Buddhist India Rediscovered by Aruna Deshpande

Author:Aruna Deshpande [Deshpande, Aruna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mobilism
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House/Mumbai
Published: 2013-10-29T00:00:00+00:00

▲ The Thiksey monastery has some of the most breathtaking Buddhist artefacts in India

The small temple of Zan-la is beside the car parking area. In the gonpa courtyard there are some interesting wall paintings. In the chapel there is a picture of Tsangkhapa the founder of the Gelukpa sect. On the roof balcony there are rooms for the head Lama.

Thiksey monastery is known for its annual festival held from the 17th to 19th day of the twelfth month of the Tibetan calendar. Sacred dances also form a part of this ritual, which take place every year.

Stanka Gonpa

Stanka Gonpa is situated on the right bank of the river Indus. The name 'Stanka' literally means 'Tiger's Nose'. The monastery was so named because it was built on a hill, which is shaped like a tiger's nose. The Monastery owes its inception to Chosje Jamyang Palkar, the great scholar and saint of Bhutan. It formed a part of the many religious estates offered by the Dharmaraja Jamyang Namgyal's to the saint, around AD 1580.

The most important image in the monastery is one of the Avalokitesvara, which is said to have come from Assam. In the chapel are three paintings – a large picture of Choshikzal, and the red and blue figures of Dorje Chang.

In the wooden cupboard is a large standing figure of Dorje Phakma, besides eight Sashan Gyat. Under this main chapel is another chapel which may only be entered by Lamas.

The successive reincarnations of the Stanka Tulku continue to serve as the incumbents of the monastery, preserving the teachings of the Drugpa order.

On entering the capital courtyard, one comes across the dukhang (main assembly hall). The head Lama had silver chorten, seven feet high, erected inside the dukhang in the 1950s. The chorten comprises a statue of Buddha as well as numerous Buddhist texts. The left wall is adorned with three new paintings, those of the Tsephakmad (a Buddhist deity), Sakyamuni (the Historical Buddha), and Amchi (the Medical Buddha).

The wall opposite the dukhang entrance is also painted with three images, those of a Bodhisattva, Padmasambhava (eighth century Indian Buddhist scholar and translator of Buddhist texts into Tibetan), the present Buddha and Maitreya (future Buddha). The throne of the head of Stanka lies on the left side of the dukhang.

There are five monasteries under Stanka. They are:

Munth (in Leh district)

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