Rabten Chodarling - Centre for Tibetan Buddhist Studies

In 1974, the Venerable Geshe Rabten travelled to Switzerland for the first time, accepting an invitation from Western students and a request from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. It was here that he gave his very first teachings in the West, later stepping into the role of Abbot at the Tibet Institute Rikon.

However, the rising interest among Western students soon outgrew the institute's capacity. So, in response, Geshe Rabten founded the Tharpa Choeling Centre for Higher Tibetan Studies in Le Mont-Pèlerin, Switzerland, in 1977. Driven by Geshe's heartfelt wish to provide local seekers with access to authentic teachings, the centre was created as a place at which to study Buddhist philosophy and explore all other facets of Tibetan Buddhism, culture, art, medicine, and language.