History of Kadampa Buddhism in Indianapolis

In 1997, the first Kadam Dharma Center was established in the Midwest in Chicago. This inspired others to establish centers in Indiana and Wisconsin. During this time, Tom Mitchell who had been travelling to Chicago for teachings was also flying to Dallas, Texas to receive teachings from Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the Founder of the NKT-IKBU tradition directly. He was so inspired that he made a request to establish a Dharma Center in Indiana. 

Due to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s profound kindness, the request to bring Dharma to Indianapolis was granted.

In 2001, Geshe-la invited Tom Mitchell to become the first Resident Teacher, providing us with the precious opportunity to establish a spiritual home in Indiana. He gave us the name Dromtonpa Kadampa Buddhist Center, and we celebrated the establishment of the second center in the Midwest.

The Hermitage 2001 - 2003 Our first location was in The Hermitage building on 46th Street and Millersville. Within a few years, we outgrew this space.

2003 - 2009 Fountain Square In 2003, we found a dedicated location at Fountain Square which allowed us to create a beautiful, custom-made shrine. At this time, we were able to engage in empowerments, pujas (chanted prayer) and study programs. 

Also during this time, Geshe-la gave Tom Mitchell the title Kadam which means teacher and is given to lay Kadampa Resident Teachers who have been teaching successfully for four years or more.

2009 - 2016 Glendale In 2009, we moved into a house in the Glendale/Broad Ripple area on Keystone Ave. It was centrally located, it had a beautiful meditation room that could seat up to 20 people (it was huge to us at the time!), a separate room for a kids class, as well a residential component that fostered a small spiritual community. 

But while small, the core sangha community that we cultivated in Glendale was spiritually resilient and compassionate, and committed to flourishing dharma then, and in the years to come. 

Castleton 2016 - 2022 By 2016, we had outgrown our Glendale location, and moved to Castleton. Castleton was much larger and gave us ample room to grow. Our memberships and classes doubled in Castleton!

It is also in Castleton that our resilient sangha weathered the storm of the Coronavirus pandemic by relying on the instructions of our Spiritual Guide. Through Geshe-la's guidance on the importance of cherishing others, our community stuck together and continued to flourish Dharma in Indianapolis.

2022 - Present 4010 West 86th St

In 2022 we made the decision to move out of our Castleton location.  We found our present location at 4010 West 86th St.

In May 2024, Gen Kelsang Chokyi became the Resident Teacher at KMC Indy and KMC Bloomington. Gen means teacher and is given to ordained Resident Teachers who have been teaching successfully for four years or more. And, under her skillful guidance - we have regained nearly all of the growth that was lost during Covid.