View from roof of Thagthok Gompa showing courtyard and wall paintings

Takthok Monastery (''tib.'' བྲག་ཐོག་ ''Wylie = Brag Thog'', ''pron. Trag Thog,'' "Stone Roof" in english) is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastery in Sakti village in

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

, northern

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 ...

, located approximately 46 kilometres east of

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

. It is the only monastery in Ladakh belonging to the Nying-ma-pa or Red Hat sect. The name Takthok, literally meaning 'rock-roof' was named because both its roof as well as walls are made up of rock. It belongs to the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and approximately 55 lamas reside there. It is the only Nyingma monastery in Ladakh. The monastery was founded around the mid-16th century during the reign of Tsewang Namgyal I (1575-1595) on a mountainside around a cave in which

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

is said to have meditated in the 8th century.

Description

The main temple is very dark and gloomy with a low ceiling of rock completely covered with the residue from centuries of butterlamps having been burned there. The paintings that once adorned the walls are covered with grime and even the floor feels sticky. Further down another cave has been turned into a kitchen which has immense stoves capable of producing enough food for all the pilgrims who arrive for the annual festival (which has been shifted to the summer months to accommodate tourists). The Assembly Hall, or ''du-khangs verandah, has paintings of the Four Lords, while the walls have recent paintings of fierce protector divinities, some of which adorn the verandah entrance. The du-khang also contains statues of Maitreya,

and his manifestation Dorje Takposal. A new temple was consecrated by the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

in 1980 just below the main ''gompa'' complex.Rizvi (1996), pp. 235-236. A small cave behind them is believed to be the place where

lived and meditated for three years. The monastery also has the 108 volumes of the ''

Kanjur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur or Kanjur ('Translation of the Word') and the Tengyur or Tanjur (Tengyur) ('Translation of Treat ...

'' of Buddha's teachings.

Gallery

File:Outdoor shrine at Thagthok Gompa.jpg, Outdoor shrine at Thagthok Gompa File:Wall paintings outside Thagthok Gompa.jpg, Wall paintings outside Thagthok Gompa File:Preparing butter lamps at Thag-Thok Gompa. 2010.jpg, Preparing

butter lamps Butter lamps or butterlamps (; ) are a common feature of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout the Himalayas. The lamps traditionally burn clarified yak butter, but now often use vegetable oil or vanaspati ghee. The butter l ...

at Thakthok Gompa File:View from Thag-Thok Gompa.jpg, Mountain view from Takthok File:Entrance to Guru Rinpoche's cave at Thak Thok.jpg, Entrance to

Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

's cave. File:Gate at Takthok.jpg, Gate at Takthok File:Ancient murals at Thagthok.jpg, Ancient murals at Thagthok

Footnotes

References

*Rizvi, Janet (1996). ''Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia''. 1st edition 1983. 2nd revised edition 1996. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. . {{Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh Nyingma monasteries and temples

Description

Gallery

See also

Footnotes

References