__NOTOC__ Lhalung Monastery, Lhalun Monastery or Lalung Monastery (also known as the Sarkhang or Golden Temple), was one of the earliest monasteries founded in

Spiti Spiti (pronounced as piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tib ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

, India, by the great Tibetan Buddhist ''lotswa'' (translator)

Rinchen Zangpo __NOTOC__ Lochen Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055; ), also known as Mahaguru, was a principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet, variously called the New Translation School, ...

, the king of western Himalayan Kingdom of

Guge Guge () was an ancient dynastic kingdom in Western Tibet. The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. At various points in history after the 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast a ...

during the late 10th century CE. The altitude of the neighbouring village of Lhalun is 3,658 metres (12,001 feet). The name Lhalun literally means 'land of the gods' (''lha'' = deities, devtas; ''lung'' = land, area) and it is said that the Lhalung Devta is head of all the Devtas of the valley and emerges from the Tangmar mountain beyond the village. This mountain is said to change colour depending on the moods of the devtas or deities; red showing anger, yellow, happiness, etc. The village has 45 homes is 14 km from the main road and is the largest in the Lingti valley. At some places remains of an ancient wall encircling all the monastery buildings may be found. It is probable that, like Tabo, it was designed as a ''choshor'' site, a place for learning and debate as opposed to a simple village monastery or a chapel for worship by the local people. There is also a sacred tree here which may be as old as the earliest monastery.

"The Lha-lun monastery, built by Rin-chen-bZang-po, was originally a Kah-dam-pa (
Kadampa file:Portrait of the Indian Monk Atisha.jpg, 300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism, or Kadampa was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengalis, Bengali master Atiśa (982–1054) and his ...
) establishment to which the Great Lotsaba belonged. But it might have turned into a Sa-kya-pa ( Sakyapa) stronghold in the 14th century. Some of the damaged temples at Lha-lun may be the spoils of that period. In the 17th century, this monastery was annexed to the Ge-lug-pa (Gelugpa) fold by the Mongold despite the Sa-kya-pa ( Sakyapa) resistance and, a loss of a few more temples. Thus out of the nine temples of the Lotsaba's time, only one now remains...."Handa (1987), p. 86.

For a sketched floor plan of the one remaining temple of Lhalung Monastery see Handa (1987), p. 87.

Gallery

File:Lalung Gompa Guru Rinpoche.jpg, Altar with

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 ...

File:Lhalung Gompa.jpg, Young woman making offerings. Lhalung Gompa. 2004. File:Lalung Gompa Abbott in his room.jpg, Abbot of Lhalung Gompa. 2004. File:Lhalung old statue.jpg, Lhalung. Old statue. File:Lhalung Gompa prayer wheel.jpg, Lhalung Gompa prayer wheel File:Lhalung - gilded wooden figures.jpg, Lhalung – gilded wooden figures File:Lalung Gompa mandala wall painting.jpg, Lalung Gompa

mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

wall painting

Footnotes

References

*Handa, O. C. (1987). ''Buddhist Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh''. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. . *Kapadia, Harish. (1999). ''Spiti: Adventures in the Trans-Himalaya''. Second Edition. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. .

External links

* {{Buddhist monasteries in Himachal Pradesh Buddhism in Lahaul and Spiti district Buildings and structures in Lahaul and Spiti district Buddhist monasteries in Himachal Pradesh Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in India Tibetan Buddhist monasteries 10th-century establishments in India