Benchen Monastery is the name of two Buddhist temples. The original Benchen Monastery in Tibet was destroyed by the Chinese Army in 1959. It later began to be reconstructed by the surviving sangha in the 1980s. The second Benchen monastery in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province , subdivision_name1 ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

was constructed under the direction of two exiled Tulkus from the original monastery.

Benchen Monastery in Tibet

Benchen Monastery (; ) in Tibet and the summer retreat, Yarnä Lhakhang, was founded by the 4th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche, Gelek Gyamtso in an area called Ga in the

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kha ...

region of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. However, during the

occupation of Tibet Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, both were destroyed.benchen.org
Benchen Monastery in Tibet
However, after a forced retreat to Siling the third Benchen

Chime Tulku Chime Tulku Rinpoche is a Buddhist Tulku. Rinpoche was born in 1991 into the family of Jamyang Khechog, an official at Surmang Namgyal Tse monastery.benchen.orgBenchen Chime Tulku Rinpoche Chime Tulku Rinpoche was identified as the fourth inc ...

returned and with the help of others dedicated the final decade of his life, beginning in the early 1980s, to rebuild both Benchen Monastery and its

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

The Four Benchen Tulkus

Before the invasion of Tibet, and subsequent destruction of Tibetan monasteries, Benchen Monastery had four

Tulkus A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. High-profile examples o ...

(the present fourth incarnation was born in 1991) * Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche (the present 10th incarnation fled Tibet and helped build Benchen Monastery in Nepal) *

Tenga Rinpoche Tenga Rinpoche (1932 – 30 March 2012) was a Tibetan teacher (lama) in the Karma Kagyu tradition.Radha Tulku Lama Chime Tulku Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist, Tulku and Dharma teacher. Chime Rinpoche was born in 1941 in Kham, Tibet. In 1959, due to the annexation of Tibet, he was forced to flee to India via Bhutan into exile. Gaining British citizen ...

(the present Radha Tulku is commonly known as Chime Rinpoche, born in 1941 he fled to exile in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

where he established the first Tibetan Buddhist Center in England) A year before his death, Tenga Rinpoche had a surprise reunion with two of the other four Benchen Tulkus, Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche and Radha Rinpoche, at the 2011 Summer Camp at Benchen Phuntsok Ling, Benchen's European headquarters.benchen.org: Review Summer Course 2011
Benchen Phuntsok Ling (archived at FreezePage 10/10/2012)
/ref>

Benchen Monastery in Nepal

Benchen monastery in Nepal began its construction in 1987 under the guidance of Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche and, until his death on 29 March 2012, Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche. As a center for the practice of the

Karma Kamtsang Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mon ...

lineage, Benchen Monastery in Nepal offers guidance in

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

and

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ...

studies. Additionally, in 1994, a free medical clinic began operating at the monastery, offering services to community.

References

External links

- Benchen Monastery Kathmandu
{{Buddhism topics Buddhist monasteries in Nepal Buddhist temples in Nepal Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist temples in Tibet Karma Kagyu monasteries and temples 1987 establishments in Nepal