Gompa

Gompa may also refer to a shrine room or meditation room, without the attached living quarters, where practitioners meditate and listen to teachings. Shrine rooms in urban Buddhist centres are often referred to as gompas.

Design and interior details vary between Buddhist lineages and from region to region. The general design usually includes a central shrine room or hall, containing statues of buddhas, wall paintings, murtis or thangkas, cushions and puja tables for monks, nuns, and lay practitioners. Often a library is on a floor above, with additional shrine rooms above. The gompa, or ling, may also be accompanied by other sacred buildings including multiple shrine rooms as at Samye Monastery in Tibet, and terraces, gardens, and stupas.

For practical purposes 'Gompa' in Tibetan Buddhist regions refers to a variety of religious buildings, (generally correlating to what might be described as a church) including small temple buildings and other places of worship or religious learning.