History of Triten

The original Triten Norbutse monastery was established in the fourteenth century in central Tibet by the great Bönpo Master Shen Nyima Gyaltsen (born 1360), a descendant of the Shen lineage which is the lineage of Buddha Tonpa Shenrab, the founder of the Bön religion. For many centuries Triten Norbutse was one of the four main Bönpo monastic institutions in Tibet which provided a complete Bön cultural and religious education. Completely destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, it has since been partially rebuilt, although there is no real possibility of studying there nowadays.

However, in 1987 the Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal was established by H.E. Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche on a hill facing the great Stupa of Swayambhu with the following intentions: To provide a full education and practice program in the Bön tradition to the younger generation of Bönpo living in areas of the Himalayan borderlands such as Dolpa and Mustang, as well as to Tibetan refugees.

Even though there have been Bönpo monasteries in Dolpa, Mustang, and other districts of Nepal for many centuries, today none of them is able to offer the opportunity to complete the full Bönpo study program leading to a Geshe degree. Furthermore, students, scholars and practitioners from other parts of the world should also be offered an opportunity to study and practice the tradition of Bön. To preserve and restore Bön’s cultural and religious heritage. To serve as a centre for the social and religious life of the Bönpo communities.