|
 |
|
 |
Buddhist monasteries, known as vihara. The monastery also has a Centre for Buddhist Cultural Studies where young monks are taught Arithmetic, English, and Hindi besides traditional monastic education.
The Indian state of Bihar, being the focal point of Buddhism, boasts of several major Buddhist religious monument centres such as Bodh Gaya and temples like Maha Bodhi temple. Then there are monasteries such as Tabo and Namgyal in Himachal Pradesh, which have a lot of Tibetan influence on them. Similarly, hilltop buddhist monasteries of Ladakh are one of the best living traditions of Tibetan Buddhism in the world today. Also visit the Monasteries of Sikkim, which are one of their kind. Some of the northeastern states of India like Aunachal Pradesh also prides in housing some very ancient and largest monasteries in India.
In brief, this monastery is simply awe-inspiring and majestic in its appearance and grandeur. |
|
_monastery.jpg) Kye (Ki) Monastery
Himachal Pradesh is a state of high mountains and beautiful valleys. Its mountains are snow covered its lake crystal blue and its valleys filled with fruits, flowers and pine and deodar forests. This land of the Gods is particularly influenced by Lord Shiva, Durga and Buddha along with numerous Rishi's and other gods of the Hindu religion. You can find the Shikara, Pagoda, and Mandap, Flat-roofed, Gompa and Cave styles of temples. The monasteries with their Gompas that are found here are both old and new. One among the various beautiful monastries is 'Ki (Kye) Monastery'. The 'Ki (Kye) Monastery' serves the western part of Spiti and the most prominent feature of the valley. It lies about 14-kms north of Kaza and holds the honor of being the oldest and biggest monastery of Spiti. It is a well-known religious training center for the Lamas, whom one will find dancing, singing and playing on their pipes and horns.
One will also find murals, books, scriptures and paintings of Buddha and other Goddesses. This monastery is an outstanding example of the monastic architecture, which developed during the 14th century in the wake of the Chinese influence. The Mongols plundered the monastery in the middle of the 17th century. In the 19th century, it again suffered three brutal attacks. The successive trails of destruction and patch-up jobs have resulted in a haphazard growth of box-like structures, and the complex now resembles a defensive fort.
|
 Maha Bodhi Temple
The historical place at which the Enlightenment took place became a place of pilgrimage. Though it is not mentioned in the scriptures, the Buddha must have visited Bodh Gaya again in the course of his teaching career. About 250 years after the Enlightenment, the Buddhist Emperor, Ashoka visited the site and is considered the founder of the Mahabodhi Temple. According to the tradition, Ashoka, as well as establishing a monastery, erected a diamond throne shrine at this spot with a canopy supported by four pillars over a stone representation of the Vajrasana, the Seat of Enlightenment. The temple's architecture is superb but its history is shrouded in obscurity. It was constructed with the main intention of making it a monument and not a receptacle for the relics of the Buddha. Several shrines were constructed with enshrined images for use as places of worship. The basement of the present temple is 15m square, 15m in length as well as in breadth and its height is 52m which rises in the form of a slender pyramid tapering off from a square platform. On its four corners four towers gracefully rise to some height. The whole architectural plan gives pose and balance to the observers. Inside the temple there is a colossal image of the Buddha in the "touching the ground pose", bhumisparsha mudra. This image is said to be 1700 years old and is facing east exactly at the place where the Buddha in meditation with his back to the Bodhi tree was enlightened. |
 Namgyal Monastery
In 1575 Sonam Gyatso, the Third Dalai Lama, officially founded a monastery, which later came to be known as Namgyal Dratsang (Victorious Monastery). Since its inception, the monastery has assisted the Dalai Lamas in their public religious activities and performed ritual prayer ceremonies for the welfare of Tibet. The monastery has been a center of learning, contemplation and meditation on the vast and profound Buddhist treatises. Namgyal monastery is nonsectarian and maintains ritual practices and teachings of the four main lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet, the 175 Namgyal monks and their monastery were located in the Potala Palace, performing spiritual duties and religious ceremonies for both the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government. A distinctive feature of this monastery is its diversity of practice. Namgyal monks perform prayers and rituals of all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is now situated next to the Central Cathedral.
|
 Rumtek Monastery
The Rumtek Monastery or the Dharma Chakra Center is one of the most important seats of the Kagyu lineage outside Tibet. In the early nineteen sixties, His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa founded this seat near the three hundred year old Kagyu monastery built in the sixteenth century by the Fourth King of Sikkim under the guidance of the ninth Karmapa. The new Rumtek monastery was built about two kilometers away from this old monastery. Dharma Chakra Center includes a beautifully structured main shrine temple and monastery with monks' quarters, where the Karmapa resides and where the most of the important relics are enshrined; a three-year retreat center; a Shedra, or monastic college, where the relics of the Sixteenth Karmapa are enshrined; a nunnery; stupas; a protector's shrine; institutions for the lay community; and other establishments. The monastery holds annual events for the public. Two of the most festive and important events are held each summer and winter. In the fourth lunar month of the Tsurphu Tibetan calendar either the Guru Rinpoche or the Vajrakilaya Drupchen (great sadhana practice retreat) take place.
The Rumtek Monastery is located in eastern Sikkim, 24 kilometers away from Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim, India. The best season to visit, in terms of weather, is March to late May, or from October to mid-December. The following languages are spoken in the area: Sikkimese, Pahari (the local Nepalese dialect), Hindi, Tibetan and English.
|
 Tawang Monastery
Tawang Monastery stands atop a mountain, 3300 Meters high, overlooking the Tawang Chhu Valley. It is over 350 years old, and is the fountainhead of the spiritual life for the followers of the Gelupa Sect of the Mahayana School of Buddhism, which is followed by the Monpa, and Sherdukpen tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Surrounded by lofty peaks of over 4000 Meters in elevation, it is built like a fortress and can house over 500 monks. The surrounding Tawang Chhu Valley is a virtual Shangri-La, of lush forests, smiling vales, gurgling streams, picture post card villages and a lovely, smiling people, surrounded by high mountain barriers above 4000 meters. This is a rare opportunity to explore the Buddhist lifestyles of the unique and remote Himalayan tribal culture of the Monpas. You get to see the various monasteries, Monpa villages and the breathtaking vistas of Himalayan uplands. We also visit two national parks; The Kaziranga and Nameri, and visit Bomdila, with its set on monasteries, Sherdukpen and Bugin tribes.
The most imposing part of the monastery is the Dukung, or the assembly hall - a three-storied building housing the temple and the 8.3-m high Golden Buddha. The building also has a library, a treasure trove of valuable sculptures, old books and manuscripts, both handwritten and printed. Also housed here is the establishment of the Rimpoche, or lama incarnate.
|
|
|
|
|
