Tashiding Monastery
Encyclopedia
Tashiding Monastery is a Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 monastery of the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...

 sect of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

 in Western Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

, northeastern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is located on top of the hill rising between the Rathong chu and the Rangeet River
Rangeet River
Rangeet or Rangit is a tributary of the Teesta river, the largest river in the Indian state of Sikkim. The Rangeet river originates in the Himalayan mountains in West Sikkim district. A perennial river, it is fed by the melting snow of the Himalayas in early summer and the monsoon rains in...

, 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) from Gyalshing and 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) to the south east of Yuksam meaning Yuk-Lamas, Sam- Three in Lepcha Language which signifies the meeting place of three holy lamas from Tibet in 1641 A.D. Tashiding is the nearest town to the Tashiding Monastery (Gompa), which is the most sacred and holiest monasteries in Sikkim.

Tashiding means “The Devoted Central Glory” and the monastery by this name was founded in 1641 by Ngadak Sempa Chempo Phunshok Rigzing who belonged to the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

. Ngadak was one of the three wise men who held the consecration ceremony crowning the first King of Sikkim at Yuksom. It was extended and renovated in 1717 during the reign of the third Chogyal
Chogyal
The Chogyal were the monarchs of the former kingdoms of Sikkim and Ladakh, which were ruled by separate branches of the Namgyal family. The Chogyal, or divine ruler, was the absolute potentate of Sikkim from 1642 to 1975, when its monarchy was abrogated and its people voted to make Sikkim India's...

 Chakdor Namgyal. 'Bhumchu Ceremony' or festival is a popular religious festival that is held on the 14th and 15th day of the first month of Tibetan Calendar
Tibetan calendar
The Tibetan 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, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.The Tibetan New Year...

.

The Tashiding Monastery is part of Buddhist religious pilgrimage circuit starting with the first monastery at Yuksam in Sikkim known as the Dubdi Monastery
Dubdi Monastery
Dubdi Monastery, occasionally called Yuksom Monastery is a Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism near Yuksom, in the Geyzing subdivision of West Sikkim district, in northeastern India....

, Norbugang Chorten
Norbugang Chorten
The Norbugang Chorten is situated in the Geyzing subdivision of West Sikkim district in the Indian State of Sikkim. It was erected following the crowning of the first Chogyal of Sikkim in 1642 at Narbugong Coronation Throne near Yuksom. A holy lake known as Kuthok Lake, a serene lake, is also...

, Pemayangtse Monastery
Pemayangtse Monastery
The Pemayangtse Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Pemayangtse, near Pelling in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, located west of Gangtok. Planned, designed and founded by Lama Lhatsun Chempo in 1705, it is one of the oldest and premier monasteries of Sikkim. It is not only one of the...

, the Rabdentse
Rabdentse
Rabdentse was the second capital of the former kingdom of Sikkim from 1670 to 1814. The capital city was destroyed by the invading Nepalese army and only the ruins of the palace and the chortens are seen here now...

 ruins, the Sanga Choeling Monastery
Sanga Choeling Monastery
The Sanga Choeling Monastery, also spelt Sange Choeling Monastery, established in the 17th century by Lama Lhatsun Chempo, is one of the oldest monasteries in the Northeast Indian state of Sikkim. The literal meaning of Sanga Choeling is the “island of esoteric teaching”...

, and the Khecheopalri Lake
Khecheopalri Lake
Khecheopalri Lake, originally known as Kha-Chot-Palri , is a sacred Lake for both Buddhists and Hindus, which is believed to be a wish fulfilling lake. It is located near Khecheopalri village, west of Gangtok and to the northwest of Pelling town in the West Sikkim district of the Northeastern...

.

Legend

There are several legends linked to the most revered monastery and the Bhuchu festival that is held here.

According to one local legend Guru Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...

 shot an arrow into the air to select the place. Where the arrow he shot landed, he sat in meditation and that site eventually became the site of the Tashiding Monastery.

Another legend relates to the three monks who consecrated the first Chogyal of Sikkim at Yuksam. It is said that the three monks saw an unusual divine phenomenon of bright light shining on top of the Kanchendzonga mountain, which reflected to a site near the place where the present Tashiding Monastery has been built. Concurrently, a scented smell of incense followed by all pervading divine music was also noted. The first Chogyal who visited the site subsequent to hearing this unusual event, erected a small chorten at the site and named it as Thongwa-Rang-Grol. Legend further glorifies the site stating that a mere sight of it “confers self-emancipation”.

Another absorbing legend is related to the celebration of the Bhumchu festival at Tashiding Monastery. The legend is traced to the tantric art. Guru Padmasambhava, while teaching the tantric system of “Mahakarunika Avalokiteshvara Sadhana and initiation on emancipation from the cycle of mundane existence” to the King Trisong Duetsen, prince Murub Tsenpo, Yeshe Tsogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal , was the consort of the great Indian tantric teacher Padmasambhava, the founder-figure of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Nyingma tradition considers her equal in realization to Padmasambhava himself. The meditational practices related to her, stress her enlightened...

 and Verotsana in Tibet, sanctified the same holy vase with holy water, which is now kept in Tashiding Monastery and revered during the Bhumchu festival. This vase is made of five types prized jewels, divine soil and holy water said to have been gathered by Padmasambhava from religious centres in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Odiuana and Zahor. The vase was made by the wrathful deity Damchen Gar-bgag and sanctified by Guru Padmasambhava himself by performing the “Sadhana of Yidam Chuchig Zhal (meaning tutelary deity of eleven heads)”. On this occasion, heavenly deities appeared in the sky and thereafter merged into the holy water contained in the vase. The vase then overflowed and the water dispersed in “all directions in the form of rays.” This ritual was immediately followed by an earthquake, which was considered an auspicious sign. The divine moment also witnessed the presence of the four guardian divinities namely, “the Gyalchen Dezhi/Cutur – Maharajika of Dharma and the gods of the thirty-three heavens (Samchu Tsasumgyi Lhanam) who showered flowers from the sky.” The event was witnessed by devotees and Padmasmabhava distributed the holy water from the vase to all assembled people, which spiritually benefited one and all. The vase was then hidden as a treasure under the care of the divine deities. However, the vase was rediscovered and passed through the hands of several holy men and finally placed at Tashiding by Terton Ngdag Sampachenpo. During the reign of the first ruler of Sikkim, Phuntshog Namgyal, the Terton recited the holy hymn “Om Mani Padme Hum” five billions when several unique events were also witnessed in Sikkim. After the religious ceremony the vase with the water has been kept on display in a small chamber in the Monastery under the custody of the Chogyal himself, which is opened once a year during the Bhumchu festival.

Geography

This monastery located at an altitude of 1465 m is built on top of a heart shaped hill or helmet shaped hill above the confluence of the Rathong Chu and Rangeet rivers, with the Mt. Kanchendzonga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...

 providing the scenic back drop. It is about 16 km from Yuksam, 40 km from Gezing via Legship
Legship
Legship is a small town in West Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The Rangit Dam lies up stream, a dam which the people of Legship were partly responsible for.Another famous place of interest is the Kirateshwar Mahadev Temple....

.

The monastery is considered as the spiritual centre of Sikkim since it is encircled by many important monasteries in Sikkim in all directions such as: the Dubdi Monastery 23 km away on its northern direction, the Khecheopalri Lake (wish fulfilling lake) on the northwest, the Pemayangtse monastery on the west, the Shiva temple at Legship on the south, the Mongbrue gompa and Ravangla Bön monastery on the southeast, the Ravangla Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...

 monastery on the east, the Karma Kagyud Ralang Monastery
Ralang Monastery
Ralang Monastery is a Buddhist monastery of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in southern Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located six kilometres from Ravangla....

 on the northeast. Gulia summarising the importance of this monastery has said:
Geographically the Monastery and the Tashiding town are surrounded by four divine caves located in four cardinal directions. The four caves where Buddhist saints meditated are: On the East is the Sharchog Bephug, on the South is the Khandozangphu, in the West is Dechenpug cave and on the North is the Lhari Nyingphug. The main deity deified in the monastery is Tashiding and hence the monastery is also known as 'Dakkar Tashiding'.

History

In the 17th century, Ngadak Sempa Chemp built a small Lhakhang at this location. This was enlarged into the present monastery during the reign of Chogyal Chakdor Namgyal
Chakdor Namgyal
Chakdor Namgyal was the third Chogyal of Sikkim. He succeeded Tensung Namgyal in 1700 and was succeeded himself by Gyurmed Namgyal in 1717....

. Pedi Wangmo built the main monastery and installed many statues which are still seen in the monastery. Lhatsun Chenpo built the Chortens; which are considered holy. Yanchong Lodil, the Master craftsman crafted the flagstones that surround the monastery. These are carved with the holy Buddhist mantra 'Om Mane Padme Hum'.

Architecture

An overall picture of the precincts of the monastery within the Tashiding town is provided in five distinct blocks namely, the Sinem market place, the outskirts, the main market place, the main Tashiding Monastery and the Chorten area.

The Sinek market place is located on an incline on the ridge between Rathong Chu and Rangeet River. There is a gompa here called the Sinolochu Gompa from where an approach leads to the Tashiding Monastery on the southern direction. The settlement is spread lengthwise and is 23 kilometres (14.3 mi) from Yuksom. A large 'Mani' stone is seen at the entrance to this settlement and the Tashiding market.

From the main market centre the approach to the Monastery is through a road, and also a foot path. The foot path in the southern direction has a gentle slope and passes through a Mani
Mani stone
Mani stones are stone plates, rocks and/or pebbles, inscribed with the six syllabled mantra of Avalokiteshvara , as a form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. The term Mani stone may also be used in a loose sense to refer to stones on which any mantra or devotional designs are inscribed...

 and then prayer wind wheels terminating at the entrance gate of the Monastery.

The Monastery itself consists of a 'Mani Lhakang' at the entrance surrounded by flags, and lead to the guest house. From this point ahead is the main 'Tashiding Gompa' which is called as Chogyal Lhakhang or the monastery, followed by the 'butter lamp house', four chortens, 'Tsenkhang', a new butter lamp house and finally terminating at the 'Guru Lhakhang', which is the temple of Guru Rinpoche. Other basic essential structures such as kitchen, school and residential housing are located on the left side of the approach path to the monastery.

In the 'Chorten area', there are 41 chortens categorised as 'Chotens of Enlightenment', 'Chortens of Reconciliation' and 'Chortens of Great Miracle', which are all of Rinpoche
Rinpoche
Rinpoche or Rinboqê is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism. It literally means "precious one," and is used to address or describe Tibetan lamas and other high-ranking or respected teachers. This honor is generally bestowed on reincarnated lamas, or Tulkus, by default...

s and Tathāgata
Tathagata
Tathāgata in Pali and Sanskrit) is the name the Buddha of the scriptures uses when referring to himself. The term means, paradoxically, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Hence, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena...

s.

However, the main temple has undergone renovation work in modern times and rebuilt, but is still encircled by traditional buildings and chortens at the far end of the site, which holds the relics of Sikkim Chogyals and Lamas, including the 'Thong-Wa-rang-Dol' chorten which is believed to cleanse the soul of any person who looks at it.

Also of major note are the stone plates called the 'Mani', the work of Yanchong Lodil who inscribed them with the sacred Buddhist inscriptions, such as "Om Mane Padme Hum".

Festivals

Bhumchu festival, which is linked by an ancient legend to Guru Padmasambhava, is about a divine vase filled with holy water kept in the monastery, which is opened for public display and worship every year on the night before the Full Moon day in the first month of Tibetan calendar. Bhumchu (Bhum=pot; Chu=water) is a Buddhist festival celebrated to predict the future. In this vase, water of Rathong chhu is stored for a year and kept in the Tashiding Monastery. It is opened during the festival by the lamas who inspect the water level and hence it is called the festival of holy water. The belief is that alteration in the quantity and quality of the water stored in the vase over a year would indicate the fortune of Sikkim and its people in the following year. If it is filled to the brim (which is interpreted as a measure of increase by 21 cups), the following year will be prosperous. If it is empty, famine will follow, and if it is half-filled also a prosperous year is predicted. If the water is polluted with dust it is interpreted as a sign of strife and clash. Once inspected and the Bhumchu festival is concluded, the lamas fill the vase with fresh water from the river and seal it for the opening in the following year.

The procedure followed for taking out the sacred water from the vase is that the first cup of sacred water is taken out for blessing the members of the Royal family of the Chogyals, then the second cup is meant for the Lamas and the third cup of water is meant for the devotees to whom it is distributed. Pilgrims come to the monastery from all regions of Sikkim to be blessed with the holy water. The festival is of particular importance to the Bhutia
Bhutia
The Bhutia are ethnic Tibetans who speak Sikkimese, a Tibetan dialect fairly mutually intelligible to standard Tibetan. In 2001, the Bhutia numbered around 70,300...

s (ethnic Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

eans) of Sikkim who hold the “life-sustaining water of the rivers” with great reverence. The festival falls on the 15th day Full Moon
Full Moon
Full moon is a lunar phase.Full Moon may also refer to:- Literature :* Full Moon , a novel by P. G. Wodehouse* Full Moon o Sagashite or Full Moon, a manga* Full Moon Press, an American small-press publisher...

 day of the first Tibetan month or Hindu month of Magh
Magh
Magh may refer to:* Magi* Magh people, the Arakanese nationalities known in Bengal as Maghs* Maagha, a month in Hindu calendar* Magh * Magh * Magh * Magha , author of Shishupala Vadha...

 corresponding to February/March according to Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

.

The basic purpose of the festival is to highlight the importance of water as a precious resource to be conserved and its purity preserved. The prophecy also sends a message to the people that waters should not be polluted and its environmental importance is propagated.
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