# Gompa

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Tibetan Buddhist and Bon religious monastery

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Part of a series on Tibetan Buddhism Dharmachakra Schools Nyingma Bon Kadam Sakya Bodong Kagyu Jonang Gelug Rimé Key personalities First dissemination Padmasambhāva Śāntarakṣita Kamalaśīla Songtsen Gampo Trisong Detsen Ralpacan Second dissemination Atiśa Talika Abhayakirti Niguma Sukhasiddhi Milarepa Nyingma Yeshe Tsogyal Longchenpa Jigme Lingpa Patrul Rinpoche Dudjom Lingpa Mipham Kagyu Marpa Rangjung Dorje Jonang Dolpopa Taranatha Sakya Sakya Pandita Gorampa Bodongpa Samding Dorje Phagmo Gelugpa Je Tsongkhapa 5th Dalai Lama 13th Dalai Lama 14th Dalai Lama 10th Panchen Lama Teachings General Buddhist Three marks of existence Skandha Cosmology Saṃsāra Rebirth Bodhisattva Dharma Dependent origination Karma Tibetan Four Tenets system Five Pure Lights Rangtong-Shentong Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction Nyingma Dzogchen Pointing-out instruction Practices and attainment Lamrim Pāramitās Bodhicitta Avalokiteśvara Meditation Laity Vajrayana Tantra techniques Deity yoga Guru yoga Dream yoga Thukdam Buddhahood Major monasteries Tradruk Drepung Dzogchen Ganden Jokhang Kumbum Labrang Mindrolling Namgyal Narthang Nechung Pabonka Palcho Ralung Ramoche Rato Sakya Samye Sanga Sera Shalu Tashi Lhunpo Tsurphu Yerpa Institutional roles Dalai Lama Panchen Lama Lama Karmapa Rinpoche Geshe Tertön Tulku Western tulku Festivals Chotrul Duchen Dajyur Galdan Namchot Losar Dosmoche Monlam Sho Dun Losoong Texts Kangyur Tengyur Tibetan Buddhist canon Mahayana sutras Nyingma Gyubum Art Sand mandala Thangka Wall paintings Ashtamangala Tree of physiology Festival thangka Mani stone History and overview History Timeline Outline Culture Index of articles v t e

Gompa Thubten Shedrup Dhargyeling, Mustang in 2015

A **Gompa** or **Gönpa** or **Gumba** ([Tibetan](/source/Tibetan_script): དགོན་པ།, [Wylie](/source/Wylie_transliteration): dgon pa[1] "remote place", Sanskrit *araṇya*[2]), also known as **ling** ([Wylie](/source/Wylie_transliteration): gling, "island"), is a sacred [Buddhist](/source/Buddhism) spiritual compound where teachings may be given and lineage [sādhanās](/source/S%C4%81dhan%C4%81) may be stored. They may be compared to [viharas](/source/Vihara) (bihars) and to a [university campus](/source/University_campus) with adjacent living quarters. Those gompas associated with [Tibetan Buddhism](/source/Tibetan_Buddhism) are common in [Tibet](/source/Tibet), [India](/source/India), [Nepal](/source/Nepal), [Bhutan](/source/Bhutan), and [China](/source/China). Bhutanese [dzong architecture](/source/Dzong_architecture) is a subset of traditional gompa design.

Gompa may also refer to a shrine room or meditation room, without the attached living quarters, where practitioners meditate and listen to teachings. Shrine rooms in urban Buddhist centres are often referred to as gompas.

[Thikse Monastery](/source/Thikse_Monastery) near [Leh](/source/Leh) in [Ladakh](/source/Ladakh), India, is typical of [Tibetan Buddhist](/source/Tibetan_Buddhism) gömpa design.

[Dhankar Gompa](/source/Dhankar_Gompa), [Spiti Valley](/source/Spiti_Valley), India.

Design and interior details vary between Buddhist lineages and from region to region. The general design usually includes a central shrine room or hall, containing statues of buddhas, wall paintings, [murtis](/source/Murti) or [thangkas](/source/Thangka), cushions and [puja](/source/Puja_(Buddhism)) tables for monks, nuns, and lay practitioners. Often a library is on a floor above, with additional shrine rooms above. The gompa, or ling, may also be accompanied by other sacred buildings including multiple shrine rooms as at [Samye Monastery](/source/Samye_Monastery) in Tibet, and terraces, gardens, and [stupas](/source/Stupa).

Litang Gompa in 2004

For practical purposes 'Gompa' in Tibetan Buddhist regions refers to a variety of religious buildings, (generally correlating to what might be described as a church) including small temple buildings and other places of worship or religious learning.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "Five Breathtaking Gumbas Around Kathmandu", *OMG Nepal*, [https://omgnepal.com/five-breathtaking-gumbas-around-kathmandu/](https://omgnepal.com/five-breathtaking-gumbas-around-kathmandu/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Buswell_2-0)** Buswell, Robert E., ed. (2013). *Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism*. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 238. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0691157863](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0691157863).

Centre for Buddhist Culture (Gompa Temple), Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, is perched atop a hill near Nehru Museum. A grand gate and winding road lead up, giving it a serene feel, set apart from the bustle of the nearby town.

## External links

- [Article on Likir & Alchi Gompa by Rangan Datta](http://www.rangan-datta.info/Likir%20Alchi.htm)

- [Article on Tashiding Gompa, Sikkim by Rangan Datta](http://www.rangan-datta.info/Khandosangphuk.htm)

- [Travel Article on Gompas of West Sikkim by Rangan Datta](http://www.rangan-datta.info/West%20sikkim.htm)

- [Rangan Datta's Home Page](https://web.archive.org/web/20080905113025/http://www.rangan-datta.info/index.htm)

- [WanderingScapes: A traveler's account of Ladakh and its Gompas](https://web.archive.org/web/20100401064418/http://wanderingscapes.com/blog/)

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