Tibetan history was made thousands of miles from the “Land of Snows” at two significant events hosted by the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center (TMBCC) in Bloomington, Indiana. Set in the heart of the American Midwest, where rolling farmlands and sweltering 90-degree summer heat replace mountain peaks and crisp Himalayan breezes more typical of temples and monasteries across the Tibetan Plateau, the TMBCC has persisted for more than four decades as a beacon of Buddhist teachings and treasure house of Tibetan and Mongolian cultures. With direct links to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the center’s story demonstrates how the authority of Tibet’s spiritual leader and the resolution of the Tibetan diaspora has gained new forms of strength in exile.
The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center – originally named the Tibetan Cultural Center – was established in 1979 by Takster Rinpoche, Thubten Jigme Norbu (1922-2008), the older brother of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. According to his autobiography, Takster Rinpoche escaped Tibet in 1950. He spent much of the next decade in New York City before settling in Bloomington on a whim in 1964.
In that year, Takster Rinpoche received an unexpected invitation to teach at Indiana University (IU) from Denis Sinor, then one of the world’s preeminent scholars of Central Asia and emeritus faculty at (IU). His teaching profile would soon expand to courses Tibetan culture, religion, and monasticism. In addition to his academic career, which included several published books and articles, he opened the center 14 years later with the simple mission of preserving Tibetan culture and religion. He remained the director until becoming seriously ill in the early 2000s.
Recognizing the importance of his elder brother’s work at the Tibetan Center in Bloomington, His Holiness the Dalai Lama appointed the 8th Arjia Rinpoche as the next director in 2005.
Arjia Rinpoche at the TMBCC Summer Prayer Festival, Aug. 9, 2025. Courtesy photo provided by Timothy A. Grose.
Similar to his predecessor, Arjia Rinpoche was another high-ranking incarnate lama and a former abbot of Kumbum Monastery in Amdo Tibet (present-day Qinghai province), one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist centers outside central Tibet.
After the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), Arjia Rinpoche became a high-profile religious leader. He attended the controversial selection of the 9th Panchen Lama using the Golden Urn ritual on December 8, 1995 in Lhasa, in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rigged the process to select their candidate instead of the individual chosen by the Dalai Lama. The startling details can be read in his autobiography. Unwavering in his loyalty to His Holiness, Arjia Rinpoche refused to be the tutor of the government-appointed Panchen Lama, stepped down from his appointment as the leader of the Buddhist Association of China, and fled to Guatemala before settling in the United States.
Under the vision of the Dalai Lama and the direction of Arjia Rinpoche, the center expanded its mission. Renamed the Tibetan Buddhist Cultural Center in 2007, its activities now seek to carry on the legacy of Kumbum Monastery in the West by preserving Tibetan culture and identity – alongside the cultures and Buddhism of Mongolians from the Russian Republics of Kalmykia, Buyatia, and Tuva – in addition to fostering Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist cultures in the United States. During Arjia Rinpoche’s tenure as director, TMBCC thrived, attracting regular practitioners, curious visitors, and distinguished guests. His Holiness even visited in 2007 and 2010. His philanthropy extends well beyond the TMBCC to projects that include elderly care facilities and a cancer treatment center in Mongolia and aid campaigns in Ladakh, India.
On June 11, 2025, during a celebration for Saga Dawa – the holiest month in the Buddhist calendar – Minyak Rinpoche (Tenzin Khyenrap) formally assumed the role as the Center’s Kumbum Chamtse Ling director. Arjia Rinpoche jokingly handed him the “legal documents” wrapped in a khata, the ceremonial white scarf.
Arjia Rinpoche (left) hands Minkyak Rinpoche (right) the “legal documents” to officialize the new director of the Center’s Kumbum Chamtse Ling, June 11, 2025. Courtesy photo provided by Timothy A. Grose.
Unlike his predecessors, Takster Rinpoche and Arjia Rinpoche, Minyak Rinpoche was not born in Tibet; in fact, he is unlikely to be allowed by the Chinese government to step foot there. Instead, he was born in one of the Tibetan settlement villages in southern India’s Mundgod region, which the Dalai Lama built from the ground up in the 1960s for Tibetan refugees.
At the age of five, Tenzin Khyenrap was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the fourth Minyak Rinpoche. He began his studies in 1987 at Drepung Gomang Monastery, one of the “three great monastic seats” of Tibetan Buddhist studies, which was rebuilt in Mundgod. He excelled in Buddhist philosophy, earning the rank of Geshe Lharampa, generally understood as an academic degree equivalent to a Ph.D. Before coming to Indiana, Minyak Rinpoche served as a visiting scholar at Oxford and Cambridge University. His recognition as an important reincarnate lama, training in exile, and appointment as the acting director of the TMBCC demonstrates His Holiness’ ability to cultivate Buddhist leadership outside of Tibet.
The brief history of the TMBCC’s directors is significant: it traces the realization of the Dalai Lama’s vision on a local level. What began as empty land, a literal and metaphorical lacuna of Buddhist learning, blossomed into one of the most important dharma centers in North America. To be sure, His Holiness did not oversee each and every step, but his unwavering commitment to compassion and humanity inspired each director to fulfill the spiritual leader’s enlightened wishes or dgongs pa.
Minyak Rinpoche (left), Cincinatti Mayor Aftab Pureval (middle), and Arjia Rinpoche (right) pose behind a birthday cake celebrating the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday. Courtesy photo provided by Timothy A. Grose.
That spirit was most evident during this year’s five-day Summer Prayer Festival held at the TMBCC from August 5-10. This five-day event attracted 50 monks and dozens more Tibetans, Mongolians, and their allies who gathered in prayer and celebration. The atmosphere was centered on peace rather than condemnation of the CCP.
While personal stories of exile and separation revealed collective mourning over separation from a homeland they were outshone by joy, laughter, and unity. In one of the most moving moments, they sang their national anthem – Tibetans from U-Tsang, Amdo, and Kham; those born in diaspora communities in India; and second generation Tibetans from the United States. They stood united as Tibetans.
This unity exposes a potential flaw in the CCP’s attempts to weaken the authority of the Dalai Lama. It rests on a linear assumption: marginalizing the Dalai Lama’s influence and controlling monastic institutions will shift Tibetan identity away from its cultural-religious foundation and toward Chinese modernization. Yet, for Buddhists, worldviews are shaped – at least in part – by a cosmology of cyclical cause and effect. From this perspective, efforts of suppression may generate unpredicted forms of renewal.
The fact that the TMBCC is flourishing in Indiana demonstrates that the Dalai Lama’s influence is not constrained by straightforward government restrictions or strictly controlled political borders. Even as loyalty to him remains strong inside Tibet, his authority has manifested in new forms, far from Tibet and Dharmsala. As the anthem ended with the cry “Bod gyalo!” or Victory to Tibet – echoing even from non-Tibetans – it became clear that the Dalai Lama’s reach remains ever expanding.