©Manuel Bauer / Lookat
The monastic Tibet Institute was established for the purpose of the mental and cultural support of Tibetans in their exile in Switzerland, as well as the preservation and care of the Tibetan culture for following generations. It serves the exchange of culture and knowledge between east and west. Switzerland was the first European country that began in 1961 to receive Tibetan refugees. The brothers Henri and Jacques Kuhn of the metal goods factory AG Heinrich Kuhn in Rikon, gave work and arranged accommodation to a group of them.
In order to help the families to overcome the loss of their homeland and the confrontation with a completely new culture, the brothers Kuhn emphasised on moral support. Inspired by the idea His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent one abbott and five monks to Rikon in Switzerland with a very beneficent effect on the increasing refugee colony . Thus the brothers Kuhn decided to create a Tibetan buddhist monastery together with the helpf of their friends. On 29 July 1967 the foundation-stone was laid and on 9 November 1968 the two main teachers of His Holiness the Dalai Lama inaugurated the monastic Tibet Institute.
Thirty years later the Tibet Institute has become the indispensable component of the cultural and religious life of the over 2000 members’ strong Tibetan community in Switzerland and due to the large increase in in-house publications a renovation of the old library was required.
New communication technologies make it easy for a wide circle of interested people to visit the the monastic Tibet Institute with its scientific, documentary and spiritual offers.
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