Hour Prayer Vigil. A group of about 25 - taking two-hour shifts - carried on the Vigil in the basement of Alyce's suburban Maryland home.
Shortly after beginning the Vigil, through a series of fortunate developments, Alyce came to meet a Tibetan Buddhist Lama - His Holiness Penor Rinpoche - on his first visit to the United States. His Holiness declared that although her words were somewhat different, and she had never received formal training or even read a book on the subject, Alyce was teaching Mahayana Buddhism. She later visited his monastery in India, where he and other revered Tibetan Buddhist teachers formally recognized her as the incarnation of a Buddhist saint, Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo, and gave her the spiritual name of Ahkon Norbu Lhamo (Goddess of the Rare Three Jewels). The intention to benefit beings and bring about an end to suffering that began a few years prior was inseparable with this 2600 year old tradition.
Although the method had changed, the goal – to end suffering – had not. Thousands of prayer shifts have been taken since its inception by hundreds of people, all united in the conviction, borne from experience, that prayer effects change. The Prayer Vigil continues unbroken to this day at KPC's Temple in Poolesville, Maryland, located outside of Washington, DC. The Prayer Room there is open to all 24-hours-a-day.
A second non-stop Prayer Vigil, begun in 1999, continues at KPC's center in Sedona, Arizona.
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