Our resident teacher, Geshe Thubten Sherab, is joined by a team of some thirty FPMT and other teachers, facilitators, and meditation leaders from around the world, these days exclusively via Zoom.
FAQ
Our Mission
We are a teaching and meditation center in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. We provide a friendly and supportive environment for learning and putting into practice the teachings of the Buddha. Thubten Norbu Ling means “Land of the Jewels of Buddha’s Teachings.”
Origin Story
Founded in 2000 by Ajna Seret, Thubten Norbu Ling had its modest beginning in a yurt. Thubten Norbu Ling received many teachers in its early years, including Venerable Connie Miller, Venerable Robina Courtin, Venerable George Churinoff, Ribur Rinpoche, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Over the years, with the dedication and hard work of many Center Directors, and many volunteers and philanthropists, it has grown into a successful dharma center in the Southwest offering Tibetan Buddhist teachings in the Gelug tradition.
When You Arrive
Please introduce yourself and sign up for our newsletter with one of our friendly volunteers.
Feel Free to Explore
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Relax with complimentary tea and snacks.
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Help yourself to a free book from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive display.
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Peruse the books and videos in our lending library.
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Spend some time getting to know other community members.
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Feel free to enter the gompa and find a comfortable seat to meditate before class begins.
What’s a Gompa?
A gompa is a Buddhist sacred space. There are traditional ways of showing respect to Dharma teachers, materials, and the gompa. Whether you consider yourself a Buddhist or not, we ask you to follow these customs out of respect for the tradition:
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Beverages are allowed, but please do not bring food into the gompa.
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Be sure to turn off your phone before entering the gompa.
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Please do not step over Dharma materials, place them on the floor, or on your seat, unless they rest on a clean cloth. Please do not place items on top of Dharma books/materials.
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Before a formal teaching, it is customary to stand quietly while waiting for the teacher to arrive. When the teacher enters, we bow, holding our hands together in the prayer posture until the teacher is seated.
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At the conclusion of a formal teaching, it is customary to stand quietly until the teacher has left.
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Please do not point the soles of your feet toward the altar or the teacher.
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Please do not recline during teachings. Whether you are sitting on a cushion of in a chair, try to maintain an alert yet relaxed posture to show respect to the teachings and the teacher.
Shoes?
Please remove your shoes and place them near the door. There are also hangers for your coat and a shelf for your hat.
Offering?
Please consider offering the suggested donation for the event and know that no one is turned away for lack of funds. The Dharma is freely offered, but TNL relies on donations to keep the lights on, the mortgage covered, and tea and cookies on the table!
Prostrate?
Some students offer three prostrations to the Buddha when entering the gompa. Additionally, once the teacher is seated to deliver a teaching, some students will offer three more prostrations before sitting down. Finally, some students will offer three more prostrations at the end of a teaching. None of this is obligatory. Prostrations are performed to purify negative karma, create merit, and practice humility.