FAQ - ABOUT TUSHITA

What is Tushita?

Is Tushita affiliated with any larger organisation?  

Can you tell me something about the history of Tushita?

I have heard that many accomplished practitioners had connections with Tushita, could you tell me more?

What tradition of Buddhism is practiced at Tushita?

Are there guidelines for staying at Tushita?

Are there guidelines for appropriate behavior in the meditation hall?

What facilities are available? 

What are the office and library opening hours?

What is Tushita? 

Tushita is a centre for the study and practice of Buddhism in the Tibetan Mahayana tradition. Tushita aims to provide a friendly and conducive environment for people of all nationalities and backgrounds to learn about and put into practice the teachings of the Buddha. With this in mind we organize regular introductory courses on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, as well as intermediate level courses and group retreats for experienced students. We also have retreat rooms/huts for experienced meditators to do individual retreats. Only people who are attending one of our courses/group retreats or do a strict personal retreat can stay at Tushita.

Is Tushita affiliated with any larger organisation? 

Yes. Tushita was begun in 1972 by Lama Thubten Yeshe, a highly qualified teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.  Since Lama Yeshe's passing away in 1984, his main student Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been the spiritual director of Tushita and the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) of which Tushita is a member. FPMT is a network of 145+ meditation centres and social service projects dedicated to benefiting others in 30+ countries around the world. 
For more information about FPMT, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, please see www.fpmt.org.

Can you tell me something about the history of Tushita?

In the 1960s, Western ‘seekers’ met Lama Thubten Yeshe and his main student Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Northern India, and having requested teachings from the Lamas, together they sought out a suitable site for instruction. They found property on Kopan Hill in Kathmandu, Nepal, and the first annual 'One-Month Meditation Course' was held at Kopan in November 1971. In response to the ever-growing demand from their Western students, the Lamas decided to open a sister centre which was intended to be used for retreats and they decided to locate it in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, which was home to many of their teachers. In 1972, along with a few of their Western students, Lamas Yeshe and Zopa bought an old colonial house on a hill above McLeod Ganj (near the village of Dharamkot), and Tushita Retreat Centre (which was later renamed Tushita Meditation Centre) was founded. Tushita means ‘The Place of Joy’, the pure land of the coming Buddha Maitreya.

During these early years, students came mainly from Kopan monastery; after having done the famous November course they did retreats at Tushita, some stayed for months, some even for years!

Tushita has developed a lot since then. Increased interest in Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation among Westerners meant that demand for courses grew, especially after His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Price in 1989. Lama Zopa Rinpoche (who became our spiritual director after Lama Yeshe passed away in 1984), decided that Tushita could no longer give priority to a few experienced people doing retreats and the centre started giving courses on a regular basis, emphasising access for those new to the Buddha’s teachings.

Nowadays Tushita’s 10-day residential introductory courses are extremely popular and often have long waiting lists. Many people from all over the world have been introduced to the teachings of the Buddha at Tushita. Very often course participants comment to us that attending an introductory course at Tushita was definitely one of their highlights on their trip in India and that Tushita has a special place in their hearts.

 I have heard that many accomplished practitioners had connections with Tushita, could you tell me more?

In 1960 Trijang Rinpoche, the junior tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, lived for 7 years in what later became Lama Yeshe’s room in Tushita’s main building (a small room next to the main meditation hall, which has been preserved since Lama Yeshe passed away). At that time H.H. the Dalai Lama lived just a couple of hundred meters down the mountain track (in what is today the Mountaineering Institute). H.H. the Dalai Lama’s senior tutor Ling Rinpoche lived in a cottage just above Tushita (in what is now Chopra Guest House).

Many of the old, high lamas, who had to escape Tibet around the same time as H.H. the Dalai Lama, came to Tushita to teach and perform initiations, all of them blessing Tushita with their very special presence. Most of these Lamas have now passed on and stupas dedicated to some of them can be found around Tushita (Lama Yeshe, Geshe Rabten, Geshe Jampa Wongdu) and nearby (it is a beautiful, quiet 20 minute walk to Trijang Rinpoche’s stupa from here).

The new generation reincarnations of a number of those great lamas were born in the mid-1980s and are close in age, some of them still living near by Tushita and occasionally visiting for ceremonies and other special occasions. The present Ling Rinpoche, now 21 years old, has said “Tushita was very precious… It has become like a pilgrimage place, with all the gurus and great lamas. When you go there, there’s a special feeling - in the Lamas’ room and in the whole area.”

A couple of years after Lama Yeshe passed away, his reincarnation was recognized as a Spanish boy called Osel. Lama Osel was enthroned at Tushita at the age of three. For more information about Lama Yeshe and Lama Osel and the topic of reincarnation we highly recommend reading: “Reincarnation: The boy lama” by Vicki Mackenzie.

Lama Yeshe’s room is still intact, pretty much as he left it. When H.H. the Dalai Lama visited Tushita in 1996, he went straight to this room and prostrated to the seat of his former tutor, Trijang Rinpoche. Lama Zopa Rinpoche, our spiritual director, asked Tushita to take great care of this room (especially during the renovation work of the main building starting in 2007) and preserve it as a museum.

For more information about Tushita please see: Tushita: “The Place of Joy” 

What tradition of Buddhism is practiced at Tushita?

Our teachings, meditations and practices are based on the tradition of Lama Tsong Khapa of Tibet (the Gelugpa School of Tibetan Buddhism), as taught to us by our founder Lama Thubten Yeshe and our spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche, both of whom are students of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  Practitioners of all Buddhist schools as well as non-Buddhists of any nationality and any religion are welcome to visit our facilities, study and meditate here.

Are there guidelines for staying at Tushita?

Yes.  We are a retreat centre, not a guesthouse, so we do ask all of our guests to observe the following guidelines in order to maintain an atmosphere conducive to inner reflection and meditation:

• Respect all life: do not intentionally kill any living being, even small insects
• Respect others' property: do not steal or take anything not freely given
• Be honest and straightforward: do not lie or intentionally deceive others
• Be celibate: no sexual activity
• Be alert and mindful: avoid intoxicants such as alcohol, drugs and cigarettes (if necessary, one can smoke outside Tushita property).
• Be considerate of others' silence: no singing or playing music and keep silence in the appropriate areas
• Be considerate of the monks and nuns: dress respectfully (please no shorts above the knee, tank-top shirts or tight and revealing clothing).

Are there guidelines for appropriate behavior in the meditation hall?

The following etiquette is considered respectful behaviour in a Buddhist temple/meditation hall.

• Please stand up when the teacher enters the hall.
• Please do not cover your head during teachings: no hats, scarves etc.
• Please do not point your feet towards the teacher, the altar or any holy object.
• Please do not put Dharma material – prayer books, texts, Dharma books or note books with Dharma in them – on the floor; or sit or step over them.
• Please do not lie down in the gompa between the session, during the teachings or while you are watching a video. If you need to rest lean against the wall or sit in a chair.
• Always keep silence in the meditation hall, especially during teachings, pujas and when there are people meditating.
• Please do not do yoga, massage, reiki or stretching exercises in the gompa.

These guidelines are very useful to remember if you are visiting Tibetan monasteries or attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s public teachings any other Buddhist teachings.

What facilities are available?

At Tushita following facilities are available:

• Two inspiring meditation halls in a beautiful forest setting
• Excellent library (books, videos and audio teachings) and bookshop
• Daily needs shop (toiletries, stationary, snacks, etc.)
• Laundry service

What are the office and library opening hours?

9:30 to 11:30am, a break for lunch, and then 12:30 to 4:00pm, Monday to Saturday.
Closed Sundays!

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