Choedrak Monastery is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastery in

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

, located at an altitude of 3,800 metres, not far from

Tharpaling Monastery Tharpaling Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Bumthang, Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south a ...

Bumthang District Bumthang District (Dzongkha: བུམ་ཐང་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Bum-thang rzong-khag'') is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. It contains numerous temples and Buddhist sacred sites. The district is divide ...

Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is considered an em ...

is said to have meditated at this spot. It is 37 kilometers from Chamkhar and takes one hour to reach from the motorable road end at

Tharpaling monastery Tharpaling Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Bumthang, Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south a ...

. Choedrak Goenpa can also be reached after three-hour hike from Lamey Goenpa in Choekhor Valley. It is one of the four sacred cliffs of Guru Rinpoche in Bumthang. The other three are Kunzangdrak, Shukdrak and Thowadrak.

History

In 1234, Lorepa, a Drukpa Kagyupa lama from Tibet build a temple here and resided in it. However, after he returned to Tibet, the temple was said to have been besieged by evil spirits. According to his biography, it was renovated by Damcho Pekar (later 4th Je Khenpo) after his return from Nepal. It was repaired by Ngawang Trinley, an eminent monk from Siula Monastery in the

Punakha Punakha () is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thim ...

region. The sacred relics seen at Choedrak are a sacred cliff where Guru Rinpoche meditated, imprints of Guru and his tigress, stone throne of Guru Rinpoche, sacred Stone with the footprint of Khandrom, sacred Khandro Dorje Yudronma’s Drupchu and kudung Chorten of Geshe Tempa Rinchen.

References

1234 establishments in Asia Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in Bhutan {{Bhutan-Tibetan-Buddhism-monastery-stub

History

See also

References