Tibet House Brasil — São Paulo - SP, Brazil
A Tibetan cultural and Buddhist centre in Jardim Paulista, São Paulo
Tibet House Brasil sits in Jardim Paulista, in São Paulo, and describes its work as preserving and spreading the cultural and spiritual values of Tibet. Its pages list Rua Guarará, 108, Loja 2, with weekday hours from ten to six. Earlier events were held on Alameda Lorena. The site currently carries a notice that the house is temporarily closed.
The Venerable Thubten Wangchen, a Tibetan monk, directs the house and is the representative of the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration for Latin America. At each full moon he conducts a blessing ritual. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the site explains, the day marks the peak of the lunar cycle and stands for fullness, clarity and completion.
The house's thangka workshops are taught by Ngawang Choki Loday, who was born in Bhutan and now lives in São Paulo. He trained at the Choki Traditional Art School in Thimphu and worked for fifteen years painting murals and thangkas in monasteries in Bhutan, Nepal and India. The pages note that thangkas are valued above all as a support for Dharma teaching and meditation. The 2019 workshops took Milarepa and Saraswati as subjects, with fifteen places and no experience required. The latest workshop turns to the face of Shakyamuni Buddha, its prescribed proportions and geometric grid.
Around the painting sit teaching and conversation. "Conheça o Tibete" is an informal, free monthly gathering on Tibetan life and culture. Buddhist meditation sessions have been led by Valentin Conde. The 2023 provisional programme lists Tibetan alphabet and speech courses, a sand mandala with Losang Samten, teachings by visiting geshes, and visits from Tibetan doctors and astrologers. Recent notices add a meditation evening with live music and a Tibetan awareness week.
Traditions: Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist meditation, Thangka painting, Tibetan medicine (Sowa Rigpa), Vipassana meditation, Sand mandala
Programs: Thangka painting workshops, Full Moon blessing ceremony, Conheça o Tibete, Buddhist meditation sessions, Tibetan alphabet and speech courses, Sand mandala creation, Tibetan medicine and astrology visits, Tibetan Awareness Week