Gompa

Samding Dorje Phagmo A Gompa or Gönpa or Gumba (Tibetan: དགོན་པ།, Wylie: dgon pa[1] "remote place", Sanskrit araṇya[2]), also known as ling (Wylie: gling, "island"), is a sacred Buddhist spiritual compound where teachings may be given and lineage sādhanās may be stored.

Those gompas associated with Tibetan Buddhism are common in Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China.

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.

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.