Giving

In Tibetan Buddhism, Giving is one of the Six Perfections, a powerful means for accumulating merit. Merit is the motor for extracting ourselves from suffering and the ever-turning wheel of cyclic e...

The Bu-ray Story

Buray in Tibetan means insect cloth. Known as endi in India, this rugged, off white fabric is made from the pierced cocoon of the Attacus Ricini moth whose larvae feed on the leaves of the castor o...

Picnic Tents

Tibetan culture and society is rooted in pastoralism. The population outside cities is mostly nomadic, though many are both nomads and farmers, and others, exclusively farmers. Whatever their roots...

Master Sculptor

PEMBA DORJE  (1930-2011) Norbulingka Institute was founded to help revive Tibetan artistic tradition and artisanship. We were fortunate to have with us several great masters eager to pass on their ...

Treasures of Norbulingka

In Tibet, religious objects were commissioned by patrons, individual artists, or guilds, as existed in Lhasa. All orders were custom made and patrons could commission anything from a two inch statu...

Traditional Concepts in New Settings

Norbulingka creates the contemporary from the traditional, playfully integrating the visuals of a treasured stone, the dZi,into traditional door curtains and cushions used in modern homes. Norbulin...

The Norbulingka Family

Thirty years ago, Norbulingka marked its beginnings, with our first trainees decorating the newly erected buildings under Master Thangka painter Temba Chophel. There was an atmosphere of electric e...

Support Norbulingka

Please Support Norbulingka Institute during Covid-19. Norbulingka Institute is a non-profit organization, chaired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama until his retirement from official duties in 2015. T...

Medicine Buddha, Sangye Menlha, Bhaisajyaguru

When Norbulingka was formally inaugurated in 1995, we had already been painting thangkas for six years. We hired our Master Painter, Temba Chophel, in 1989 and with his team, he took part in the de...

Norbulingka Temple: Deden Tsuglagkhang, Seat of Happiness

The visual focal point and spiritual center of Norbulingka Institute is the Deden Tsuglagkhang temple. The temple is a magnificent example of Tibetan religious architecture, displaying some of the ...