Ralung Monastery (), located in the Tsang region of western

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 ...

south of Karo Pass, is the traditional seat of 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 ...

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 ...

. It was founded in 1180 by

Tsangpa Gyare The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare (1161–1211) was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorje and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th century, transmitted by his ...

, 1st

Gyalwang Drukpa The Gyalwang Drukpa () is the honorific title of the head of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage, one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Vajrayana Buddhism ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhy ...

, a disciple of Lingje Répa () who founded the Drukpa Lineage.Dowman, Keith. 1988. ''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', pp. 268–269. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and New York. .

Location

The monastery is located in present-day

Gyantse County Gyantse County officially Gyangzê County (; zh, s=江孜县) is a county of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous ...

several kilometers south of the road connecting Nakartse and

Lungmar Lungmar is a village and township in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. See also *List of towns and villages in Tibet An alphabetical list of populated places, including cities, towns, and villages, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of western ...

, immediately north of the

Gasa district Gasa District (; , also ) is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. The capital of Gasa District is Gasa Dzong near Gasa. It is located in the far north of the county and spans the Middle and High regions of the Tibetan Hima ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. In previous times, trade could be conducted across the Yak La pass across the high

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, extending the influence of Ralung to the south. The monastery is surrounded by the towering peaks and glacier fields of Gyetong Soksum (6,244m), Jangzang Lhamo (6,324m) and Nojin Gangzang (7,191m). From the beginning the location was recognized as especially auspicious:

History

The founder of Bhutan, the first

Zhabdrung Rinpoche Zhabdrung (also Shabdrung; ; "before the feet of ones submit") was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage. In Bhutan the title almost always refers to Ngawang Namgyal (1 ...

Ngawang Namgyal Ngawang Namgyal (; alternate spellings include ''Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel;'' 1594–1651), known colloquially as ''The Bearded Lama'', was a Tibetan Buddhist Drukpa Kagyu school Rinpoche, and the unifier of Bhutan as a nation-state. He was lat ...

, was the 18th abbot of Ralung Monastery. In 1616, he fled Tibet when his recognition as the reincarnation of renowned scholar

Kunkhyen Pema Karpo Kunkhyen Pema Karpo () (1527–1592 CE) was the fourth Gyalwang Drukpa, head of the Drukpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the most famous and learned of all the Gyalwang Drukpas. During his lifetime, he was known as the grand lama among ...

was challenged by the governor of

Tsang province Tsang may refer to: * Ü-Tsang (), a traditional region of Tibet * Tsang (surname) * Zang (surname) (), romanized Tsang in Wade–Giles * Zeng (), a Chinese surname, romanized Tsang in Cantonese See also * Zang (disambiguation) Zang may refer to: ...

. Ngawang Namgyal unified the warring valleys of Bhutan, fending off attacks from Tibet, forming a national identity and establishing a

dual system of government The Dual System of Government is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi (temporal ruler) coexists with the spiritual authority of the realm, usually unified under a third single ruler. The actual distribut ...

that continues to this day in modified form as the Royal Government of

Palden Drukpa lineage

Chart of the hereditary Palden Drukpa lineage () of Ralung from the founder,

, to the last hereditary throne holder, Ngawang Namgyal. Successive throne holders are numbered with their names in bold text.

Footnotes

References

* Dorje, Gyurme; (1999). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan'' (2nd Ed.) Footprint Handbooks. . p. 253.

External links

Ralung Monastery

rwa lung
TBRC G44
Ralung
{{Coord, 28.8347, N, 90.0997, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist temples in Tibet Drukpa Kagyu monasteries and temples 1180 establishments in Asia Religious organizations established in the 1180s