Ngor or Ngor Éwam Chöden (, ) is the name of a monastery in the
Ü-Tsang province of
Tibet about southwest of
Shigatse and is the
Sakya school's second most important
gompa. It is the main temple of the large Ngor school of
Vajrayana Buddhism, which represents eighty-five percent of the Sakya school.
History
The origins of the Ngor school go back to Ngorchen Kunga Sangpo (also Kunga Zangpo or Kun dga 'bzang po, ) (1382-1444 CE), who was born and educated at Sakya and founded this monastery in 1429. It was renowned for its rich library of Sanskrit texts and magnificent 15th-century
Newar
Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...
-derived paintings. Of its 18 colleges, and Upper and Lower Tsokangs, only one building, the Lamdre Lhakang, has been restored. There were once some 400 monks, but now there are only a few.
Below the lhakang there is a row of 60 stupa renovated but missing the magnificent
mandala paintings they once contained, but which are now preserved in Japan and have been documented and published.
Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrup, born in
Sakya in 1497, was a famous practitioner who became the tenth abbot of Ngor Ewam Choden monastery.
The two other main sects of the Sakya school are Sakya proper and
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
. The main Ngor temples are found in the
Kham
Kham (; )
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...
region of Tibet.
The Ngorpa school is characterized by an emphasis on
tantra balanced with study and practice. It is known for a mastery of ritual and practice of long retreats including lifelong retreats. The present leader of the Ngor is HE Luding (or Lhuding) Khenpo, who now lives in northern India.
[Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005), p. 280.]
Footnotes
References
* Dorje, Gyurme. (1999). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook: with Bhutan'', 2nd Edition, p. 261. Footprint Travel Guides. , .
* Dowman, Das (1988). ''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide''. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London & New York. .
* Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. ''Tibet''. (2005). 6th Edition. Lonely Planet. .
* Tucci, Giuseppe. (1980). ''The Religions of Tibet''. University of California Press. Paperback edition 1988. (cloth); (pbk.)
*von Schroeder, Ulrich. 2001. ''Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet''. Vol. One: ''India & Nepal''; Vol. Two: ''Tibet & China''. (Volume One: 655 pages with 766 illustrations; Volume Two: 675 pages with 987 illustrations). Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd. Ngor pp. 554, 706, 870, 872, 1082, 1124, 1131, 1206, 1208–1216, 1209, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216; Lam ’bras lha khang («lamdre lhakhang»); Pls. 40, 50C, 106B–C, 170C, 257A, 281D, 330–335; gTsug lag khang («tsuglagkhang»), Fig. XVIII–4; Plates 106D, 255A, 304D–E.
External links
Link to the French Buddhist Ngor temple.For a photo of HE Lhuding Khenpo34 different Mandalas from Ngor Monastery
{{Buddhist monasteries in Tibet
1429 establishments in Asia
Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1420s
Religious organizations established in the 1420s
Buddhist monasteries in Tibet
Buddhist temples in Tibet
History of Tibet
Sakya monasteries and temples
15th-century Buddhist temples