The Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling(བོད་ཡིག ཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་།) ( Wylie: ''theg mchog rnam grol bshad sgrub dar rgyas gling''), informally known as Namdroling Monastery (or ನಮ್ಡ್ರೋಲಿಂಗ್ ವಿಹಾರ, Namdroling Vihara) is the largest teaching center of the

Nyingma Nyingma (, ), also referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by PadmasambhavaClaude Arpi, ''A Glimpse of the History of Tibet'', Dharamsala: Tibet Museum, 2013. ...

lineage 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 ...

in the world. Located in

Bylakuppe Bylakuppe (བྷ་ཡ་ལ་ཀུཔེ།) is a region in Karnataka which is home to the Indian town Bylakuppe and several Tibetan settlements, established by Lugsum Samdupling (in 1961) and Dickyi Larsoe (in 1969). Bylakuppe is the l ...

, part of the Mysuru district of the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, the monastery is home to a

sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

community of more than five thousand

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 and

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s and qualified teachers, a junior high school named Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling, a Buddhist philosophy college or

shedra Shedra is a Tibetan word () meaning "place of teaching" but specifically refers to the educational program in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. It is usually attended by monks and nuns between their early teen years and early twenties. N ...

for both monks and nuns, a home for the elderly, and a hospital.

History

The monastery was established by the 11th throneholder of the Palyul lineage, the 3rd Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche in 1963. It was founded after his 1959 escape from Tibet which was also prompted by the 1957 arrest of Palyul's then-head Khenpo, the 4th Karma Kuchen, who was tortured to death by China's forces by 1958. The

Palyul Monastery Palyul Monastery (), also known as Palyul Namgyal Jangchub Choling Monastery and sometimes romanized as Pelyul Monastery, is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1665 by Rigzin Kunz ...

and it 400 branches is considered one of the Nyingma school's "

Six Mother Monasteries 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

" in Tibet, before China's forces demolished the monastery and its branches in the late 1950s.Sonam Tsering Ngulphu, "The Third Penor, Lekshe Chokyi Drayang", ''Treasury of Lives'', August 2023. Palyul Monastery's reconstruction by Penor Rinpoche began in the late 1970s, and by 1983 Penor Rinpoche was again giving teachings and ordaining sangha members in Tibet. Namdroling Monastery is considered a seat of Palyul Monastery's lineage in exile. The monastery's full formal name is Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling, but it's called "Namdrolling or Namdroling" for short. Its initial structure was a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

constructed from

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, covering an area of approximately and its founder Penor Rinpoche lived in a tent. Namdroling was carved into the jungle that the Indian government granted to Tibetans in exile for their resettlement. The initial challenges included rampaging elephants, a lack of roads and of funds, and other tropical dangers. Dalainam

From these humble beginnings, Namdroling has grown into the largest Nyingma school monastery in the world.

Branches

* Namdroling Jr. High School (Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling) *

Ngagyur Nyingma Institute The Ngagyur Nyingma Institute (Tib: , Wylie: ) of Namdroling Monastery was established by Penor Rinpoche Kyabjé 3rd Drubwang Padma Norbu, Lekshe Chokyi Drayang widely known as Penor Rinpoche (, 30 Jan 1933 – 27 Mar 2009), was the 11th thro ...

(NNI) * Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee (NREC) *

Rigzod Computer Section The Ngagyur Nyingma Institute (Tib: , Wylie: ) of Namdroling Monastery was established by Penor Rinpoche Kyabjé 3rd Drubwang Padma Norbu, Lekshe Chokyi Drayang widely known as Penor Rinpoche (, 30 Jan 1933 – 27 Mar 2009), was the 11th thro ...

(RCS) *

Palyul Dictionary Editorial Committee Palyul Monastery (), also known as Palyul Namgyal Jangchub Choling Monastery and sometimes romanized as Pelyul Monastery, is one of the Nyingma#Six Mother Monasteries, "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It was ...

Padma Mani Translation Committee The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks ...

(PMTC) * Ngagyur Nyingma Research Center (NNRC) *

Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery The Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery or Tsogyal Shedrub Dargyeling Nunnery:() is the Tibetan Buddhist nunnery of Namdroling Monastery, consecrated on 27 November 1993 in Bylakuppe, India. Namdroling Monastery is the largest teaching center of the Nyingma ...

(NNN) *

Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery Institute The Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery Institute () was founded by Penor Rinpoche in 1995. Buddhist nuns there study a nine-year course on sutra and tantra along with poetry, grammar, composition and so on, a syllabus virtually identical to that of Ngagyur ...

(NNNI) * Tshogyal Editorial Committee (TEC) * Samtan Odsalling Retreat Center * Nunnery Retreat Center (Drub Nyi Gatshal Ling) * TT Daycare Medical Center (TTDCMC) * PDL Guest House

Dharma Centres Around the Globe

* Canada ** Ogyan Osel Chodzong Monastery & Retreat Centre ** Ottawa Palyul Center - Dhonyag Shedrup Ling ** Palyul Namdroling Foundation ** Palyul Pema mani Center ** The Palyul Foundation of Canada * Hong Kong ** Penor Rinpoche Charity Foundation Ltd. * India ** Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh ** Palyul Namdroling Temple, Bodh Gaya, Bihar ** Tsechu Association, Darjeeling * Indonesia ** Palyul Nyingma Indonesia * Macau ** Macau Palyul Centre * Malaysia ** Nyingma Palyul Buddhist Association Selangor and Kuala Lumpur ** Yayasan Pema Norbu Vihara * Nepal ** Nyingma Palyul Orgyen Dorje Chholing Monastery ** Nyingma Palyul Retreat Centre ** Palyul Thegchog Wodsel Choling * The Philippines ** Philippine Palyul Centre * Singapore ** Palyul Nyingma Buddhist Association * Taiwan ** Palyul Nyingmapa Buddhist Centre ** Sheng Keng Palyul Centre ** Shien Tein Palyul Centre ** Taichung Palyul Centre ** Tainan Palyul Centre ** Taipei Palyul Centre ** Taiwan Nyingmapa Palyul Namdroling Buddhist Association * USA ** Namdroling Montana, MT ** Nyingma Palyul Dharma Centre, NY ** Palyul Changchub Choling, FL ** Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, CA ** Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, MD ** Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, TX ** Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, VA ** Palyul Changchub Dargyeyling Buddhist Study & Meditation Centre, OH ** The Palyul Retreat Centre, NY

Buildings - Timeline

* On 17 February 1978, the Buddhist College ("

Shedra Shedra is a Tibetan word () meaning "place of teaching" but specifically refers to the educational program in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. It is usually attended by monks and nuns between their early teen years and early twenties. N ...

") was constructed and completed. * A new temple, the "Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara" (known by locals as the "Golden Temple") was inaugurated on 24 September 1999. The temple has space for several thousand monks. * 27 November 1993, the

mTsho-rGyal bShad-Drub Dargyas-Ling was established. * In 2004 Zangdog Palri Temple a temple to the main

(old school) Buddha,

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 ...

was built and inaugurated on 13 December of that year. As of 2016, the lodging facilities alone for the school include three buildings with over 200 rooms. The population fluctuates as monks attend or complete studies at Namdroling. A recent census had the population in excess of 4,000 monks and 800 nuns.The History of Palri Phodrang, Copyright 2004, Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee,

, Bylakuppe, Karnataka State, India

Ceremonies

Namdroling Monastery hosts several ceremonies yearly. Of particular interest is Tibetan New Year (

Losar Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various da ...

), based on the Tibetan lunisolar calendar; dates are not static but usually the event is in February or March. The monastery hosts traditional Lama Dances, the hanging of giant

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 ...

from the sides of its buildings, as well as solemn processions throughout the monastery grounds spanning approximately two weeks.

Image gallery

Namdroling Monastery - Outer View , Bylekuppe.jpg, Zangdog Palri Temple Bylakuppe - Namdroling Monastery 37.JPG, Tara Temple Buddha Statue at Bylakuppe.jpg, Buddha Statue in Namdroling Monastery Namdroling Monastry - Bylekuppe.jpg, Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara Nyingma Institute gate.jpg, Nyingma Institute Gate Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery.jpg, Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery Gyang Khang Tulku Rinpoche.jpg, Abbot Gyankhang Tulku Rinpoche

References

External links

{{commons category, Namdroling Monastery
Namdroling Monastery in India
Buddhist temples in Karnataka Nyingma monasteries and temples Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in India Buildings and structures in Mysore district Tourist attractions in Mysore district