Please go to our "News" link for up-to-date announcements
To read legal documents (4 pages on pdf files) that His Holiness the Dalai Lama signed in 2005 turning over the directorship of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center to Arjia Rinpoche and the present Board of Directions, click here
The TMBCC is located on 108 acres of ground in the southeast corner of Bloomington, Indiana. Located on our property is the Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery, a Cultural Building, 2 traditional Tibetan Stupas (Tib. Chorten), 4 Retreat Cottages, a Teaching Pavilion, and 2 private residences.
We have a Cultural Building whose Big Room contains traditional Tibetan Butter Sculpture, and a library of books on Buddhism. Its walls are adorned with paintings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Cultural Building has the Happy Yak gift shop with traditional Tibetan items and books for sale. We have 4 retreat rooms upstairs.
The Jangchub Chorten and the Kalachakra Stupa are traditional Buddhist monuments to the Enlightened Mind of the Buddha and were dedicated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his visits to the TMBCC.
Guided tours of the buildings and grounds are regularly available for individuals, with large group tours of 10 or more given for a modest fee of $35. Please call Sandy at 812-325-6549 to make arrangements.
The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center is active in Earth Care, an interfaith group in Bloomington. Earth Care accepts our urgent moral responsibility to protect all life by curbing wanton climate change. For information about this organization, please download Earth Care.
Our Mission
Three primary goals, offered by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, shape the development and planning of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center (TMBCC):
· To follow the example of the renowned Kumbum Monastery in Amdo, Tibet as we present Buddhism to the Western World
· To foster a Cultural Exchange Program with Tibetans in Eastern Tibet
· To help preserve the culture and Buddhist tradition among the Mongolians of Kalmykia, Buyatia, and Tuva
In addition, we are committed to
· Fostering and preserving Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist cultures in the USA.
· Providing Buddhist teachings in the Bloomington, Indiana area and promoting interfaith harmony.
Our Board of Directors
Arjia Rinpoche, President and Director
Brian Li, Vice-President
Sudhaka Koneru, Treasurer
Curtis Jones, Secretary
Ngawang Rabgyal, Representative of His Holiness to the Americas
Robert Thurman, Professor of Buddhist Studies at Columbia University
Shirchin Baatar, Mongolian Representative