Himachal Pradesh is a state of India which is not only famous for its beautiful hills, but its many ancient and modern monasteries are counted among the tourist destinations of the world. Lakhs of people come every year to see them. These include local tourists as well as foreigners. The peace and tranquillity that one gets after coming here can hardly be found anywhere else.
The remote valleys of Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur have strong Buddhist traditions. Splendid gompas, Buddhist monasteries, built along bare mountain-sides seem to be a part of the rugged terrain. These are the repositories of a wealth of Buddhist art and culture. The dim, cool interiors of ancient monasteries glow with the brilliance of painted murals, stuccos and elaborate thangkas framed with rich borders of silk.
In Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama has settled in exile, is a marvelous Tibetan township where an entire cultural tradition is being nurtured. It is a centre that attracts scholars, pilgrims and tourists.
As my title is "Exploring the Spiritual Beauty: Famous Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh"&
If you come to Himachal any time, visit the historical monasteries also. Let's take a look at those monasteries:
Why is Buddha Purnima celebrated?
The auspicious festival of Buddha Purnima marks the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Gautama Buddha and founded Buddhism. The sacred festival is also known as Buddha's birthday, Buddha Day or Buddha Jayanti. Primarily a Buddhist festival, the day is celebrated in most of South, Southeast and East Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Thailand, Tibet, China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and more. It is observed on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Vaisakha, which falls in April or May. Buddhists celebrate the day with great devotion and joy, participating in various religious ceremonies and rituals.
Buddha Purnima, also known as Buddha Jayanti. This day holds special significance for Buddhists around the world as a day of reflection, meditation and acts of kindness.
It celebrates the life and teachings of the Buddha, and emphasizes the principles of compassion, nonviolence and mindfulness. On this day followers perform rituals like praying and practicing generosity. Buddha Purnima reminds us of the eternal wisdom and knowledge imparted by Buddha and inspires devotees to strive for inner peace and spiritual awakening
Again, as my title is "Exploring the Spiritual Beauty: Famous Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh"& If you come to Himachal any time, visit the historical monasteries also. Let's take a brief look at above said monasteries:
NAMGYAL MONASTERY : This monastery is also referred as "Dalai Lam's Temple". This monastery is located Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala, Distt Kangra. It is the personal monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama.
2. GYUTO TANTRIC MONASTERY: Gyuto monastery is one of the most prominent monasteries. This monastery is specialized in Tantric meditation, Tantric rituals arts and Buddhist philosophy studies. This monastery was established by the Jetsun Kunga Dhondup disciple of the 1st Dalai Lama in 1474 in eastern Tibet. It was re established in Dharamshala after Chinese invaded Tibet and forced them to flee to India.
3. REWALSAR: Perhaps the most sacred spot for Buddhists in Himachal Pradesh, Rewalsar is 20 km south west of Mandi. According to legend, Guru Padmasambhava departed for Tibet from this beautiful spot, to spread the ’dharma’. A pagoda-style monastery stands along the edge of the lake.
4. GURU GHANTAL MONASTERY(3020 m): This is on the right bank of Chandra river about 4 kms. above Tandi and is believed to be the oldest Gompa of Lahaul having wooden structure with pyramidal roofs, wood carving, preserving the idols of Padmasambhava & Brajeshwari Devi. On the full moon night in mid-June a festival called "GHANTAL" is celebrated by Lamas & Thakurs together.
5. KARDANG MONASTERY(3500 m): It is about 5 kms. from Keylong across Bhaga river. It is believed to be built in 12th century. Monastery has a large library of Kangyur and Tangyur volumes of Budhist scriptures in Bhoti. Kardang village was once the capital of Lahaul.
6. SHASHUR MONASTERY: Situated on a hill about 3 kms from Keylong (Lahaul & Spiti) towards north on the same slope. During June/ July this monastery attracts a large number of visitors when Lamas perform the devil dance. It was founded in the 17th century a.d. It belongs to red hat sec and is located among the blue pines. The paintings represent the history of 84 Buddhas.
7. TAYUL GOMPA(3900 m): Tayul Gompa is 6 kms. from Keylong (Lahaul & Spiti) and is one of the oldest monasteries of the valley having a huge statue of Guru Padmasamhava about 5m high and houses library of Kangyur having 101 volumes. In Tibetan language Ta-Yul means the chosen place. There is an interesting story behind this.
8. KYE MONASTERY: It is situated 12 kms. north of Kaza (Lahaul & Spiti) and serves the western population of Spiti. It is the oldest and biggest monastery of the valley and located at (4116 m) above Kye village. It houses beautiful scriptures and paintings of Buddha and other goddesses. Lamas practice dance, sing and play on pipes and horns. Relegious training to Lama’s is imparted here. It has murals and books of high value.
9. THANG YUG GOMPA: It is located 13 kms. above Kaza (Lahaul & Spiti) serving western part of central Spiti. Situated in a secluded place in the narrow gauge of Kaza Nallah, it generally has a Lama from Tibet. Above this there is a long plateau which leads to Shilla peak.
10. KUNGRI GOMPA: It is situated in the Pin valley about 10 kms. from Attargo where Spiti river has to be crossed to enter Pin valley. It is serves the population of Pin valley.
11. TABO MONASTERY: Tabo Monetary was founded in 996 AD by Rinchen Zangpo. It ios considered the oldest monastery in Himachal Pradesh. This is another large gompa serving the population of eastern side. It has its origin in the tenth century old and is located 50 kms. from Kaza (Lahaul & Spiti). In fame it is next to Tholing Gompa in Tibet. It has about 60 Lamas and houses a large collection of Scriptures, wall paintings etc. Murals of this gompa have similarity to that of the Ajanta paintings.
12. NAKO: The legendary footprints of the Guru Padamsambhava are enshrined at the Lotsabaage Monastery at Nako. This high altitude village in Kinnaur is located near a limpid lake.
13. TASHIGANG GOMPA: Can be visited by taking diversion from Khab to Namgya and then trekking to the Gompa.
14. TILASANGH MONASTERY: 1 km. trek from Ka, it is 12 km. short of Yangthang.
15. TASHI JONG KHAMPAGAR MONASTERY: Tashi jong monastery is one of the seated monasteries of Khampagar, in exile, India. Other seated monasteries of Khampagar are in Tibet: first seated monastery, Mishik Dorje Yangzong, which is built at Rala Phukchungzong in 1625 by 1st Khamtrul Rinpoche Karma Tenphel, and, Third Khamtrul Rinpoche Nawang Kunga Tenzin established second seated monastery at Garnyak, which is known as Druk Thikchen Choeling. The 3rd seated monastery, Palphuntsok Choekhor Ling, is built at Garnyak in 1746, by Choekyi Nyima. Second and third seated monastery are in distance of a few kilometres.
Tashi Jong monastery, which is built in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, in 1968, by 8th Khamtrul Rinpoche Dhokhampa Kalzang Dongyu Nyima, has two sections Tibetan crafting community and Dharma learning centre. Currently, at the dharma learning centre has three divisions regarding on different practice, which are Academic Centre (Shedra), Ritual Centre (Tsokdra) and Retreat Centre (Drupdra). Retreat Centre and Academic Centre their details are separately mentioned at their unit.
16. DHANKAR MONASTERY: Dhankar Gompa is a village and also a Gompa, a Buddhist temple in the district of Lahaul and Spiti in India. It is situated at an elevation of 3,894 metres (12,774 feet) in the Spiti Valley above Dhankar Village, between the towns of Kaza and Tabo. The complex is built on a 1000-foot (300-metre) high spur overlooking the confluence of the Spiti and Pin Rivers - one of the world's most spectacular settings for a gompa. Dhang or dang means cliff, and kar or khar means fort. Hence Dhangkar means fort on a cliff. Dhankar, like Key Monastery and Tangyud Monastery in Spiti, and Thiksey, Likir and Rangdum monasteries in Ladakh, was built as a fort monastery on the Central Tibetan pattern. It was reported to have had 90 monks in 1855.
At last: -
There are many Buddhist monasteries all over the India and the world. But I have only talked about some famous Buddhist monasteries of Himachal Pradesh. I hope that you good people will visit as per your convenience and time, and you will defiantly get a lot of inner peace.
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Image credit: Wikipedia & My colleagues.
Some photos are my imagination which I have created with the help of AI
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