Stongdey Monastery, often written Stongde, Stongday, Tonday or Thonde, is a flourishing

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

Zanskar Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum (former Capital of Zanskar). Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was brie ...

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 ...

, approximately 18 km north of

Padum Padum (also known as Padam) is a town named after Padmasambhava. It is the only town and the administrative centre in Zanskar, Kargil district of Ladakh, India. It was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kingdom, the other ...

, on the road to

Zangla Zangla is a village in Zanskar tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is located 262 km from Kargil city, the district headquarter, 32 km from Padum, the capital of Zanskar and presently the headquarter of ...

. The gompa was founded in 1052 by Naropa's disciple, the famous translator Lama

Marpa Lotsawa Marpa Lotsāwa (, 1012–1097), sometimes known fully as Marpa Chökyi Lodrö ( Wylie: mar pa chos kyi blo gros) or commonly as Marpa the Translator (Marpa Lotsāwa), was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Vajraya ...

(1012-1097). It was taken over by the

Gelugpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

about four centuries later and became dedicated to Je Tsongkhapa.Rizvi (1996), p. 255. It is the second largest monastic institution in Zanskar, with a community of about 60

Gelukpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...

monks 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 ...

. Every year the Gustor Festival is held on the 28th and 29th day in the eleventh month of the

Tibetan calendar The Tibetan calendar (), or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years ...

. There are seven temples in all. The Tshogs-khang is decorated with exquisite painting including some with deities on a black background outlined in gold.

Footnotes

References

* Janet Rizvi. (1996). ''Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia''. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. . * Schettler, Margaret & Rolf (1981). ''Kashmir, Ladakh & Zanskar.'' Lonely Planet Publications. South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. .

External links

{{Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh Gelug monasteries and temples Buddhism in Lahaul and Spiti district Buildings and structures in Lahaul and Spiti district 1052 establishments in Asia 11th-century establishments in India