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 which ...

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 people, ...

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 fem ...

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 Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...

." 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 Monastery, which one of the main tourist attractions in the Sirmour district Sirmaur is the southernmost district of Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It is larg ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Lungtok Tenpai Nyima (Tibetan: ལུང་རྟོགས་བསྟན་པའི་ཉི་མ, Wylie : lung rtogs bstan pa'i nyi ma) was the 33rd Menri Trizin, the abbot of the Menri Monastery and former leader of Bon. At the age of 17 h ...

and

Lopön Tenzin Namdak Lopön Tenzin Namdak (, born 1926 in Khyungpo Karu – – in Kham) is a Tibetan religious leader and the most senior teacher of Bon, in particular of Dzogchen and the Mother Tantras. Early life Tenzin Namdak's father was a farmer in Ch ...

. This monastery has recreated the ''

geshe Geshe (Tib. ''dge bshes'', short for ''dge-ba'i bshes-gnyen'', "virtuous friend"; translation of Skt. ''kalyāņamitra'') or geshema is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns. The degree is emphasized primarily by the Gelug lineage, ...

'' training program, and is home to over two hundred

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s. Menri in India and Triten Norbutse Monastery in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

now host the only two geshe programs in the Bon lineage.

References

External links

*{{cite web , last = Berzin , first = Alexander , author-link = Alexander Berzin (scholar) , title = A Brief History of Menri Monastery , publisher = Study Buddhism , year = 1991 , url = http://studybuddhism.com/web/en/archives/study/history_buddhism/buddhism_tibet/Bon/brief_history_menri_monastery.html , access-date = 2016-06-06 Alexander Berzin, 1991, expanded September 2003. Original version published in "Bön Monasteries." Chö-Yang, Year of Tibet Edition (Dharamsala, India), (1991)
The Bon Foundation

Menri Monastery Protected Area Permit

Bill Megalos 1405 establishments in Asia Religious organizations established in the 15th century Bon Monasteries in India

History

Menri Monastery in India

See also

References

External links