All About the Indiana Buddhist Center
Established in early 2003, the Indiana Buddhist Center serves the public by being a resource for the people of central Indiana and beyond by providing and being a local source of accurate information on the religion and philosophy of Buddhism in the lineage of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
Furthermore, the Center will serve as a place of common meditation and gathering for Indiana Buddhists and those sympathetic to the Dharma. Additionally, the Center will engage in events that further the understanding of Buddhist philosophy in the form of regular teachings and special events.
Currently, the IBC offers instruction on Buddhist philosophy and meditation. We are very fortunate to have Geshe Jinpa Sonam as a resident teacher and Tenzin Namgyal as a translator. These events are held at Indiana Buddhist Center located at 9260 E. 10th Street, Indianapolis, and are always free. Please check our schedule for dates and times.
To learn more about us and our precious teacher, please select one of the links at the right.
History
The Indiana Buddhist Center was established in early 2003. Geshe Lharampha Jinpa Sonam is our Spiritual Director and resident teacher. We are very grateful and blessed to have him as our precious teacher and pray he remains for many years. His kindness and generosity in providing teachings, ceremonies, answering questions and requests for blessings and advice are far beyond what we may ever repay.
In 2007, through the generosity of our members and supporters, we purchased our current, modest residence for our teacher. Previous to 2007, IBC had utilized donated space for teachings. The current residence is used as a meeting place for weekly teachings, meditations, offerings, prayer, retreats, gatherings, and other Buddhist observances.
Overview
As a Dharma teaching center, we welcome people of all religious faiths and backgrounds. We rely solely on the generosity of the community we serve. IBC never charges a fee for any teachings or activities. Our weekly attendance at teachings is between 10-25 people per teaching and approximately 450 people are currently subscribed to our listserve to receive our weekly emails. We currently have over 1,000 followers on Facebook.
Vision
IBC is the only Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Center in His Holiness' lineage in the Indianapolis metropolitan area of over 1 million people. Our vision for the future is to continue to expand the teaching and understanding of Tibetan Buddhist Dharma and the teachings of His Holiness by:
- Promoting interfaith harmony, cooperation and understanding among different religions
- Providing teachings to interested people on the benefits of generating loving-kindness and compassion in our society, regardless of apparent differences
- Encouraging our Dharma community to attain and promote inner peace according to Buddhist philosophy
- Providing classes and activities for children of all ages that teach compassion, loving-kindness and introduce our young to Buddha's teachings
- Continuing to provide Buddhist teachings to Buddhist practitioners of all levels, from introductory Buddhist philosophy to more extensive teaching on Buddhist texts, such as the Heart Sutra and the Four Tenets
- Continuing to serve as a source of accurate information to anyone interested in learning more about Buddhism
- We hope to construct a permanent Teaching Hall on our property, so that we may be able to accommodate a larger audience for teachings and events, and so that we will not be reliant upon other organizations to donate or rent space for our larger events
Current and Past Events
- Weekly teachings, study groups and meditation on various topics of Buddhist philosophy
- Hosting visiting teachers, such as Ven. Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Samten, former abbot of Drepung Gomang Monastery; Younge Khachab Rinpoche; Tenzin Kunsang Jigme, the seventh HH Taklung Matul Rinpoche and the Drepung Gomang monks
- Observation of all major Tibetan Buddhist holidays
- Buddhism classes for prisoners at Plainfield Correctional Facility
- New clothing donation drive in honor of Losar for Central Indiana's Children's Bureau
- Tibetan language classes
- Hosting Nyung Ne and other retreats
- Weekly yoga classes
- Member church of the Interfaith Hunger Initiative
- Co-hosting with An Lac Temple of the Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour
- Speaking engagements and co-hosting programs by our teacher and members at various churches and temples
- Special programming for children
- Other family activities and gatherings
- Presenting programs related to Tibetan culture, history and His Holiness' wish for the autonomy of Tibet
| Board of Directors | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2012-2013 | ||
| Spiritual Director | Geshe Jinpa Sonam | |
| President | Gaynell Collier-Magar | |
| Vice President | Laurie Smith | |
| Treasurer | Rebecca Bull | |
| Secretary | Shane Rice | |
| Asst. Treasurer | Faith Richmond | |
| Asst. Secretary | Cindy Martin | |
| Webmaster | Greg Marshall | |
