Menri Monastery ( — "medicine mountain") is the name of a

Bon ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

that has been refounded in India. The name derives from the medicinal plants and medicinal springs on the mountain. Menri became the leading Bon monastery in the Tibetan cultural region. The

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

of Menri is recognized as the spiritual leader of Bon.

History

Menri Monastery was established in 1405 by Nyammé Shérap Gyeltsen (, 1356–1416) from Gyarong (Gyelrong), on the slope of Mount Shari Phowa () in Topgyel (), Tsang. Nyammé Shérap Gyeltsen had been the eighteenth abbot of an old monastery also called Menri. The first monastery at Menri was founded in 1072 as Yéru Wensakha Monastery (). It was destroyed by a flood in 1386. The new Menri Monastery, established in 1405, was founded in the Bru lineage of Bon and the Yéru Wensakha tradition. "Many of the monks who succeeded yammé Shérap Gyeltsenwere also from Gyarong." The monastery practiced Yungdrung Bon, and was known "for its strict practice of monastic rules, which set a standard for other Bon monasteries." Rinchen Gyeltsen was the second abbot. The monastery had 32 abbots between its founding and 1966. The administration of the monastery is the subject of an article by Per Kvaerne. Sanggye Tendzin (1912-1978) served as lopön at Menri, and "was also in charge of printing important works of Dzogchen." The administration of the monastery is the subject of an article by Per Kvaerne.

Menri Monastery in India

Menri Monastery, India In 1967, Menri was refounded at

Dolanji Dolanji is an area near Solan in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is famous for its Bon