Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Culture Center in Bloomington offers Buddhism classes, retreats, gift shop and yoga classes
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Tucked neatly among the suburban homes on the southeast side of Bloomington, Ind., sits a holy place.
The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Culture Center, directed by Arjia Rinpoche, connects this small Midwest college town with people around the world.
The center offers Buddhism classes, retreats, a gift shop and yoga classes. It uses donations from visitors to finance charitable projects both in Bloomington and on the other side of the world.
A standard yellow church sign on Snoddy Road sits across the street from an elaborate gate that serves as an entryway.
"Through this little window they can see Tibet here," said Rinpoche.
Colorful prayer flags, strung across trees, blow in the wind. White temples adorned with gold and contrasted by maroon stripes and intricate artwork, called Stupas, sit atop small hills. A long building painted in yellows and reds with a small green awning is lined at the front with 11 cylindrical prayer wheels — a single large prayer wheel in the center that appears to be 5 feet tall with five smaller ones on either side of it. They look as if hammered copper and gold symbols in high relief are wrapped around them, the edges rubbed smooth by hands of those who have spun them. Atop the building, behind plexiglass, a single ornate wheel is slowly spun with an audible squeak.
"It's solar power," said Rinpoche.
A gift shop and the Temple are the only two buildings that remind you that you are in Indiana, not India, Tibet or Mongolia.
Decorated with gold statues and painted in vibrant colors with calligraphy-like symbols, they are rectangular brick buildings.
Inside, a foyer with benches and shoe shelves serves the tradition of removing your shoes before entering the Temple.
Literature and goods cover tables on either side and under the receptionist's window. Rinpoche's memoirs, in the form of the book "Surviving the Dragon," takes up the largest portion of the table.
At any given time you might see Geshe Kunga teaching Buddhist lessons behind the glass wall and double doors. Or Rinpoche leading a prayer with monks on either side of him and a table adorned with fruit, candles, flowers and colorful decorations in the center of the room.
Hand-cut decorations and intricate Buddhist statues of varying sizes cover the far wall. Visitors and students, sitting on mats, fill the rest of the room.
On a Sunday, you might find a rabbi, a Japanese Zen Master, or a pastor or preacher from any other faith speaking to the group as part of the center's strong interfaith mission.
"We all have the same goals we should all come together and pray for world peace," said Rinpoche.
Darhma talks, prayers and lunch are part of the Sunday service at the Temple.
Rinpoche, the former Abbot of Kumbum Monastery in China and an architect, is the only High Llama of Mongolian descent and the director of Buddhist culture centers in both Indiana and California.
Many of the international students at Indiana University find their way to the culture center. Other people travel from as far way as Mongolia or as close as Chicago for a weekend at the center.
And some, such as Russ Ellis and wife Patricia, move from Hawaii to volunteer for Rinpoche. The couple first encountered Rinpoche at his center in California and later came to work with him in Indiana.
The center director's charitable work through the culture centers includes the Cancer Care Program for Mongolian Children that has raised $600,000 toward building apartments in the capital of Mongolia adjacent to a maternity hospital. The apartments are for children undergoing treatment of cancer and for their families.
The Multi Educational Editing Center creates and distributes free books, including a computer manual written in Tibetan, a medical reference book in Mongolian and Tibetan languages. It also has created a library of Tibetan works for the Tibetan exiles in South India.
Rinpoche also supports The Tofu Project in honor of the Dalai Lama's wishes to move toward a meatless diet. Tofu-making machines have been donated to 10 monasteries to help monks convert to a vegetarian diet.
Recently, Rinpoche dedicated Sunday prayers and asked for donations to help victims of the recent Indiana tornado and storms. The service raised $500 that went directly to the Red Cross.
Much of the financing for projects is raised from the two cultural centers. In Bloomington, the gift shop, Buddhist teachings, yoga classes, retreats and donations are the primary sources of income.
"We really emphasize compassion and wisdom," Rinpoche said of Buddhism. © 2012 Evansville Courier & Press.
The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Culture Center, directed by Arjia Rinpoche, connects this small Midwest college town with people around the world.
The center offers Buddhism classes, retreats, a gift shop and yoga classes. It uses donations from visitors to finance charitable projects both in Bloomington and on the other side of the world.
A standard yellow church sign on Snoddy Road sits across the street from an elaborate gate that serves as an entryway.
"Through this little window they can see Tibet here," said Rinpoche.
Colorful prayer flags, strung across trees, blow in the wind. White temples adorned with gold and contrasted by maroon stripes and intricate artwork, called Stupas, sit atop small hills. A long building painted in yellows and reds with a small green awning is lined at the front with 11 cylindrical prayer wheels — a single large prayer wheel in the center that appears to be 5 feet tall with five smaller ones on either side of it. They look as if hammered copper and gold symbols in high relief are wrapped around them, the edges rubbed smooth by hands of those who have spun them. Atop the building, behind plexiglass, a single ornate wheel is slowly spun with an audible squeak.
"It's solar power," said Rinpoche.
A gift shop and the Temple are the only two buildings that remind you that you are in Indiana, not India, Tibet or Mongolia.
Decorated with gold statues and painted in vibrant colors with calligraphy-like symbols, they are rectangular brick buildings.
Inside, a foyer with benches and shoe shelves serves the tradition of removing your shoes before entering the Temple.
Literature and goods cover tables on either side and under the receptionist's window. Rinpoche's memoirs, in the form of the book "Surviving the Dragon," takes up the largest portion of the table.
At any given time you might see Geshe Kunga teaching Buddhist lessons behind the glass wall and double doors. Or Rinpoche leading a prayer with monks on either side of him and a table adorned with fruit, candles, flowers and colorful decorations in the center of the room.
Hand-cut decorations and intricate Buddhist statues of varying sizes cover the far wall. Visitors and students, sitting on mats, fill the rest of the room.
On a Sunday, you might find a rabbi, a Japanese Zen Master, or a pastor or preacher from any other faith speaking to the group as part of the center's strong interfaith mission.
"We all have the same goals we should all come together and pray for world peace," said Rinpoche.
Darhma talks, prayers and lunch are part of the Sunday service at the Temple.
Rinpoche, the former Abbot of Kumbum Monastery in China and an architect, is the only High Llama of Mongolian descent and the director of Buddhist culture centers in both Indiana and California.
Many of the international students at Indiana University find their way to the culture center. Other people travel from as far way as Mongolia or as close as Chicago for a weekend at the center.
And some, such as Russ Ellis and wife Patricia, move from Hawaii to volunteer for Rinpoche. The couple first encountered Rinpoche at his center in California and later came to work with him in Indiana.
The center director's charitable work through the culture centers includes the Cancer Care Program for Mongolian Children that has raised $600,000 toward building apartments in the capital of Mongolia adjacent to a maternity hospital. The apartments are for children undergoing treatment of cancer and for their families.
The Multi Educational Editing Center creates and distributes free books, including a computer manual written in Tibetan, a medical reference book in Mongolian and Tibetan languages. It also has created a library of Tibetan works for the Tibetan exiles in South India.
Rinpoche also supports The Tofu Project in honor of the Dalai Lama's wishes to move toward a meatless diet. Tofu-making machines have been donated to 10 monasteries to help monks convert to a vegetarian diet.
Recently, Rinpoche dedicated Sunday prayers and asked for donations to help victims of the recent Indiana tornado and storms. The service raised $500 that went directly to the Red Cross.
Much of the financing for projects is raised from the two cultural centers. In Bloomington, the gift shop, Buddhist teachings, yoga classes, retreats and donations are the primary sources of income.
"We really emphasize compassion and wisdom," Rinpoche said of Buddhism. © 2012 Evansville Courier & Press.
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