Rinpung Dzong, sometimes referred to as Paro Dzong, is a large

dzong Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery ( dz, རྫོང, , ) architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of cou ...

- Buddhist monastery and fortress - of the

Drukpa Lineage The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or "Red Hat sect" in older sources,

of the

Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

school in

Paro District Paro District (Dzongkha: སྤ་རོ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Spa-ro rdzong-khag'') is a district (''dzongkhag''), valley, river and town (population 20,000) in Bhutan. It is one of the most historic valleys in Bhutan. Both tra ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

. It houses the district Monastic Body as well as government administrative offices of Paro Dzongkhag. It is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion.

History

In the 15th century local people offered the crag of Hungrel at Paro to Lama Drung Drung Gyal, a descendant of Pajo Drugom Zhigpo. Drung Drung Gyal built a small temple there and later a five storied Dzong or fortress which was known as Hungrel Dzong. In the 17th century, his descendants, the lords of Hungrel, offered this fortress to the Drukpa hierarch,

Ngawang Namgyal Ngawang Namgyal (later granted the honorific Zhabdrung Rinpoche, approximately "at whose feet one submits") (; alternate spellings include ''Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel''; 1594–1651) and known colloquially as The Bearded Lama, was a Tibetan Buddh ...

, the

Zhabdrung Rinpoche Zhabdrung (also Shabdrung; ; "before the feet of ones submit") was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage. In Bhutan the title almost always refers to Ngawang Namgyal (159 ...

, in recognition of his religious and temporal authority. In 1644 the Zhabdrung dismantled the existing dzong and laid the foundations of a new dzong. In 1646 the dzong was reconsecrated and established as the administrative and monastic centre of the western region and it became known as "Rinpung Dzong".Lopon Kunzang Thinley (2008) p.5 Some scenes in the 1993 film Little Buddha were filmed in this dzong.

Shrines and chapels

Inside Rinpung Dzong are fourteen shrines and chapels: #Kungarwa #Monks' assembly hall #Sandalwood

Stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

#Protector's shrine #Temple of the Guru's Eight Manifistations ( dz, གུ་རུ་མཚན་རྒྱད་ལྷ་ཁང) #Chapel of the head lama #Chapel of Amitayus #The Clear Crystal Shrine #Chapel of the Eleven-faced Avalokiteśvara #Apartments of the Abbot #Chapel of Akshobhya #Temple of the Treasure Revealer #Apartments of the King (Gyalpo'i Zimchung) #Temple of the Bursar Outside the main dzong is the Deyangkha Temple. On the hill above Rinpung Dzong is a seven-storied the watchtower fortress or Ta Dzong built in 1649. In 1968 this was established as the home of the

National Museum of Bhutan National Museum of Bhutan is a cultural museum in the town of Paro in western Bhutan. Established in 1968, in the renovated ancient Ta-dzong building, above Rinpung Dzong under the command of His Majesty, the King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the thi ...

. Just below Rinpung Dzong is a traditional covered cantilever bridge.

Festivals

A great annual festival or tshechu is held at Rinpung Dzong from the eleventh to the fifteenth day of the second month of the traditional Bhutanese lunar calendar (usually in March or April of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

). On this occasion, holy images are taken in a procession. This is followed by a series of traditional mask dances conveying religious stories which are performed by monks for several days. Before the break of dawn on the morning of the fifteenth day, a great sacred

thongdrel A Thongdrel (alt. throngdrel) is a large appliqué religious image normally only unveiled during ''tsechus'', the main religious festivals in Bhutan. They are the largest form of ''thangka'' paintings in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

banner thangka depicting the Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava is displayed for the public in the early morning hours, to keep to the tradition of not allowing sunlight to fall on it.

References

Sources

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External links

Paro Rinpung DzongAbout Rinpung DzongMore on Rinpung Dzong
{{Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan Dzongs in Bhutan Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan Tibetan Buddhism in Bhutan