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Welcome to Olmo Ling
Olmo Ling is a religious educational non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the ancient teachings of the Bon tradition of Tibet and making them available and accessible to lay practitioners.
Olmo Ling offers weekly meditation practice and teachings, prayers, meditation instruction and private interviews, and a study program that includes regular retreats with Tempa Dukte Lama and visiting lamas of the Bon tradition.
Learn more about Olmo Ling or Subscribe to our Mailing List.
Visit the Olmo Ling Teaching and Retreat Schedule for 2025 to view upcoming programs and please visit Olmo Ling online Bookstore!
July 29th | Free Tuesday Evening Talk
Loving Mother Meditation
with Tempa Dukte Lama
7:00 PM EST via Zoom or In-Person at:
Olmo Ling Bon Center
1101 Greenfield Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Join us as Tempa Lama continues this summer’s theme of offering talks and meditations that are accessible to all.
In this week’s talk, Tempa Lama will guide us in meditating on the Loving Mother and her qualities. The Loving Mother of Wisdom, Sherab Jamma, is the female Buddha of love and wisdom and the highest deity of the Bon tradition. No prior meditation experience necessary!
The weekly program at Olmo Ling is free! All are welcome!
Donations to Tempa Dukte Lama or to Olmo Ling Bon Center are always deeply appreciated.
We now require a one-time registration for the weekly Tuesday evening talks. If you registered already previously, you are all set!
Register Here for our Zoom Talks
Dü Dok: Averting Misfortune and Obstacles
Saturday, August 16th – Sunday, August 17th, 2025
from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM EST
This teaching is offered both via Zoom and In-Person at Olmo Ling (1101 Greenfield Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, USA)
The teaching will be taught in English. Simultaneous translation will be available in Spanish & French over Zoom.
Tempa Lama will offer the teaching and transmission of the profound and powerful Dü Dok ritual prayer for averting misfortune and obstacles. Dü Dok is a short and powerful chanted ritual prayer that we can do to help ourselves, our friends and family, and all beings. Through this practice, we clear the causes of periodic misfortune and obstacles to the five divine energies of the individual: the Tsog (life force), Lu (health), Wangtang (livelihood), Lungta (social wellbeing), and Lha (soul). Through this ritual, we can avert negative planetary forces and clear provocations of energy, illness, and misfortune. The ritual also helps us heal trauma and recurring nightmares.
Tempa Lama has been doing this practice all his life as a daily practice. He that all his students learn this practice.
Read More & Register
Advanced Practical Training in Conducting the Jang Chok Ritual
Saturday, August 30th – Sunday, August 31st, 2025
Saturday’s Teaching Hours:
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM EST
LUNCH BREAK
2:00 – 4:00 PM EST
Sunday’s Teaching Hours:
9:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
This IN-PERSON ONLY practical training offers the opportunity to learn more about the Jang Chok ritual for people who participated in the Three Weekend Jang Chok Training offered at Olmo Ling Bon Center either June 7th – June 22nd, 2025 or in July and August 2023.
In this workshop, participants will practice making the tormas and setting up the altar for the Jang Chok ritual as well as chanting and conducting the ritual. This special weekend will also include conducting the Jang Chok ritual with Tempa Lama, with the opportunity to serve as Chopon (service master) for different ritual sections.
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Update on the Olmo Ling Temple Building!
Thanks to the generous support of our community we were able to acquire our temple building in Pittsburgh in December 2022. Our temple is the cornerstone of our work in offering Bon teachings and carrying out charitable projects in the Himalayas. Following His Holiness’ visit in July 2023 we began work on obtaining a residential-use permit for the two floors above the temple so that we can rent them out to community members and help cover the monthly mortgage payments.
The upper two floors are currently linked with a communicating stairs. There is little fire separation between all three floors. We anticipated that we would need to remove the communicating stairs, install a separate heating and cooling system for the second floor (to close off a possible fire pathway from the basement boiler room), and install a fire alarm system. However, we learned that we additionally needed to construct either external fire stairs for all three floor or a sprinkler system with a new water main line connecting across the road from Olmo Ling. Iris worked with our architects over several months to appeal to the City Board of Appeals twice to request an exemption to these extremely costly requirements. We are delighted to share that in December we were granted an exemption given our building’s small size!
While this is very welcome news, some fire safety requirements still have be met. We ask for your help in covering these cost so that we can soon rent out the two upper floors.
Budget for Fire Safety Requirements:- $35,000 for removing the stairs between the upper two floors (for fire safety) and installing a separate heating-cooling system on the second floor. This has the additional benefits of expanding the narrow hallways on both upper floors and replacing a very old furnace.
- $5,914 in professional services from the architects and engineer
- $5,000 for better sound proofing between the temple and residential floor above
- $881 in permit fees
- $328 for smaller items
- Fire alarm system (costs not yet known)
Total Budget: $47,123
Raised So Far: $29,268
To Be Raised: $17,855
We grateful acknowledge the generosity of a dear community member whose substantial gifts enabled us to bridge the time while we waited for the permit. We also thank our architects Greg and Ee Ling Marin for offering their skillful work at a discounted rate.
We sincerely thank you for your support and prayers. Your generosity allows us to manifest Tempa Lama’s deep aspiration to make the Bon wisdom teachings widely available in the West through teachings, practice, translations, and community gatherings.
READ MORE AND DONATE
Wednesday Ngondro (6:00 PM) & Silent Meditation (6:30 PM)
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM EST
Offered In-Person with Senior Student Gary Terner
Participants are welcome to join both the Ngondro / Preliminary teachings of Bon Buddhism (6:00 PM EST) and Silent Meditation (6:30 PM EST) or either of the two sessions. You do not need to practice Bon Buddhism to attend Silent Meditation starting at 6:30 PM EST.
The Wednesday evening practice at Olmo Ling Temple is free and open to all. This practice will offer the experience of meditating in a group. Group meditation is helpful in establishing a regular, stable meditation practice.
Silence will be observed throughout (from the second ringing of the bell following the opening chant). There will be two 20-minute sitting sessions separated by a 10 minute walking meditation. We will attempt to start on time so that we will not finish too late.
Ngondro practice is offered at 6:00 PM ET for those who have previously received Ngondro instructions and would like to practice in a group.
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Saturday Calm Abiding Meditation (Zhine) with Instruction
Saturdays at 8:30 AM EST
Offered via Zoom & In-Person with Senior Student Andrew Kaiser
Cancelled through August 30th for Summer Break
This class will provide instruction in the first phase of meditation, known as Zhine or Calm Abiding. It is important to be able to understand the full succession of meditation phases so that we know what we will learn – and just as important, what we will not be practicing.
Join us In-Person or Zoom HERE Meeting ID: 967 9436 8181
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Saturday Chod Session
One Saturday a month at 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
Offered via Zoom & In-Person with Senior Students Jim DelBianco & Andrew Kaiser
Cancelled through August 30th for Summer Break
Once a month, we will practice elements of the drumming and chanting, followed by performing the Chod ritual as a group. The longer practice session will benefit us all as we learn the fundamentals of the drumming and have more time for practice. Jim and Andrew are both senior students of Tempa Dukte Lama.
Join us In-Person or Zoom HERE Meeting ID: 970 0641 9095 In-Person is recommended, however, we know that is not possible for everyone!
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Sunday Dzogchen Practice Group
Sundays at 4:00 PM EST
Offered via Zoom & In-Person with Senior Student Bob Marin
- Meditation Practice Group (IN-PERSON & ZOOM): 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month
- Reading and Discussion Group (ZOOM ONLY): 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month
Dzogchen Olmo Ling holds a Meditation Practice sitting and a Reading and Discussion group on alternate weeks. Weekly announcements provide brief readings and indicate whether the meeting will be online or in-person. In-person meetings permit online participation as well.
If you wish to participate or if you have questions about Dzogchen Olmo Ling, please contact Bob Marin
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Family Sangha
Friday, May 30th | CANCELED
7:00 – 8:00 PM EST
Offered In-Person with Olmo Ling Community Members
Upcoming Dates:- May 30th, 2025
TOPIC: Tsa Lung Thrul Khor Yoga Review & Basic Torma Making
The program is designed for children to experience personal familiarity with Bon teachings and for families to deepen their connections with Bon and with each other. Each Family Sangha meeting will include a snack (families are welcome to contribute to the snack table), meditation, a story/lesson, and a related craft/activity.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FAMILY SANGHA
Olmo Ling Daily Prayers
We recite the prayers below at the start of each weekly community practice on Tuesdays. Feel free to download for your own daily practice!
Tempa Dukte Lama’s Books
- Jang Chok Ancient Tibetan Bon Ritual The Jang Chok ritual from the Du Tri Su cycle is a powerful skillful means to guide the consciousness of the deceased and protect it from the terror of the Bardo experiences. This book offers the first complete English translation and transliteration of the Du Tri Su Jang Chok liturgy (with the original Tibetan included). In the first part of the book, Tempa Dukte Lama explains the different sections of the ritual and their meaning and purpose as well as how to make the required torma offerings and prepare for the ritual. The liturgy in the second part of the book is annotated throughout and images of ritual arrangements and torma offerings are included to assist practitioners in performing the ritual.
- Origin of the Medicine Buddha Tempa Dukte Lama illuminates the history of how the Medicine Buddha was first taught. He offers a translation of the short Medicine Buddha practice composed by 14th century Bön master Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen along with a detailed explanation of the liturgy, visualization, and altar preparation.
- Thrul Khor: Ancient Tibetan Bon Yoga Step-by-step instructions for 85 practices according to the A Khrid, Ma Gyud (Mother Tantra), and Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud cycles of Bon Thrul Khor, supported by 499 photographs.
- Heart Drop of the Loving Mother Tempa Lama offers detailed instructions on the Heart Drop of the Loving Mother practice and on how we can become a Loving Mother in our lives.
- Journey into Buddhahood: The Five Paths and the Ten Stages of Compassionate Beings Tempa Lama offers a profound guide to attaining full liberation according to the Bon Sutra path, the path of compassionate beings.
- Inexhaustible Miracles: The Ten Perfections on the Path of Compassionate Beings The Ten Perfections are the heart practices of compassionate beings through which we bring the Bon teachings into our lived experience: generosity, wholesome conduct, patience, effort, concentration, power, aspirational prayers, skillful means, and discriminating awareness. Tempa Lama explains how we can cultivate each Perfection and use these practices to transform every moment of our lives.
- The Intimate Mind: Illuminating Emotion and Transformation Tempa Lama explores how we can use the Bon teachings to better understand our mind, be intimate with it, and ultimately transform it.
Sidpa Gyalmo practice resources
- Recording of Tempa Lama chanting the Sidpa Gyalmo Healing Practice liturgy
- Recording of Tempa Lama chanting the Sidpa Gyalmo Healing Waters Practice liturgy
- Recording of Tempa Lama chanting the Sidpa Gyalmo Longevity & Prosperity practice
- A booklet by Tempa Lama with an explanation of the symbolic meaning of the Sidpa Gyalmo and Yeshe Walmo visualization, detailed instructions of the healing practice, an explanation of the Bon approach to healing, color pictures of Sidpa Gyalmo and Yeshe Walmo, and the practice liturgy of both the Healing Practice and the Healing Waters Practice is available from our store here. We are able to ship quickly and now offer lower First Class shipping rates for domestic and international orders.