Menri Monastery ( — "medicine mountain") is the name of a

Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

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 ...

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 ...

that has been refounded in India. The name derives from the medicinal plants and medicinal springs on the mountain. Menri became the leading Bon monastery in the Tibetan cultural region. The

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Menri is recognized as the spiritual leader of Bon.

History

Menri Monastery was established in 1405 by Nyammé Shérap Gyeltsen (, 1356–1416) from Gyarong (Gyelrong), on the slope of Mount Shari Phowa () in Topgyel (), Tsang. Nyammé Shérap Gyeltsen had been the eighteenth abbot of an old monastery also called Menri. The first monastery at Menri was founded in 1072 as Yéru Wensakha Monastery (). It was destroyed by a flood in 1386. The new Menri Monastery, established in 1405, was founded in the Bru lineage of Bon and the Yéru Wensakha tradition. "Many of the monks who succeeded yammé Shérap Gyeltsenwere also from Gyarong." The monastery practiced Yungdrung Bon, and was known "for its strict practice of monastic rules, which set a standard for other Bon monasteries." Rinchen Gyeltsen was the second abbot. The monastery had 32 abbots between its founding and 1966. The administration of the monastery is the subject of an article by Per Kvaerne. Sanggye Tendzin (1912-1978) served as lopön at Menri, and "was also in charge of printing important works of

Dzogchen Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...

." The administration of the monastery is the subject of an article by Per Kvaerne.

Menri Monastery in India

Menri Monastery, India In 1967, Menri was refounded at Dolanji in

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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

by Lungtok Tenpai Nyima and

Lopön Tenzin Namdak Lopön Tenzin Namdak (; 1925 – 12 June 2025) was a Tibetan religious leader and the most senior authority and teacher of Bon, in particular of Dzogchen and the Mother Tantras. Background Tenzin Namdak's father was a farmer in Chamdo a ...

. This monastery has recreated the ''

geshe Geshe (, short for ''dge-ba'i bshes-gnyen'', "virtuous friend"; translation of Skt. ''kalyāņamitra'') or geshema is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns. The degree is emphasized primarily by the Gelug lineage, but is also awar ...

'' training program, and is home to over two hundred

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s. Menri in India and Triten Norbutse Monastery in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

now host the only two geshe programs in the Bon lineage.

References

External links

*{{cite web , last = Berzin , first = Alexander , author-link = Alexander Berzin (scholar) , title = A Brief History of Menri Monastery , publisher = Study Buddhism , year = 1991 , url = http://studybuddhism.com/web/en/archives/study/history_buddhism/buddhism_tibet/Bon/brief_history_menri_monastery.html , access-date = 2016-06-06 Alexander Berzin, 1991, expanded September 2003. Original version published in "Bön Monasteries." Chö-Yang, Year of Tibet Edition (Dharamsala, India), (1991)
The Bon Foundation

Menri Monastery Protected Area Permit

Bill Megalos 1405 establishments in Asia 15th-century religious buildings and structures in Asia Bon Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in India Buddhist monasteries in Himachal Pradesh Buildings and structures in Solan district 1967 establishments in Himachal Pradesh Buildings and structures in Sirmaur district 15th-century Buddhist temples

History

Menri Monastery in India

See also

References

External links