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Monasteries
Sikkim's monasteries are institutes of scholars and
saints dedicated to the spreading of noble teachings of Lord Buddha. The
monasteries of Sikkim apart from being the places of religious discourses,
worship and meditation are the store houses of many hand written religious
books and murals, the part and parcel of Sikkimese cultural heritage.
Dube-de monastery
is the oldest monastery of Sikkim. It
was built over the cell of the hermit where lama Lhatsun Chenpo lived and
meditated. Under his direction the Sangla Choling monastery was also built
at the same time. He also built the Tashiding and Pemyangtse monasteries. All these purmonasteries are leading monasteries of
Sikkim.
The Tashiding monastery
in Sikkim is second in importance
to the premier and largest monastery of Pemyangtse. The legend goes that
Guru Padmasambhava (Rimpoche) shot an arrow into the air and said that he would
meditate at a place where the arrow fell. The arrow fell on the hill
where Tashiding stands today. Tashidings fame has spread far beyond the frontiers of
Sikkim. Till 1959 it was an important place of pilgrimage for Tibetans. The
Buddhists from other parts of India, Nepal and Bhutan consider it as Mecca.
Every pious Sikkimese wishes to die and to be cremated at Tashiding.
Monastery at Pemayangtse
(Perfect Sublime Lotus)
This monastery is situated 120 Kms west of
Pemayangtse.
Opens
from sunrise to sunset.
This is
the second oldest monastery of Sikkim. The monastery was constructed in
1705A.D. The original building was designed on the Tibetan
monastery pattern. But now the main building has completely
been rebuilt in concrete and also painted in Sikkimese style. But the
original carved altar, thrones, old images, old painted banners and
the ritual objects have been left intact to maintain the continuity with
the past. The walls and the ceiling of
the large Dukhang (Prayer Hall) has numerous thangkas and wall paintings.
There is an exceptional collection of religious art works including an exquisite
wooden sculpture on the top floor depicting the heavenly palace of Guru Rimpoche.
The monks' quarters build in stone and wood is sited at the side of the monastery. This is the headquarters of the Nyingmapa sector. The
monks have been recruited here from the leading families of Sikkim according to
Nyingmapa tradition.
According to the tradition, only unmarried Bhutia monks with no
physical blemish can live at this monastery. They are mostly drawn from the
elite Bhutias. Since its inception the monastery has been closely associated
with the royal family. Only the head lama of this monastery was permitted
to enthrone the erstwhile Chogyals. The lamas of this monastery once completed the chronicle
of Sikkim and kept the hand written manuscript in the library of the monastery
but unfortunately it was destroyed during Gurukha invasions. Only two
pages of this manuscript could be spotted by Hooker at a later stage.
Rumtek, Gangtok
Chhulakhang, Rinchinpong, Talung, Enchey, Lingtam, Namchi and Singtam are other renowned monasteries of
Sikkim.
Rumtek
Mo nastery
This monastery stands,
24 km away in a picturesque environs on the lower valleys of
south west Gangtok. It is the headquarters of Kagyu (black hat)
order of Tibetan Lamaistic Buddhism. It has the typical monastic paintings and
intricate wood work.
After 1959 the older Sikkim monastery
perched on the spur of the hill has recently been renovated but without
interfacing with the original traditional architecture. The new
monastery of Gelwa Karmapa has been patterned on the lamaseries of Tibet.
Karmapa Lama after his self
exile from Tibet lives here.
The Enchey monastery is located on the
Gangtok, Nathu La road just
about three km from the capital city.
Most of the monasteries in Sikkim belong to the Nyingmapa sect
of Lamaism. All the Nyingmapa monasteries are governed by the Pemyangtse. There are
separate monasteries for Lepchas at Lingtam, Jikim and Fagye also managed
by the Pemyangtse. Nuns reside in very few monasteries of Sikkim
and that too in diminishing numbers.
On the walls of the monastery are painted the four religious
kings, the Masters of four main directions as mentioned in the
Mahayana scriptures. In the almirahs, are placed the hand written
manuscripts of many religious books.
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