Thiksey Monastery or Thiksey

Gompa A Gompa or Gönpa or Gumba ("Five Breathtaking Gumbas Around Kathmandu", ''OMG Nepal'', https://omgnepal.com/five-breathtaking-gumbas-around-kathmandu/ "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (, "island"), is a sacred Buddhist ...

(also transliterated from Ladakhi as Thikse, Thiksay or Tikse) is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastery affiliated with the

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous' ...

school 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 ...

. It is located on top of a hill in Thiksey approximately east of

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

, in the

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

region of northern

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 ...

. It is noted for its resemblance to the

Potala Palace Potala Palace ( Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ་ཕོ་བྲང Chinese: 布达拉宫) is the name of a museum in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, built in the ''dzong''-style. It was previously a palace of t ...

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

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 ...

, and is the largest monastery in central Ladakh, notably containing a separate set of buildings for female renunciates that has been the source of significant recent building and reorganization. The monastery is located at an altitude of in the

Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

. It is a twelve-storey complex and houses many items of

Buddhist art Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes Buddha in art, depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas in art, Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, ...

such as

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

s, statues,

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 ...

s, wall paintings and swords. One of the main points of interest is the

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

Temple installed to commemorate the visit of the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

to this monastery in 1970; it contains a high statue of Maitreya, the largest such statue in Ladakh, covering two stories of the building.

History

In the early 15th century,

Je Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ( Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་པ་, '','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the format ...

, the founder of the Gelug School—often called "the Yellow Hats"—sent six of his disciples to remote regions of

to spread the teachings of the new school. Tsongkhapa gave one of his disciples, Jangsem Sherap Zangpo (), a small statue of Amitayus (the

saṃbhogakāya ''Saṃbhogakāya'' (, zh, t=報身, p=bàoshēn, Tib: ''longs spyod rdzog pa'i sku'') is the second of three aspects of a buddha. ''Sambhogakāya'' is a "subtle body of limitless form". Buddhas such as Bhaisajyaguru and Amitābha, as well as ...

form of

Amitābha Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddh ...

), containing bone powder and a drop of Tsongkhapa's own blood. Tsongkhapa directed him to meet the King of Ladakh with a message seeking his help in the propagation of Buddhism.Jina, pp. 319–320 The King, who was then staying in the

Nubra Valley Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. Its Tibetan nam ...

near

Shey Shey is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Leh tehsil, 15 km from Leh towards Hemis. Shey was founded as the summer capital of Ladakh (then called Maryul), by the king Lhachen Palgyigon in the 10th centu ...

, loved the gift of the statue. After this meeting, the King directed his minister to help Sherab Zangpo to establish a monastery of the Gelug order in Ladakh. As a result, in 1433, Zangpo founded a small village monastery called Lhakhang Serpo "Yellow Temple" in Stagmo, north of the Indus. In spite of his efforts, the lamas who embraced the Gelug order were initially few, although some of his disciples became eminent figures over the years.Jina, pp. 319–320 Tsong khapa with prayer wheel Tikshe

In the mid 15th century, Palden Zangpo continued the monastic work started by his teacher, Sherab Zangpo. He decided to build a larger monastery here that was dictated by an unusual event that occurred while choosing a site. Legends narrate that Tsongkhapa had predicted that his doctrine would prosper on the right bank of the Indus River. This prediction came true when the Thiksey Monastery was established. This was followed by others such as Spituk Monastery and Likir Monastery, which are also situated on the right bank of the Indus. According to legend, Sherab Zangpo and Palden Zangpo were performing sacred rituals near the Yellow Temple. The

torma Torma (Skt: Balingta, ; Tor-ma) are sculptures made mostly of flour and butter used in tantric rituals or as offerings in Tibetan Buddhism. They may be dyed in different colors, often with white or red for the main body of the torma. They a ...

offerings were then taken to a rock outcrop to be thrown down to the valley. As they were about to throw the torma into the valley, two crows appeared and carried away the ceremonial plate with the offering of torma. They then placed the torma at a location on the other side of the hill. When Palden Zangpo and his disciples began looking for the torma, they reached Thiksey, where they found that the crow had placed the ''torma'' on a stone in perfect order and in an undisturbed condition. Palden took this finding as a divine directive to build the monastery there.Jina, p. 320 The new Thiksey monastery was located a few kilometres away from Stagmo, on a sacred hill above a village of the same name. The monastery is believed to have been built on the site of an earlier Kadam establishment or as a daughter house of the small chapel of Stakmo about to the north.

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, ...

is also known to have built a temple named Lakhang Nyerma at Thiksey dedicated to the protector Dorje Chenmo. Today, all that can be seen are some ruins. Thiksey grew in prominence in Ladakh, second only to Hemis Monastery, administering ten other monasteries in the region, such as

Diskit Diskit is a village and headquarter of the Nubra tehsil and the Nubra subdivision in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.Stok. The monastery came to own or control of land and some 25 villages became attached to the monastery. In around 1770, the lama of Hanle Monastery dictated that his elder son should inherit the throne of Ladakh while other princes should be lamas at Thikse and Spituk. As a result, princes such as Jigsmet Namgyal served as lamas at Thikse.

Modern history

Restoration of the old monasteries in Ladakh, including the Thiksey Monastery, is being carried out by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

, at the request of the concerned monastery administration. This, however, has not been without its controversy. It is said that the traditional mud and stone courtyards changed to granite, which has marred the brightness of the place. Similarly, restoration of the right wing of the monastery, involving construction of a new kitchen and a dining hall for the monks, replacing the old traditional central courtyard, has caused dissonance to the entire old edifice of the monastery. As a result, a balance to the restoration and renovation works has been sought to retain the old order in consonance with the new works.

Structure

Exterior

Thikse Monastery is the largest such structure in central Ladakh. Located on a hill slope, its buildings are arranged in ascending order of importance and are well spaced, from the foot of the hill housing the dwelling units to the top of the hill enshrining the monasteries and potang (official residence) of the chief lama. The architecture strongly resembles that of the

, the former official seat of the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

s. Thus, Thikse Monastery is also known as 'Mini Potala'. The motorable access road from the valley passes the east side of the Thikse Monastery's main building. There is a statue of the Tibetan protective deity on this path at the entrance at the lower level. The highest level of the complex has a

(chorten). The monastery precinct at the foot of the hill has a courtyard from which a flight of steps leads to the main monastery (one of the 10 temples here), which is 12 stories in height. It has two main chambers. The monastery is painted in red, ochre and white and houses 60 lamas. It has an attached nunnery. Like Likir and Rangdum monasteries, it was built as a fort monastery in the Central Tibetan pattern. There are excellent views across the Indus Valley flood plain both east and west of it, from which the gompa at Matho (to the east), the royal palace at Stok (across the valley to the south) and the former royal palace at

(to the west) are clearly visible.

Maitreya Buddha

One of the main points of interest is the

(future Buddha) Temple erected to commemorate visit of the

to this monastery in 1970. It contains a high statue of Maitreya Buddha, the largest such statue in Ladakh, covering two stories of the building. Unusually, he is portrayed as seated in the lotus position rather than in his usual representations, standing or in a sitting posture on a high throne. It is the largest Buddha statue in the monastery, and took four years to build. It was made by local artists under the master Shilp Guru Nawang Tsering of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (Leh) - in clay, gold paint and copper.

Assembly Hall

A wall at the entrance to the assembly hall or main prayer hall depicts murals of the

Tibetan calendar The Tibetan calendar (), or the Phukpa calendar, known as the ''Tibetan lunar calendar'', is a lunisolar calendar composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three y ...

with the Bhavacakra (Wheel of Life). This wheel has insignia images of a snake, a bird and a pig that signify ignorance, attachment, and aversion. The purpose of this depiction is meant to remind that these earthly ties need to be overcome in order to get enlightenment in life and to prevent the cycle of death and rebirth. The main prayer room next to this wall has many handwritten and painted books. Behind this prayer hall is the small inner sanctum of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

flanked by

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

Mañjuśrī Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...

to the right and

to the left. The assembly hall also has an image of the Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara with

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...

. The centre of the assembly hall has a seat for the Dalai Lama and to its right, for the head lama and to its left, another deity is pictured. The hall also has murals of the deities

Mahakala Mahākāla (, ) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a ''Dharmapala, Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma") and a Wrathful deities, wrathful manifestation of a The Buddha, Buddha, while in Hindu ...

and Sitātapatrā. Stored on wooden shelves in the hall are 225 volumes of the

Tengyur The Tengyur or ''Tanjur'' or ''Bstan-’gyur'' (Tibetan: "Translation of Teachings") is the collected commentaries by great buddhist masters on Buddha Shakyamuni's teachings. The Tengyur is included in the Tibetan Buddhist Canon, which consi ...

, wrapped in silk.

Tara temple

A temple is also dedicated to goddess Tara with her 21 images placed in glass-covered wooden shelves. Also, small shrines devoted to several guardian divinities including Cham-spring - the protector deity of Thikse - can also be seen between the main courtyard and the staircase. The Chi-khang has an image of the Buddha with two of his disciples and the deity

Yamantaka Yamāntaka () or Vajrabhairava (; ; ''Daewideok-myeongwang''; ''Daiitoku-myōō''; ''Erlig-jin Jargagchi'') is the "destroyer of death" deity of Vajrayana Buddhism. Sometimes he is conceptualized as "conqueror of the lord of death". Of the seve ...

. The courtyard mural depicts Tsong Khapa, the Buddha,

, Palden Lhamo and

Lamokhang temple and quarters

The top floor of the monastery houses the Lamokhang temple, which is a repository of numerous volumes of scriptures including

Kangyur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur and the Tengyur. The ''Kangyur'' or ''Kanjur'' is Buddha's recorded teachings (or the 'Translation of ...

and Stangyur. Only men are allowed to enter this floor. There are big stupas and ''mani'' walls at the entry to the monastery. A small room above the temple is exclusively used as a schoolroom to teach local boys of the villages and some of these boys are chosen as lamas. The top floor is also the official residence of the incarnate lama of the monastery. A large pillar engraved with the Buddha's teachings is also located here. The monastery complex has a number of white washed huts, which house the lamas.

Nyerma Nunnery

The nunnery or the school for the community of nuns is located within the precincts of the monastery and is managed by the monastery administration. In Ladakh, nunneries were held in a grossly inferior status and Buddhist nuns in particular lived in appalling conditions. In the 1990s, awareness was raised on the status of the nuns in Ladakh, and Thiksey received a degree of international attention and support. In 1995, the Sakyadhita Conference of Buddhist Women was held in Leh, leading to the establishment of the Ladakh Nuns Association in 1996. This was important in raising the status of the nuns in Ladakh, to ensure a shift in their functional role of "servitude and to one of true spiritual practice". The Chief Lama, Thiksey

Rinpoche Rinpoche, also spelled Rimpoche (), is an honorific term used in the Tibetan language. It literally means "precious one", and may refer to a person, place, or thing—like the words "gem" or "jewel" (Sanskrit: '' Ratna''). The word consists of '' ...

of Thiksey Monastery was also important in these positive developments in the betterment of nuns. The monastery donated the land for a new nunnery at Nyerma, near Thiksey, at the same place where the very first monastic seat was established by Rinchen Zangpo, the Tibetan translator, in the tenth century. The nunnery is now under the patronage of Thiksey Monastery. Today the nunnery houses 26 nuns, ranging from the ages of 43 to 87. The nuns themselves had taken steps to assert their position in the society by changing their traditional name of ‘ani’ (literal meaning "aunt" – a derogatory connotation of a servant) to "cho-mos", the "female religious practitioners". They even adopted the testament of Mahaprajapati on this issue, expressed by Buddha's aunt and nun as their anthem. Under the influence of the 14th Dalai Lama's words, Thiksey Rinpoche Nawang Jamyang Chamba Stanzin and Tsultrim Tharchin, a geshe became nuns’ activists at Thiksey. The Dutch Foundation for Ladakhi Nuns (DFLN), a charitable organisation also operates in Nyerma, providing monetary and individual services to support the Buddhist nuns of Ladakh. As of 2020, the abbess of Nyerma Nunnery was Padma Dechen."Bezoek Padma Dechen aan Europa", i
Dutch Foundation for Ladakhi Nuns: Nieuwsbref 2020
NFLN 2020.

Festivals

The annual festival held in the monastery precincts is known as the Gustor ritual, which is held from the 17th to 19th day of the ninth month of the

(October–November). Sacred dances such as the mask dance or

Cham dance The cham dance () entry: 'cham. is a lively masked and costumed dance associated with some sects of Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhist festivals. The dance is accompanied by music played by bhikkhu, monks using traditional Tibetan musical instruments ...

are performed as a part of this ritual. Another special feature is the trade fair held at the base of the monastery, in which villagers from all over Ladakh assemble to barter and trade items and socialize. Sand

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 ...

s are made for smaller festivals. The morning prayers at 07:00, with synchronized chanting of

sūtra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

s at this monastery, attract many worshippers to the services.

Notes

References

* * *Handa, O. C. (1987). ''Buddhist Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh''. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. . * *Rizvi, J. (1996). ''Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia''. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. . * {{Authority control Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh Gelug monasteries Maitreya Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in India