Buddhist Gompas

Tak Thok Gompa
Tak Thok gompa is situated some 10 km further up from Chemre gompa in the Chemre Valley. The name Tak Thok in Lladakhi means "Rock Rood" and refers to the cave chapel found in this unusual gompa. The Rimpoche of Tak Thok is from Tibet and is highly respected by Ladakhis. The gompa houses about 55 lamas of the Nying-ma-pa sect of Buddhism, also known as the "Old Order". Members of this sect are followers of Padme Sambhava's teachings and Tak Thok is the only gompa in Ladakkh that follows this order. Entering the main courtyard, one is immediately struck by the rock outcroppings that surround the gompa. Indeed, the wooden front of the chapel is only a front for the cave behind it and most of the gompa consists of rooms hollowed out of the stone cliff by nature or man. The cave chapel is to the left as one enters the central courtyard. A small anteroom to the cave chapel has been recently painted with the Guardian Divinities of the Four Directions. In the front of the cave chapel are images of Padme Sambhava and Avalokitesvara. Behind this image is a small locked door leading to the small cave where Padme Sambhava is supposed to have lived and meditated for three years. This cave is not open to the public. The low roof of the chapel is the stone of the cliff. Leaving the cave ahapel, go up a flight of stairs and on the right will be the Kandshur Lhakhang. The Kandshur is the 108 volumes of Buddha's teachings and a complete set of this important religious work is found in this temple. There are also statues of Sakyamuni (the Historical Buddha) with his two chief disciples by his side. The walls are decorated with murals of guardian divinities. Opposite the Kandshur Lhakhang and to the left is a small chapel containing religious books and four Buddha statues.

Returning to the central courtyard, the Dukhang or main assembly hall will be on the right (the same side as the courtyard entrance). The verandah entrance to the Dukhang has beautiful new murals of guardian divinities. These murals are covered by cloth all year, except during the gompa's festival, in order to preserve their color but just lift the cloth up to admire the workmanship. In the Dukhang are several rows of low seats for the lamas. Opposite the entrance is a throne seat reserved solely for the Dalai Lama. To the left of this throne seat is a wall painting of Padme Shambhava and on the right is a painting of Sakyamuni. On the right wall towards the front is a glass-fronted case of small, colorful sculptures made of butter mixed with barley flour. To the right of this case are three large statues of Maitreya (the Future Buddha or Buddha of Compassion). Padme Sambhava and Dorje Takposal (a manifestation of Padme Sambhava). The other walls are newly painted with depictions of guardian divinities done by the same Ladakhi artist who painted the topmost temple in Chemre. Across the central courtyard of the Dukhang are behind a low wall is the gompa's kitchen, interesting mainly for its location under the overhanging rock-face.

Thiksey Gompa
Thiksey gompa was built some 600 years ago and consists of 12 levels ascending a hillside, culminating in an incarnate Lama's private apartments at the summit. The gompa contains 10 temples; below the monastery itself are chapels and "houses" stretching down the hillside. Some 100 monks of the yellow-hat sect of Buddhism live here. After entering the main courtyard to the immediate right and up several steps is a new temple containing a large Buddha statue. This Buddha figure, 15 meters tall was constructed in 1970 to comemmorate a visit to Thiksey by the Dalai Lama. The statue is the largest Buddha figure in Ladakh and took four years to construct. The statue is made of clay and covered with gold paint. Inside, the statue is filled with both the Kandshur and the Tandshur - volumes of Buddhist canonical texts. The statue was made entirely by local craftsmen and represents Maitreya, ("compassion" in Sanskrit) the Buddha of the Future. The prophecy made of the Future Buddha is that the world will be undergoing such chaos that the Future Buddha will teach compassion to the people.

Located directly above this temple is a small narrow room used as a schoolroom for local boys. Here the lamas instruct the children and some are later selected to become lamas. Traditionally, Ladakhi families donated one son to become a lama although this practice is gradually disappearing. Returning to the main courtyard and going up the steep steps directly across from the new temple, on the far wall will be mural of two Tibetan calendars with the "Wheel of Life" depicted between them. The central portion of the wheel has representations of a snake, a bird and a pig, symbolizing greed, desire and ignorance respectively. Buddhists believe that it is crucial to overcome these earthly ties in order to become enlightened and escape the cycle of death and rebirth. The wheel is held by Yama, a black figure who, after people's death, determines their future fate based on their deeds during their lifetime. To the right of these murals is the main prayer room which contains racks of books along the left wall. Many of these books are handwritten or hard painted. Recent editions are done by block printing, as was previously done in Tibet. In a small room behind the Dukhang is a large image of Sakyamuni (the Historical Buddha) flanked by two smaller Bodhisttva images. On the left is the 11-headed Avalokitesvara, form of the Buddha corresponding to the Hindu god Shiva. Exiting the main prayer room, partially down the staircase to the main courtyard is a steep, narrow set of steps to the left. While climbing these steps, one can see several temples devoted to various guardian divinities. Near the summit and to the right is a small temple devoted to Maitreya, the future Buddha. The wall decorations consist of a series of small images of lamas, each placed in a separate wooden rack with thankas behind. An enclosed verandah, which is actually over the main prayer room, leads to the head lama's private apartments, all of which were recently decorated in Tibetan style. The inside walls of the verandah have modern paintings of the eighty-four Tantric Masters. On the rooftop is the Lamukhang temple where only men may enter. Also on the rooftop is Thiksey's library, containing numerous religious books including volumes of the Kandshur and Tandshur mentioned earlier.