Tashi Lhunpo Monastery

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement in Mysuru district, Karnataka. Re-established in 1972 by the Tibetan community in exile, it is the branch of the historic Tashi Lhunpo Monastery originally founded in 1447 in Shigatse, Tibet. Notable for its traditional Tibetan architecture, large prayer hall, gilded Buddha statues and vibrant murals, it serves as an important centre for Buddhist study and cultural preservation in South India.

Visitors can expect a large Tibetan monastic complex with traditional architecture, colorful facades, prayer wheels and a spacious prayer hall housing gilded statues of Buddha and elaborate thangkas and murals. The surroundings are calm and orderly within the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement, with courtyards, monks' quarters and study areas. Visitors can observe daily prayers and chanting, walk around the exterior, view religious art and learn about Tibetan Buddhist traditions in a quiet, respectful atmosphere.

The original Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was founded in 1447 by Gyalwa Gendun Drup, the First Dalai Lama, in Shigatse, Tibet. The Bylakuppe branch was re-established in 1972 by the Tibetan community in exile in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement, one of the earliest Tibetan settlements established in Karnataka in the early 1960s, to preserve monastic education and traditions.

The monastery is an important centre of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and is traditionally associated with the Panchen Lama lineage. It serves as a centre for Buddhist philosophy, debate and ritual, and plays a key role in preserving Tibetan art, architecture, language and cultural practices within the Bylakuppe settlement, hosting daily prayers and religious teachings.