Ralung Monastery (), located in the Tsang region of western

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, ...

south of Karo Pass, is the traditional seat of the

Drukpa Lineage The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or " Red Hat sect" in older sources,

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

. It was founded in 1180 by

Tsangpa Gyare The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare (1161–1211) was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorje and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his ...

, 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, a disciple of Lingje Répa () who founded the Drukpa Lineage.Dowman, Keith. 1988. ''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', pp. 268–269. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and New York. .

Location

Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-10-13-27, Tibetexpedition, Landschaftsaufnahme, Ralung

Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-10-13-36, Tibetexpedition, Pferdestall in Ralung

The monastery is located in present-day Gyantse County several kilometers south of the road connecting Nakartse and Lungmar, immediately north of the

Gasa district Gasa District or Gasa Dzongkhag ( Dzongkha: མགར་ས་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Mgar-sa rdzong-khag'') is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. The capital of Gasa District is Gasa Dzong near Gasa. It is loc ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

. In previous times, trade could be conducted across the Yak La pass across the high

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, extending the influence of Ralung to the south. The monastery is surrounded by the towering peaks and glacier fields of Gyetong Soksum (6,244m), Jangzang Lhamo (6,324m) and Nojin Gangzang (7,191m). From the beginning the location was recognized as especially auspicious:

History

The founder of Bhutan, the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche, Ngawang Namgyal, was the 18th abbot of Ralung Monastery. In 1616, he fled Tibet when his recognition as the reincarnation of renowned scholar Kunkhyen Pema Karpo was challenged by the governor of Tsang province. Ngawang Namgyal unified the warring valleys of Bhutan, fending off attacks from Tibet, forming a national identity and establishing a

dual system of government The Dual System of Government is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi (temporal ruler) coexists with the spiritual authority of the realm, usually unified under a third single ruler. The actual distribut ...

that continues to this day in modified form as the Royal Government of

Palden Drukpa lineage

Chart of the hereditary Palden Drukpa lineage () of Ralung from the founder,

, to the last hereditary throne holder, Ngawang Namgyal. Successive throne holders are numbered with their names in bold text.

Footnotes

References

* Dorje, Gyurme; (1999). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan'' (2nd Ed.) Footprint Handbooks. . p. 253.

External links

Ralung Monastery

rwa lung
TBRC G44
Ralung
{{Coord, 28.8347, N, 90.0997, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist temples in Tibet Drukpa Kagyu monasteries and temples 1180 establishments in Asia Religious organizations established in the 1180s