President & Abbot: Arjia Rinpoche

Vice-president: Brian Li

Secretary: Curt Jones

Treasurer: Sudakara Koneru

Member: Robert Thurman

Member: Elaine Irwin

Director – Geshe Kunga

Spiritual teacher – Geshe Kunga

Manager – Tenpa Phuntsok

Accountant – Natalie LeBeau

Secretary & Tour Coordinator – Staci Jennings

Mongolian Coordinator – Badmaarag Chuluun

The Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery (a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization) - located on the grounds of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center - is dedicated to the promotion of world peace and harmony. It fosters interfaith dialogue and is open to persons of all faith who wish to come to the temple to meditate, participate in retreat programs, and attend Buddhist Dharma teachings.

The monastery is a result of the vision of Thubten Norbu (Tagtser Rinpoche) who was determined to promote interfaith dialogue in the Bloomington, Indiana area and, indeed, throughout the world. The Chamtse Ling Temple cornerstone was laid by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in July 1996 when he visited the center to give a teaching on "Aspirational Bodhichitta." At that time, he gave the temple its name: "Chamtse Ling" or "Field of Compassion." Construction of the temple began in 2002 and was finally completed in 2003. His Holiness returned to the Tibetan Cultural Center in September 2003 and consecrated the temple in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that involved members of 11 faiths: Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Society of Friends, Bahai, Jewish, Hindu, Shinto, Sikh,Unitarian, and Native American. Muhammed Ali, a member of the religion of Islam, was a special guest who co-hosted the ceremony with His Holiness. Under the new direction proposed by His Holiness, the temple has been renamed "Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery" in honor of the great Kumbum Monastery located in Eastern Tibet. Arjia Rinpoche is in the process of creating "Kumbum West"--a learning institution to be located at the temple that will be dedicated to the teaching of Language, Philosophy, Medicine/ Astrologolical Sciences, and Meditation. Spiritual teachers and Buddhist scholars from many traditions and from all parts of the world come to teach at Kumbum Chamtse Ling. Dharma teachings are routinely offered at the Monastery.                       

Kumbum Chamtse Ling Board Members

President & Director: Arjia Rinpoche

Spiritual Teacher: Geshe Kunga

Vice-president: Sudakara Konerfu

Secretary: Chenli Rejie

Treasurer: Mike Kirsch

Member: Michael Schofield

Member: Dhondrup Tsering

Member: Mary Pattison

Kumbum Monastery is one of the six largest monasteries of the Gelugpasect of Tibetan Buddhism and the birth place of Lama Tsong Khapa (founder of the sect to which His Holiness the Dalai Lama belongs). Kumbum Monastery was once the home of 3,600 monks and well revered by the four well known Buddhist Colleges for higher learning: the Institute of Sutra, Instituteof Tantra, Institute of Tibetan Medicine, and the Institute of the Kalachakra(Cosmology).

In the 1980s, with the revival of Buddhism in Tibet and China, Arjia Rinpoche reestablished the monastic life and traditional studies. Through his life Rinpoche was tutored by specialized teachers in Buddhist philosophy, sutra and tantra teachings, as well as, Buddhist art and architectural design. He was also in charge of the renovations of Kumbum monastery in 1991 and launched several projects including: (a.) a Red Cross Organizationin Kumbum, (b.) Disaster Relief Project for local villages, (c.) a Clinicfor villagers run by monks of the Tibetan Medical Institute and (d) a schoolfor local village children.

Kumbum is the home of the famous statue of "The Four Perfect Friends" which is in the monastery's courtyard. Equally famous are the 8 Chortens that signify the 8 stages of enlightenment.