Kardang Monastery
| Kardang Monastery | |
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| Coordinates | 32°34′6″N 78°58′9″E / 32.56833°N 78.96917°ECoordinates: 32°34′6″N 78°58′9″E / 32.56833°N 78.96917°E |
| Monastery information | |
| Location | Kardang, Lahul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Date renovated | 1912 by Lama Norbu Rinpoche |
| Type | Tibetan Buddhist |
| Sect | Drukpa |
Kardang Monastery or Gompa is a famous Drukpa Lineage monastery, and is the most important monastery the Lahaul valley, India. The associated village of Kardang was once the capital of Lahaul.
The monastery is a huge white building bedecked with prayer flags. It is situated on a ridge below the 15,000 foot (4,572 metres) Rangcha peak, at an altitude of 3,500m on the left bank of the Bhaga River, facing the town of Keylong, about 8 km away. Kardang is well connected by the road via the Tandi bridge which is about 14 km from Keylong. The monastery was featured on the 7 November 2010 episode of the History Channel TV series IRT Deadliest Roads, where trucker Rick Yemm delivered a large golden Buddha statue to the monastery and was greeted by the monastery's head, Lama Paljoa.
The monastery is believed to have been built in the 12th century and houses a large library of Buddhist literature, including the Kangyur and Tangyur scriptures in the Bhotia or Sherpa language. There is also a good collection of fine thankas, musical instruments such as lutes, drums, horns, as well as old weapons. There are colourful frescoes and murals.
The monastery was in ruins until it was renovated in 1912 CE by Lama Norbu Rinpoche (died 1952), who, with Lama Kunga, turned it into "a proper educational and training establishment."
In the first room is a 4 foot (1.23 metres) high silver chaitya or chorten preserving the skull and ashes of Lama Norbu. To the right of it are statues of Padmasambhava and Tara (Devi), and in the back, one of Tagden Shakyashree, guru of Lama Kunga. 103 volumes of the Kangyur are kept here, while behind are 64 tantra books on various subjects. The second room is the main Prayer Hall with an eleven-headed statue of Avalokitesvara. On a high pedestal at the right are some of Lama Norbu's castoff garments and with a skull in front. In the third room is a six foot wooden prayer wheel with a brass bell on it. There are now about thirty monks and nuns (chomos) in the monastery, and two British nuns have studied, meditated, and been initiated in recent years.
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Wikipedia