Welcome to Awam Tibetan Buddhist Institute
and Meditation Center
Scroll down for our main menu on desktop
or go to icon bars at top-right for phones.
AWAM New 2026 Schedule
CLASSES & PRACTICES are scheduled to resume
Sunday, January 4 in our new guest house, South part of
301 N Longfellow Avenue, Tucson AZ 85711
(one block east of Lodge on the Desert, on the NW corner
of Longfellow and Poe, Tucson AZ)
NEW Introduction to Buddhism text available:
This is a collection of notes and rich quotations from our recent year-long in-person only class on the history and core practices of Buddhism - from the historical Buddha to the Dalai Lama. It is available to download for free, for personal educational use only,
in PDF on our Resources page (click here).
May it be of great benefit!
MAIN MENU:
Awam refers to compassion and wisdom leading to awakening and liberation. We teach Tibetan Buddhism with a focus on Nyingma Dzogchen. Our spiritual director is His Holiness Khenchen Lama Rinpoche, and our resident teacher is Khenchen Drimed Dawa, along with visiting teachers.
We offer in-person and Zoom classes, and YouTube class videos. This link provides descriptions, texts, and direct links. Our focus is on Tibetan Buddhism, especially Dzogchen, but include other core Buddhist teachings as well. Click on this menu for the "Heart Essence of Tibetan Buddhism Class".
Our regular weekly schedule includes Sunday Meditation Hour (11-12 am) and Wednesday Mindfulness Practices (6-6:30 pm). We celebrate festivals on special days on the Tibetan calendar: Losar (new year) and Four Great Festivals (Duchens).
HH Khenchen Lama Rinpoche and Yogi Lama Gursam are visiting teachers at our center in Tucson, Arizona.
Email: EmailAwamTBI@gmail.com
Phone no longer available
Meditation Center: South side of 301 N Longfellow Ave, Tucson AZ 85711 (NW corner of Longfellow and Poe, one block east of Lodge on the Desert (North Alvernon)
We send a monthly newsletter regarding classes, events, etc., as well as occasional updates to our schedule. To sign up for our newsletter, select this link.
This page includes links to some other videos, a selection of online empowerments for those not able to access them in person, texts used for our meditation practices as well as sadhanas for other practices, our code of conduct, some dharma talk notes and commentaries, books by Khenchen (as Khenpo) Drimed Dawa, a link to outdoor Tucson sites for meditation, and links to other website resources.
We offer prayer requests suitable within key Buddhist practices and our ability to meet your requests. See this link for specific offerings. Free.
Even the Buddha depended upon benefactors. We appreciate your support to help with our operating expenses. Generosity is the very first of the Six Perfections taught by the Buddha. Our donors, students and other participants make donations to help us help others. We deeply appreciate whatever contributions you can make to help continue our programs. Thank you!
Several books are available from Khenchen Drimed Dawa (as "Khenpo" at the time they were published): Innate Happiness - a detailed guidance manual for western practitioners (and our new Heart Essence of Tibetan Buddhism classes), Profound Peace - a concise summary of key principles and practices of Buddhism, and A Yogi's Book of Notes - notes from meditation, an inner dialogue.