Profile
Gaden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling (GSTDL) is one of the earliest Tibetan Buddhist centers established in the West. Founded in Los Angeles in 1978 by the late Venerable Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen, it was named “Land of Flourishing Dharma” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The center’s mission has been to share with the world the precious teachings of the Buddha Dharma, and to extend assistance to exiled Tibetan monastic communities in India.
GSTDL was housed in several locations throughout Los Angeles before settling in its current address in the Belmont Heights neighborhood of Long Beach in 1996. As a vibrant urban dharma center, GSTDL has been privileged to host His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visits to the LA area on seven different occasions. For over 35 years, GSTDL has maintained a consistent and rigorous teaching schedule focused on the major works of Nagarjuna, Shantideva, Atisha, and Je Tsong Khapa (founder of the Gelugpa lineage), with teaching cycles revolving on essential Lam Rim (Stages of the Path) and lo-jong (mind training) texts. GSTDL has also hosted eminent teachers Kyabje Zong Rinpoche and the late Kyabje Lati Rinpoche to confer major and minor empowerments, commentaries, and retreats.
GSTDL offers weekly teachings, meditation sessions, and bimonthly Tsog commitments in a live, hybrid format, and also observes biannual Nyung Ne retreats and prayer services alongside major Buddhist and Tibetan holidays. An extensive teaching archive is available to stream online, and the center also hosts a small bookstore and extensive lending library open by appointment.
Regular teachings and meditation sessions are held:
Mondays & Wednesdays 7:30pm-9:00pm
Sundays 10:30am-12:30pm
Also open by appointment
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@gadenshartsethubtendhargye7815
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/gstdl/
