Nyêmo Chekar monastery ( bo, snye mo bye dkar) ཉེ་མོ་ཆེ་དཀར་དགོན། is a small Buddhist monastery of the Bodongpa tradition in Nyêmo County, Lhasa, Tibet. It is known for its mural paintings of reincarnations of the

Samding Dorje Phagmo The Samding Dorje Phagmo () is the highest female incarnation in Tibet''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', (1988) p. 268. Keith Dowman. . and the third highest-ranking person in the hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the Pa ...

Location

Nyemo Chekar lies near Uyuk in Nyêmo County. It is the birthplace of 8th century "translator"

Vairotsana Vairotsana () was a lotsawa or "translator" living during the reign of King Trisong Detsen, who ruled 755-97 CE. Vairotsana, one of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava, was recognized by the latter as a reincarnation of an Indian pandita. He ...

. The name comes from an area of ''chekar'' (''bye dkar''), or white sand, that surrounds the monastery. The monastery was established in the 16th century by Tashi Ombar, protector of the Bodongpa tradition, and Chime Palsang, spiritual master of the tradition. A visitor to the monastery in July 1996 described it as small and somewhat decrepit. It stood on a mound above a grove of willows and a small stream.

Paintings

The old wall paintings in the porch of the temple had been repainted by 1996. In a dark altar room on the ground floor the walls are completely decorated with much older portraits that included Bodong Chogle Namgyal (1376–1451), the deity

Dorje Phagmo The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shape ...

and Tashi Ombar, the blue horseman who protects the

Bodongpa The Bodongpa or Bodong tradition, is one of the smaller traditions of Tibetan Buddhism falling outside the classification of the four main schools. History Bodong E Monastery (), located in Yutok (), in modern Tashigang (), Lhatse County, was ...

tradition. One of the better-preserved upper rooms also has fully decorated walls, including formal portraits of Bodong Chogle Namgyal,

Chökyi Drönma Chökyi Drönma (1422-1455) was a Tibetan princess and Buddhist leader. She was the main consort of Thang Tong Gyalpo, who recognized her as an emanation of Machig Labdrön through the lineage of Vajravārāhī and appointed her as the first ...

(the first incarnation of Dorje Phagmo) and Chime Palsang. It has various other pictures of women, some remarkably realistic. One depicts the princess Chökyi Drönma in a nun's garb, with a ''

yogini A yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, IAST: ) is a female master practitioner of tantra and yoga, as well as a formal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibet. The ...

s long hair hanging loose, wearing gold and turquoise earrings. Although unnamed, most of the female portraits appear to represent different reincarnations of the Dorje Phagmo. They probably date from the late 16th or early 17th century. File:Mural of Chime Palsang at Nyêmo Chekar monastery.png, Late 16th century mural depicting Chime Palsang File:4th Karmapa, mural painting at Neymo Chekar monastery.jpg, The Fourth Red Hat Karmapa and several incarnations of the Dorje Phagmo File:Bodong Chogle Namgyal mural at Nyêmo Chekar monastery.png, Bodong Chogle Namgyal File:Chokyi Dronma.jpg, The first Samding Dorje Phagmo, Chökyi Drönma

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyemo Chekar monastery Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa (prefecture-level city) Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples