Korzok, དཀོར་མཛོད་ (wylie dkor-mdzod) is a

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

monastery belonging to the

Drukpa Lineage The Drukpa or Drukpa Kagyu () lineage, sometimes called Dugpa in older sources, is a branch of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu school is one of the Sarma or "New Translation" schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Drukpa lineage w ...

. It is located in the Korzok village, on the northwestern bank of Tso Moriri, a lake in

Leh District Leh district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Dispute, disputed Kashmir-region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:T ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

, a

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

of India. The gompa (

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

), at , houses a Shakyamuni Buddha and other statues. It is home to about seventy monks. In the past, the monastery was the headquarters of the Rupshu Valley. It is an independent monastery under Korzok Rinpoche, widely known as Langna Rinpoche. The third Korzok Rinpoche, Kunga Lodro Ningpo was the founder of Korzok Monastery. The revered monastery is 300 years old. The Tso Moriri below it is also held in reverence and considered equally sacred by the local people. With the efforts of the WWF-India, Tso Moriri has been pledged as a 'Sacred Gift for a Living Planet' by the local community (mostly Chang pa herdsmen). As a result, the area has been opened up for tourists.

Etymology

The name ''Korzok'' is a derivation from two words, namely meaning a 'place' in the

Ladakhi language The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh district, Leh, and a minority language in the district of Kargil district#Langua ...

and which is said to derive from , meaning 'manager'. Over time, the sound of the final consonant of the element has changed to the

velar consonant Velar consonants are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth (also known as the "velum"). Since the velar region of the roof of the mouth is relativel ...

instead of the original alveolar . An alternative attribution is that shepherds working for the monasteries in the nearby hamlets kept the king's cattle at this place, not only to tend them but to also extract milk, cheese and butter. Hence, the place came to be known as "Korzok". It is said that the

nomads Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In the twentieth century, ...

were exploited by the monastery as they were paid very meagre amounts for the services rendered. Hence the place was given the name 'Korzok' (meaning: acquired by unfair means).

History

The history of Korzok is traced back to kings who ruled in the inhospitable terrain and fought several wars. They suffered several setbacks in wars and had to lead a nomadic life in isolation. One of the kings of this nomadic lineage had sent his emissary to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

seeking help. He brought a

Lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

from Tibet who established the monastery at Korzok about 300 years ago. Since then the nomads preferred to change their animistic religion and adopt to

Buddhism 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 ...

. They preferred living peacefully and in harmony with their surroundings and animals. The reign of the nomadic kingdom ended with their last King Tsewang Yurgyal, who ruled until August 1947 when India became a democratic country. Korzok was in the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n trade route till 1947 and was the headquarters of Rupshu Valley. One of the kings, Rupshu Goba, who lived there with his family, built nine permanent houses there. The village has several houses, but the floating population of the nomads, establishing their tents (made of yak hair or skin) in summer, adds to the agricultural operations in the region. The tents are provided with vents at the top to let out smoke. Pashmina (yak's wool) is the valuable product that the Changmas trade along with the salt that they extract from large salt fields in the area, such as the springs at Puga. They barter these two products for food grains and other necessities. In Korzok, in recent years, building activity is on the rise with the nomadic tribes changing their life style.

Structures

Korzok monastery as seen now is said to have been re-built in the 19th century on the right bank of the Tsomoriri River. The old monastery was built on a gentle slope, unlike other monasteries that are generally perched on hill tops. An impressive ''photong'' is also located near to the Gompa. A number of

chortens In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and ''śarīra''—the remains of Bhikkhu, Buddhist monks or Bhikkhuni, nuns. It is used as a place of ...

are also seen near the monastery. Korzok settlement is considered one of the oldest settlements of the world at this elevation. The monastery houses the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha along with images of other deities. The monastery has beautiful ancient paintings (

thangka A ''thangka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा) is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled ...

s) which have been restored.

Geography

Located southeast of

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

, southeast of Upshi, east of Meroo and south of Mahe, Korzok Monastery is on the northwestern bank of Ladakh's Tso Moriri (lake), one of the highest lakes in the world of its size. The lake covers an area of . The water of the lake is partly brackish and partly sweet, with a depth of . The valley formed by the Tso Moriri and other lakes, is part of the Rupshu Valley and Plateau. The lake and its surrounding area is a Ramsar designated wetland. Korzok is on the Ladakhi portion of the Changthang plateau amidst snow peaks that are the source of water to the lake. The Rupshu -Changthang area is a unique landscape. The barley fields in the Korzok village vicinity tended by the nomadic Changpa herdsmen (apart from the monks staying in the monastery) have been claimed to be the highest cultivated land in the world. The nomadic herdsmen seen here living in tents only, rear herds of goats, cows and yaks. Among the wildlife seen in the area are Himalayan birds,

kiang The kiang (''Equus kiang'') is the largest of the ''Asinus'' subgenus. It is native to the Tibetan Plateau in Ladakh India, northern Pakistan, Tajikistan, China and northern Nepal. It inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands. Other common nam ...

(Tibetan wild ass), foxes and marmots. The streams, which rise in the valley, are used for irrigation. Summer temperatures in the area reach a high of and a low of .

Local festival

The Korzok Gu-stor festival is held at the monastery and attracts many Chang-pa, the

Tibetan plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

nomadic herdsmen. At the festival masks are worn by the dancers to represent the Dharmapalas (guardian divinities of the Buddhist pantheon), and the patron divinities of the Drukpa sect of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

. The annual monastic festival is also held not only at Korzok but also at the Thuje in the Chungthan valley where the nomadic tribes fervently participate in the rituals. They not only make donations to the monasteries but also dedicate one son from each family to the monastery. It is said that the local nomads are so dedicated to Buddhism that opposite to their tents they allocate space to keep symbolic statue images of the

Rinpoche Rinpoche, also spelled Rimpoche (), is an honorific term used in the Tibetan language. It literally means "precious one", and may refer to a person, place, or thing—like the words "gem" or "jewel" (Sanskrit: '' Ratna''). The word consists of '' ...

, usually the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

, along with the seven offering cups, in perfect harmony with their own folk (nomadic) religious deities and spirits.

Tourism

The monastery is located to the southeast of

, at a road distance of . It is also approachable from Manali. Leh is also connected by air with many destinations in India. A permit—obtainable only at Leh—is essential for entry into the area. Only tented accommodation, pitched on the banks of the Tso Moriri, is available for visitors.

Gallery

File:Chorten at Korzok Phu.jpg, A

chorten In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and ''śarīra''—the remains of Bhikkhu, Buddhist monks or Bhikkhuni, nuns. It is used as a place of ...

in Kurzok File:Korzok Monastery3.jpg, View of the Korzok Monastery File:Korzok Monastery4.jpg, Painting in the Korzok Monastery File:Korzok Monastery5.jpg, Paintings in the Korzok Monastery

References

External links

Flickr images
{{Jammu and Kashmir topics Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh Drukpa Kagyu monasteries and temples in India