GETTING TO KNOW US

-About the TCC
-Thubten J. Norbu
-Our mission
-Getting Involved
-Gift Shop
-Map to TCC
-Pets at the TCC 

THE TCC GROUNDS

-Jangchub Chorten
-Kalachakra Stupa
-Chamtse Ling
-Retreat Cottages
-Grounds stroll

EVENTS -PAST & FUTURE

-Event Schedule
-Kalachakra 1999
-HHDL's 1996 Visit
-Medicine Buddha Mandala
-Dorgyka Fire Puja
-Event Scrapbooks

TEACHINGS & SPEECHES

-Norbu's 1996 Speech to HHDL
-HHDL'S 1996 Teaching
-Aspirational Bodichitta 1996
-Heart Sutra

Tibetan Refugees

Important Links

The Tibetan Cultural Center, 3655 Snoddy Road, Bloomington, Indiana, will host an exhibit of photos and of Tibetan thangkas at the TCC daily from Saturday, September 8 through Saturday, September 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In addition, on Saturday, September 8 from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Sunday, September 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. (following our Sunday Meditation), Ven. Tenpa Tsering and Ven. Tenzin Jamyang, resident monks at the TCC, will demonstrate the art of thangka painting. They will explain to interested viewers the various steps to be followed in the creation of this type of religious are and will demonstrate the techniques they use in creating the thangkas.

Both the exhibit and the demonstrations are free and open to the public. Donations to defray expenses will be welcome.

Ven. Tenpa Tsering painting a thangka

The thangka is a traditional Tibetan form of religious art which cover a wide range of subject matters. Although always religious in nature, some thangkas depict the social history and customs and habits of Tibet. Others illustrate the Tibetan calendar, astronomy, and Tibetan traditional medicine and pharmacology. Biographical thangkas describe the major events in the life of religious figures and historical personages. Most thangkas are scroll paintings usually framed in a rich colorful silk brocade and have a thin silk veil covering the front surface. They are distinctively Tibetan, highly religious, and possess a unique art style of their own. Tibetans have always considered the thangkha as treasure of tremendous value. The thangkas that the Tibetan Cultural Center will exhibit feature buddhas, bodhisattvas, and great teachers of India and Tibet.

If interest demands, the monks will provide classes in the future to the public at the TCC in Tibetan art, including thangka painting.

Ven. Tenpa Tsering and one of the thangkas he has painted. The beautiful detail of this thangka cannot be seen in such a small image. To see a slightly larger image, plus some details of the thangka, click HERE, but be warned that the larger image will take time to load, and of course it still doesn't do justice to the detail in the original.