Kagyu Samye Ling

Samye Ling is a monastery and international centre of Buddhist training located in southwest Scotland. It is situated in Eskdalemuir, 15 miles from the town of Lockerbie.  It was founded in 1967. The founders were  two spiritual leaders, Dr. Akong Tulku Rinpoche and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Samye Ling was the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre to be established in the West and was named after Samye, the very first monastery to be established in Tibet. It offers instruction in Buddhist philosophy and meditation within the Karma Kagyu philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism. 

Before the present Temple complex was built, Samye Ling centred on just one building,  Johnstone House, which was a former hunting lodge. Initially the site was managed by the Johnson House Trust. In the 1970s the organisation came under some criticism because of the moral behaviour (including marrying a 15 year old student) of one of its hierarchy. The Johnson House Trust was dissolved in 1995 and the site is now managed by the Rokpa Trust. 

Under the guidance of the Tibetan artist Sherab Palden Beru, Samye Ling has also become a centre for the creation, repair and restoration of traditional Buddhist textile paintings. Since the 1970s Sherab has trained a number of westerners in the highly specialised techniques needed to create the images, known as thangkas. The temple walls are decorated with many examples of the work of both Sherab Palden Beru and his western pupils.

Traditional deity and other monumental sculpture and the creation of prayer wheels are also important activities at the centre. This is supervised by  resident and visiting experts from Tibet. In the grounds of the centre are many examples of their work, such as a fine statue of Nāgārjuna , an Indian monk widely considered to be the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. 

As well as those with spiritual motives (who tend to stay) the centre also attracts much more secular visitors who come simply to see a spectacular golden temple, stupas and gardens with traditional Buddhist  statues.