The London Institute of Tibetan Studies: Shang Shung UK

10/10/2026

Join us online for an info session on our pilgrimage to Nepal and Maratika, taking place from 11th to 24th March 2027.

The session will be led by our guides, Jacobella Gaetani and Dr Jamyang Oliphant, who will accompany the group throughout the pilgrimage. We will present the journey, from the sacred sites of the Kathmandu Valley and the caves of Pharping to the six-day Mandarava retreat at Maratika, where Guru Padmasambhava and Mandarava attained the realisation of immortal life.

We will answer your questions about the itinerary, accommodation, costs and practical arrangements, and begin to get to know each other as a group. The pilgrimage is reserved for members of the Dzogchen Community who have received the specific transmission.

📅 Sunday 25th October 2026
🕑 2:00 PM London Time (3:00 PM CET)
💻 Online via Zoom

Registration is free. If you cannot attend, the session will be recorded and sent to all registrants. Please note that clocks go back by one hour on the morning of 25th October in the UK and Europe.

Register here: https://www.shangshunguk.org/events/maratika-2027-info-session/
Full programme: https://www.shangshunguk.org/maratika-2027/

Insight Tours A Pilgrimage to Nepal and Maratika Kathmandu Valley, Pharping and a Mandarava Retreat at the Sacred Caves 11 – 24 March 2027 In an era when authentic pilgrimage experiences are becoming increasingly scarce, Shang Shung UK – together with the MACO Museum of Oriental Art and Culture ...

08/10/2026

Join us online for an info session on A Buddhist Pilgrimage Through Japan, our first Insight Tour to Japan, taking place from 20th February to 6th March 2027.

The session will be led by our Japanese guide, Tomy, and by Dr Jamyang Oliphant, who will accompany the group throughout the journey. Together we will walk through the itinerary, from the temples of Tokyo and Kamakura to the Zen gardens of Kyoto, the ancient capital of Nara and the sacred mountain of Koya, where the monastic community founded by Kukai still lives and practises today.

There will be plenty of time for your questions about the journey, accommodation, costs and practical arrangements, and a chance to meet your fellow travellers. Whether you have already registered or are still considering joining us, you are very welcome.

📅 Sunday 25th October 2026
🕛 12:00 PM London Time (1:00 PM CET)
💻 Online via Zoom

Registration is free. If you cannot attend, the session will be recorded and sent to all registrants. Please note that clocks go back by one hour on the morning of 25th October in the UK and Europe.

Register here: https://www.shangshunguk.org/events/japan-2027-info-session/
Full programme: https://www.shangshunguk.org/japan-2027/

Insight Tours A Buddhist Pilgrimage Through Japan Temples, Zen Gardens and Sacred Mountains 20 February – 6 March 2027 For the first time, Insight Tours travels to Japan – a journey through fifteen centuries of Buddhist history, from the ancient temples of Nara and the Zen gardens of Kyoto to th...

26/09/2026

Fondly remembering Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, founder of the Shang Shung Institute UK, on the eve of the 8th anniversary of his passing.

Read more about the statue we built in his memory.

https://melong.online/a-heartfelt-offering/

Photo: Alex Siedlecki

20/09/2026

🔔 Happening today!

Light of Kailash 34: Buddhist Chaplaincy and Ethical Spiritual Care with Dr Amelia Hall

Join us this afternoon for a conversation exploring how Buddhist traditions can be translated into an ethically responsible, professionally accountable, and religiously plural practice of care.

Dr Amelia Hall is a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism and the Dean of the Graduate Collective at Naropa University. Drawing on her background in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, she will discuss the emergence of Buddhist chaplaincy at the intersection of Buddhist philosophy, contemplative practice, and contemporary spiritual care, touching on bodhicitta, compassion, equanimity, impermanence, and how these ideas can support others through suffering, death, bereavement, and grief.

🗓️ Today, Sunday 20th September
🕒 3:30 PM London Time
💻 Online via Zoom

Registration is open now on our website, register to receive the Zoom link by email:
👉 https://www.shangshunguk.org/events/buddhist-chaplaincy-and-ethical-spiritual-care/

Participation is by donation. We look forward to seeing you there!

This conversation will explore a compelling contemporary question: How can Buddhist traditions be translated into an ethically responsible, professionally accountable, and religiously plural practice of care?Drawing on Dr Hall’s background in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, as well as her work at N...

19/09/2026

🇯🇵A Buddhist Pilgrimage Through Japan 🗾— 20 February – 6 March 2027

This February, our Insight Tours take us to Japan for a fifteen-day journey from Tokyo to Kamakura, Hakone, Kyoto and Nara, before climbing into the mountains of the Kii Peninsula to Kōyasan, where Kūkai founded Japan's Shingon tradition over twelve centuries ago.

Along the way: the great bronze Buddhas of Kamakura and Nara, a night in a traditional ryokan with a soak in a winter onsen, the sculptural mandala of Tō-ji in Kyoto, and three nights of temple lodging at Kōyasan itself, with morning prayers, shōjin ryōri and a walk along the ancient cedar-lined path to Kūkai's mausoleum at Okunoin. We travel throughout with our experienced Japanese guide, Tomy-san.

Full itinerary, practical information and registration on our website:
👉 https://www.shangshunguk.org/japan-2027/

Want to read more? This trip was recently the subject of an in-depth article on The Mirror (melong.online): https://melong.online/the-road-to-koyasan/

Visit winter temples, hot springs and the living Buddhist traditions of Japan 20 February to 6 March 2027

06/09/2026

The Mother and Daughter Carried Away by the River

In this 2025 painting by Drugu Choegyal Rinpoche—a theme that feels especially poignant in light of the recent flash floods in Nepal—we are reminded of the power of compassion, even in the most difficult circumstances.

The painting illustrates a story from Patrul Rinpoche’s The Words of My Perfect Teacher. A mother and daughter are swept away by a river. Facing death, each thinks only of the other: the mother wishes for her daughter to survive, even at the cost of her own life, while the daughter wishes the same for her mother.

Both lose their lives in the river, yet because their final thoughts are filled with loving-kindness and concern for one another, they are said to be reborn in the Brahma realm.

The story offers a simple but profound teaching: the quality of our mind, and the compassion we cultivate for others, can have transformative power—even in the most difficult moments.

The inscription on the painting concludes with a dedication:

“By the merit of having painted this, may loving-kindness and compassion be born in the minds of all beings.”

This painting forms part of Drugu Choegyal Rinpoche’s Bardo Series. You can discover more about the series here: https://youtu.be/ZzSNDk1RkOo?si=1gYAuMjGTdeyKNgB

03/09/2026

Join us for the next Light of Kailash Lecture on Sunday 20th September at 3:30 PM London Time, online via Zoom.

Our guest will be Dr Amelia Hall, a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism and Dean of the Graduate Collective at Naropa University. Together we'll explore a compelling contemporary question: how can Buddhist traditions be translated into an ethically responsible, professionally accountable, and religiously plural practice of care?

Drawing on her background in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies and her work at Naropa — the university founded by Chögyam Trungpa in 1974 — Dr Hall will discuss how concepts such as bodhicitta, compassion, equanimity, and non-attachment can move from contemplative categories into practical resources for supporting others through suffering, grief, and crisis.

Registration is free, with the option of a symbolic or full donation. Register on our website to receive the Zoom link by email.

📅 Sunday 20th September 2026
🕒 3:30 PM London Time
💻 Online via Zoom
🔗 Link to register on our website:

26/06/2026

🌟 Light of Kailash – Lecture 33
The Buddha's Teachings in Business

with Lopen Karma Phuntsho
📅 Saturday, 4th July 2026 | 4:00 PM London Time | Online via Zoom
Can Buddhist wisdom guide ethical entrepreneurship and sustainable development? Join us to explore how ancient teachings speak directly to the challenges of our modern world.
Free to attend. Link in bio to register.


03/06/2026

📿 Light of Kailash 32

The Prāṇāyāma as a Method of Mental Training and Bodily Transformation in Vajrayāna

With Prof. Vesna A. Wallace — Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Exploring the ancient practice of prāṇāyāma and its transformation within the Vajrayāna tradition and the Unexcelled Yoga Tantras.

🗓️ Saturday, June 13th | 5:00 PM London Time

💻 Online via Zoom

🔗 Link in bio

07/05/2026

✨Light of Kailash 31 | Himalayan Buddhist Art: Gods, Monsters, Mandalas, and Meditation

What comes to mind when you think of Buddhist art? Peaceful Buddhas and serene temples? Tibetan Buddhist art tells a much more dramatic story.

Join artist and author Rose Woodward for a fascinating exploration of thangkas, mandalas, and the deep connection between Tibetan Buddhist art and practices of visualisation. Rose will reveal how these works function as structured tools for meditation and knowledge transmission — and how modern neuroscience now supports the powerful role of visualisation in shaping attention, memory, and learning.

🗓️ Sunday, 31st May
🕑 6:00 PM London Time
📍 Online via Zoom

Register here: https://www.shangshunguk.org/events/light-of-kailash-31-by-rose-woodward-himalayan-buddhist-art/

Himalayan Buddhist Art: Gods, Monsters, Mandalas, and Meditation What comes to mind when you think of Buddhist art? Peaceful Buddhas, meditating monks, and serene temples? Tibetan Buddhist art tells a much more dramatic story. This talk explores the rich visual culture of Tibetan Buddhist art and it...