Buray in Tibetan means insect cloth. Known as endi in India, this rugged, off white fabric is made from the pierced cocoon of the Attacus Ricini moth whose larvae feed on the leaves of the castor o...
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Tibetan culture and society is rooted in pastoralism. The population outside cities is mostly nomadic, though many are both nomads and farmers, and others, exclusively farmers. Whatever their roots...
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PEMBA DORJE (1930-2011) Norbulingka Institute was founded to help revive Tibetan artistic tradition and artisan-ship. We were fortunate to have with us several great masters eager to pass on their...
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In Tibet, religious objects were commissioned by patrons, individual artists, or guilds, as existed in Lhasa. All orders were custom made and patrons could commission anything from a two inch statu...
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Traditional Concepts in New Settings
Norbulingka creates the contemporary from the traditional, playfully integrating the visuals of a treasured stone, the dZi,into traditional door curtains and cushions used in modern homes. Norbulin...
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Thirty years ago, Norbulingka marked its beginnings, with our first trainees decorating the newly erected buildings under Master Thangka painter Temba Chophel. There was an atmosphere of electric e...
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Please Support Norbulingka Institute during Covid-19. Norbulingka Institute is a non-profit organization, chaired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama until his retirement from official duties in 2015. T...
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Appliqué is a special type of embroidery which makes use of many individual pieces to form an intricate patchwork design. Used mostly in Tibet for creating silk thangkas, we have adapted the appliq...
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In Tibet, painting was both a sacred art used in the creation of thangkas and also a decorative one, used to ornament furniture and the walls of houses. While the uses of each are very different, t...
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