Namdroling Monastery

Namdroling Monastery

Entrance gate of the Namdroling
Tibetan transcription(s)
Tibetan ཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་།
Wylie transliteration Theg-mchog-rnam-grol-bshad-sgrub-dar-rgyas-gling
Monastery information
Location Namdroling, Bylakuppe, Mysuru, Karnataka  India
Founded by Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche
Founded 1963
Type Tibetan Buddhist
Sect Nyingma
Lineage Palyul
Head Lama Karma Kuchen,[1] 12th Throne-Holder of Palyul Lineage
Number of monks Enrolled 8,891 included Nuns till 2016
Festivals Losar, Drubchen, bKa-ma'i Drubchod, Sagadawa, Mipham Anniversary, Longchen Anniversary, Gutor etc;
Outer view of Namdroling Monastery

Coordinates: 12°25′49.8″N 75°58′2.53″E / 12.430500°N 75.9673694°E / 12.430500; 75.9673694 The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery (or Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling) is the largest teaching center of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. Located in Bylakuppe, part of the Mysuru district of the state of Karnataka, the monastery is home to a sangha community of over five thousand lamas (both monks and nuns), a religious college (or shedra) and hospital.

History

The monastery was established by the 11th throne-holder of the Palyul lineage, His Holiness Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche in 1963, following his 1959 exit from Tibet as the second seat of the Palyul Monastery, one of the six great Nyingmapa Mother monasteries of Tibet prior to annexation.

The monastery's full name is Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling, called "Namdrolling or Namdroling" for short. Its initial structure was a temple constructed from bamboo, covering an area of approximately 80 square feet (7.4 m2). Carved from the jungle that the India government generously granted Tibetan exiles, initial challenges included rampaging elephants and other tropical dangers.

Branches

Buildings - Timeline

As of 2016, the lodging facilities alone for the school include three buildings with over 200 rooms. The population fluctuates as monks attend or complete studies at Namdroling. A recent census had the population in excess of 4,000 monks and 800 nuns.[2]

Ceremonies

Namdroling Monastery hosts several ceremonies yearly. Of particular interest is Tibetan New Year (Losar), based on the Lunar Calendar; dates are not static but usually occurring in the months of February or March. The monastery hosts traditional Lama Dances, oversize Thankga hanging from the sides of its buildings, as well as solemn processions throughout the monastery grounds spanning approximately two weeks.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.palyul.org/eng_biotulku_karmakuchen.htm
  2. ↑ The History of Palri Phodrang, Copyright 2004, Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee, Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, Bylakuppe, Karnataka State, India

Further reading

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