The Scriptorium

The scriptorium project was a series of handwritten texts illuminated in gold, silver and other precious materials. Buddhist scriptures are considered even more holy than statues in Tibet and the m...

The Tibetan Etching Project

This is such a project where the east and west meet to create the first Tibetan etchings - one day in 1998 a German man, a teacher at Woodstock School in Mussoorie in Northern India who was an etch...

Official Biography of HH the Dalai Lama

In 1984, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Private Office appointed Ngawang Dondup Narkyid to research and write the official biography of the 14th Dalai Lama in Tibetan. In 2000, at His Holiness’ requ...

Eleven Meters of Wonder - 16 Arhats Appliqued Thangka

One day an American man visited Norbulingka with his camera. He ended up staying a month, never tiring of the wonders around him, and finally ordered a giant appliqué thangka for his house in Calif...

Depicting a Spiritual Lineage – The Lives of the Dalai Lamas in thangkas

In 2002, our late Master Painter Tenba Chöphel, had an idea. He proposed a series of thangkas depicting the lives of the Dalai Lamas, an undertaking which he said would take five years. The project...

Kalachakra 2006 at Amaravati

One of Norbulingka Institute’s proudest achievements to crown its tenth anniversary was to organize the 30th Kalachakra Empowerment to be given by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The event took p...

The Great Kalachakra Tent: A Temple in Fabric

The tent that housed the Kalachakra initiation ceremony in Amaravati in 2006 was unlike any ever made in India. It was masterminded by late Temba Chöphel, Norbulingka’s thangka and appliqué master,...

Deden Tsuklagkhang Temple

Deden Tsuklagkhang Temple, meaning ‘The seat of happiness’ temple is a magnificent example of Tibetan religious architecture, displaying some of the finest work done by Norbulingka artists, and the...

Buddha Shakyamuni Statue

A monumental sculpture for the Deden Tsuglagkhang Temple - the colossal 14ft tall statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, begun in July 1994 and completed in late 1995. This statue is symbolic of the huge inf...

Special Projects: A series of artistic endeavors

Tibet’s past was full of grand projects, ceremonies and artistic endeavors. In fact, these great cultural understandings were a societal priority that enthralled all who witnessed them. Description...