Monastery — Gomde UK

Thubten Chökor Ling
The Island where the Wheel of Buddha’s Teachings Turns.

Introduction

In September 2022 Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche’s full vision for ‘Thubten Chökor Ling’ at Gomde UK was shared with the gathered students.

Rinpoche, supported by the aspirations of many of his students, expressed his deep wish and intent to preserve the authentic Dharma for the benefit of future generations. The monastic sangha is the source and foundation of the Dharma, holding a treasury of knowledge and practice. Therefore Rinpoche concluded that we need to become a Monastery to help preserve the Dharma for all for now and future generations

Rinpoche advised us that this endeavour is not about simply acquiring buildings but creating buildings to make a stable and authentic home for the Dharma to flourish through the monastic community.

In creating the monastery complex at Gomde UK, Rinpoche restated the importance of the new large temple with a library, alongside a range of facilities for study, practice, retreat and teaching.

Emphasising the order in which the development needed to be approached, Rinpoche instructed us to immediately begin the development of the South Wing – The Peatland Retreat Wing.

The Peatland Retreat Wing

Gomde UK is delighted to share our plan for the brand new Peatland Retreat Wing.

The Peatland Retreat Wing is the next exciting part of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche’s vision: to create a monastery providing a stable and lasting home for Buddhist teachings in the UK. Thubten Chokor Ling Monastery at Lindholme Hall, Doncaster will be supported by a range of facilities to enable teaching, study, practice and retreat for everyone.

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New Kitchen and Dining room - An Auspicious Coincidence

Rinpoche’s advice has had a ripple effect; building the Peatland Retreat Wing necessitated the relocation of the commercial kitchen, making space for us to reimagine our plans. The new Studio workshop (completed in 2022) now provides space for a wonderful new commercial kitchen as well as a much needed second dining area.

The Temple - A place to gather

The Temple will follow the traditional Tibetan Buddhist style and be built from local Yorkshire limestone, the temple has been designed to last for this and many future generations. We asked the structural engineers ‘Can a building be designed to last until the end of time?’ Being practical, We have settled for 500 years.

Much has already been achieved in respect of the Thubten Chokor Ling Temple; full planning permission has been acquired and the foundation and basement walls are now in place.

“The Thubten Chokor Ling Temple is perfectly situated; surrounded by nature on all sides, set in the centre of a six-acre meadow and encircled by woodland.”

Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche

Rinpoche said that during his visit his mind had become ‘tingly’ with a deep sense that the temple was too small. Rinpoche now sees that due to the site’s future significance we need a much larger temple with a main hall of 100 x 100 feet, seating around 1,000 people; truly a place for significant gathering.

Fulfilling Rinpoche’s vision will necessitate a complete review of the temple design but the engineers have arranged that works already completed will be incorporated into the larger temple structure.

This review creates a pause, a long breath for the vision to unfold. With Rinpoche’s guidance we will share news of developments in the coming year.

Library

Rinpoche once again emphasised the need for a great library to underpin and support study and practice. The library will eventually be housed on the upper floors of the new Temple building. The creation of the library is an ongoing project. We now have around 2,300 catalogued books. We recently received a new donation of around 400 books and have plans to extend the current library which is located in Lindholme Hall.

The library grows into Rinpoche’s vision as a great Buddhist library is being created, book by book.

If you would like to join our library team, please contact paulette@gomde.uk

“A library for dharma text is the precious treasury of wisdom, and that’s an invaluable treasure; it’s more valuable than any kind of material treasure.”

Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche

How will the monastery and temple benefit?

Growing a Monastic community. Thubten Chökor Ling will provide a safe, secluded and supportive base for the authentic Dharma to be studied, reflected upon, practised and taught. It will be a home for a monastic community with lay support to gather and support one another in a shared endeavour.

A significant place of gathering – Thubten Chökor Ling will provide a blessed and protected place for great Dharma gatherings. It will also be of spiritual, educational and cultural interest to adults, young people and children from the UK and further afield.

Buddhist scholars and practitioners – Offering exemplary teachings and rare facilities, Thubten Chökor Ling Monastery and Temple will serve Buddhist practitioners and scholars helping deepen their knowledge and insight. As a place of authenticity and excellence it will directly help beings move step by step towards liberation.

Future generations of practitioners – the buildings form the home for the source of the Dharma, the monastic sangha. This provides the conditions for the teachings to flourish long into the future and be accessible to all those who have interest.

The local area – Attracting many visitors, Thubten Chökor Ling will have a positive economic impact locally as we use local traders and crafts people. Additionally we hope to attract a number of visiotrs therby helping local businesses.

The local community — Thubten Chokor Ling will provide many opportunities for volunteering, enhancing and sharing skills, developing a culture of kindness and bringing meaning into the everyday. As all are welcome to become part of the project this will have a positive ripple effect for the local community. It will additionally increase local opportunities for well-being and spiritual growth

The environment – Thubten Chökor Ling is located in the centre of a peatland; a landscape of rich biodiversity and environmental significance. Creating a permanent home for the Dharma will ensure that our conservation and environmental goals will be consistently pursued and given appropriate priority, thereby benefiting all beings.

More Information

Rinpoche said it will take many of us to make this profound and vast vision a reality.

If you would like more information or would like to support the project through a financial donation or by giving skills or expertise contact the Trustees through helen at info@gomde.uk