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Monasteries in Ladakh |
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The Most attractive features of the
landscape of Ladakh are the Buddhist
Monasteries. Mounasteries which have a
wealth of rare artefacts Shey Palce and
Monastery, Thiksay, Lamayuru, Alchi and
Hemis are the oldest religious centres
of ladakh and beat all other places in
sheer grandeur.
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| SHEY PALACE AND MONASTERY |
King
Deldan Namgyal {1620-1640} built Shey
Palace in the begining of the 17th
centuary AD. The main image in the
monastery is the 3 storey statue of
Buddha Shakyamuni, made of copper gilt,
which was made by King Deldan Namgyal in
the memory of his father Singay Mamgyal.
The statue is the only one of its kind
in the region. |
| THIKSAY MONASTERY |
Thiksay Monastery, 20 kms from Leh is th most beautiful of all monasteries in ladakh and belongs to the Geylukpa order. Sherab Zangpo of stod first built the Gonpa of stakmo .Later the nephew of
Sherab Zangpo. Spon Paldan Sherab founded the Thisey Gonpa on a hill top to north of Indus river in 1430 AD. There are sacred shrines and many precious objects to seen. There are eighty monks residing in the Monastery. |
| LAMAYURU MONASTERY |
Lamayuru monastery is situated 125kms west of Leh. In the 11th century the Mhasiddha Naropa came to this place and the cave where he resided and meditated is still to be seen today. Then Rinchen Zangpo, the translator came to build many temples and stupas and so the teaching of the Kadampa School came to flourish greatly there.thereafter for many years the monastery was administered by the ZHWA –mar-pa {RedHats},
after which the Dharamraja Jamyang Namgyal offer it to Chosje Danma ,whom he had invited ladakh. The rituals and observances of the Digung Kargyud School were introduced and monastery received the name of YungdrungTharpaling .There is more than 200 monks residing there todays .the successive reincarnation of Skyabje Toldan Rinpoche acts as the incumbents of the monastery.
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| ALCHI MONASTERY {Alchi Choskor} |
Although there are a great temples, caves and stupas built in Ladakh by Rinchen Zangpo , Translator , Alchi Choskoris the largest and most Famous of all of them . Alchi is situated at a distance of 70kms west of Leh , south of the village of Saspol on the opposite of Sengge Tsangpo [INDUS} . Alchi Choskor was constructed by Rinchen Zangpo the Translator,
approximately more than 1000 years ago. The sacred temples to be seen there include the principal one of Rinchen Lakhang , the lostaLakhang {translator’s temple } the Jamyang Lakhang { Mnajushri temple } and the so called Sumstag Lakhang {three –tiered temple }.the main image is that of vairocana but there can also be seen the five Buddha families together with their attendant deities . The paintings are not like the Tibetan style but rather they are according to the Indians tradition. In order to build these temples, Rinchen Zangpo , the translator is said to have brought various biographers with him from Kashmir thirty-two sculptors and woodcarvers. There are, furthermore, many more temples and stupas which have gone to ruin.
The translator own staff which he himself planted there is now a huge willow tree. It is reckoned to be the oldest willow in Ladakh.
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| HEMIS MONASTERY |
Hemis is situated 48kms from the capital. on the opposite side of the Indus river {Singgee Tsangpo}.it is the largest and most famous of all Monasteries in Ladakh monastery belongs to Drukpa Order built on a green hillside surrounded by spectacular mountains scenery and was founded by 1st incarnation of Stangsang Raschen Nawang Gyatso who was invite by King Singeey Namgyal .
He was a lama who travelled to India , ODIYANA and Kashmir , and who had received a vision of all eighty mahasiddha sand who later realised the” Rainbow body ‘’.througout the various provinces of Ladakh including Sham , Stod ,Nubra ,Zanskar the festivals of HemisTsechu is renowned and so man thousands assembled there for it .within the monastery there are to be seen a copper gilt statue of Buddha , various stupas made of gold and silver , sacred thankas and many precious objects .five hundreds monks reside in the monastery. The successive reincarnation of Lama TAGSANG RASCHEN acts as the incumbents of the monastery.
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| LIKIR MONASTERY |
Likir lie at a distance of 62 kms west of Leh . During the time of LhachenGylapo , the fifth king of Ladakh, a religious estate , and the land on which to build the monastery, was offered to Lama DuwangChosje, a great champion of meditation . The Lama blessed the site and in 1065 the monastery was built. The monastery was encircled by the bodies of the great serpent spirits, the naga-rajas {Nanda & Taksako } and so its anme became renowned as Likir [The Naga encircled}.
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| SPITHUB MONASTERY {SPITHUK} |
8kms from Leh , the monastery standing on a conical hill with 3 chapels was founded in the 11th century by OD-lde the elder brothers of Lha Lama Chngchub Od. When RinchenZangpo, the translator came to that place, he said that an exemplary religious community would arise there and so the monastery was called Spithub {Exemplary }. That time it belonged to thaKadampa School. Then during the life time of DhramrajasTakspa Bum-Lde Lama Lhawang Lotus restored the monastery and the stainless order of Tsongkhapa was introduced and it has remained intact as such up till date. The principal statue is that of the Lord Buddha. Within this statue there is a sacred statue image of Amitayus about a finger length in height, presented to Takspa Bum-Lde by the great Tsongkhapa.
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| TAKTHOK MONASTERY |
The monastery of Takthok is situated int eh village Sakti at a distance of 50 kms from capital. Before the monastery was founded there was a meditation cave of a mahasiddha called Kunga Phuntsog . Since the roof and walls of the monastery are all made of rock it was given that name Takthok {Rock roof } |
| PHYANG MONASTERY |
Phang Monstery is located on a hill overlooking the villages and is situated at a distance of 17kmswest of Leh Originally believed to be founded as a Kadampa monastery during the 11th century, it was acquired by the Drigung –pa sect, about 500 years ago. The annual festival called Phyang Tsedup is held on the 2nd and 3rd of the 6th Tibetan month which falls in july /August. Presentation of sacred dance drama and burning of votive offerings on the last day are some of the major features of these festivals. |
| ZANGLA MONASTERY |
 At a distance of around 35 km from Padum, Zangla was the erstwhile seat of the Zanskar kingdom. The old castle of Zangla, located atop a hill, that once housed the royal family is now in ruins, however what still remains is a small chapel overlooking the quiet valley. In close vicinity is a nunnery where you can witness the simple and regulated life that the nuns lead.
Proceeding from the village of Zangla on the road to Stongdey, an old monastery in the village of Tsa Zar is worth a visit. There are some beautiful
frescoes preserved in this monastery that make for an interesting sight.
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