Holiness in the Hill and Valley. Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh

Holiness on the Hill 

Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh

The predominant religion of Ladakh is the Tibetan form of Buddhism. The Ladakhis practise religion on a daily basis which includes spiritual journeys to Gompas (Tibetan-style Monastery) where they spin the prayer wheel, chant mantras and recite prayers. Hence, there are many ancient and famous monasteries in this region especially in close vicinity of Leh, a city in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Thiksey Monastery

Thiksey Monastery

 Thiksey (also Thikse) Monastery is located about 19 kms south of Leh at an altitude of almost 3,600 m (11,800ft) on a sacred hill, in the Thiksey village on the Leh-Manali highway. On the way to this Monastery we saw Rancho’s school of the famed film, ‘Three Idiots’. There are roadside cafes galore, each proclaiming loud and clear through their signboards, “Rancho Café.”

 Thiksey Monastery is one of the most famous and the second largest Monastery in Ladakh after Hemis Monastery. It is mostly white with red and yellow painted in some parts. The yellow building contains the Assembly Hall and the red building has the shrine of the Guardian Deity. Thiksey Gompa is also referred to as ‘mini Potala’ because of its resemblance to Potala Palace (former official seat of the Dalai Lama) of Lhasa in Tibet.

History

In 1433, a Buddhist monk from Tibet, Jangsem Sherab Zangpo,  with the blessings of the King of Ladakh, founded a small village Monastery , ‘Yellow Temple’ in Stagmo, north of the Indus. After a few years, in the mid-fifteenth century, his disciple Palden Zangpo decided to build a larger Monastery. One day, Sherab Zangpo and Palden Zangpo were offering prayers with Torma (ritual cake) near the ‘Yellow Temple’. Out of nowhere a crow grabbed the cake and flew away with it. Upon searching for the cake, the monks found that the crow had placed the  undefiled Torma  in a flawless manner on a stone, on top of a hill which was 3 kilometers away from Stagmo. The monks considered this unusual incident as a divine directive and built Thiksey Monastery in exactly that same place.

Pilgrimage

Our van drove uphill and deposited us at the parking area. There were again a few paces of steep climb until we entered the Monastery through a massive gate. At the foot of the hill is a large courtyard from where a flight of steps leads to the main Monastery.  Though they are wide yet it is very laborious because there are innumerable steps. There are platforms for taking rest  but still it is very arduous and I was on the verge of giving up.  But then I saw thin, poor, local boys climbing up the steps with stones tied in a sling on their backs .A renovation was going on in one part of the Monastery and this was how large blocks of stones were being transported to the great height. Perhaps this is their daily routine and means of livelihood. I shook off the inertia and after that I carried on with the onerous ascent.

Entrance of Thiksey Monastery

The courtyard of the Monastery is well fortified with a restaurant, facilities and a medicine shop. Thiksey Monastery is built on the slope of a hill and consists of 12 storeys. The buildings are arranged in an ascending order of importance. The dwelling units of monks are located at the foot of the hill and the Monastery and Potang (official residence of the Chief Lama) are located on top of the hill. The highest level of the complex has a Stupa.

Courtyard of Thiksey Monastery

The Monastery is huge. The main prayer room or assembly hall has a small, inner sanctum of Gautam Buddha. The center of the assembly Hall has a seat for Dalai Lama. The prayer room is large and dimly lit, with rows of monks chanting hymns and mantras .There is a large picture of Dalai Lama on one wall. Flash photography is not allowed inside.  It was the last prayer of the season (mid-August) and then the Monastery will be closed due to the onset of winter when everything will be under snow. The monks wore yellow caps because they were affiliated to the Gelug lineage that forms a part of the yellow hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelug sect.

A Glimpse of the Prayer Room

To the right of the main courtyard and after climbing several steps is a new temple containing a 15 meters (49 feet) tall Buddha statue, covering two storeys of the building. It was constructed in 1970 to commemorate a visit to Thiksey by The Dalai Lama. It is said to be the largest Buddha figure in Ladakh and it represents Maitreya (compassion), The Buddha of the future. In the Monastery complex, besides the main prayer room, there are homes for about 100 monks, a nunnery and 10 temples of which Tara Temple dedicated to Goddess Tara holds pride of place. The Monastery also houses many items of Buddhist art such as statues, thangkas (Tibetan Buddhist painting), wall paintings and swords.

The scene from the topmost terrace and balcony of the Monastery is breathtakingly beautiful. It looks like a painting on a picture postcard---with the monumental Himalayan range on all sides. In its mighty lap are the floodplains of the Indus valley which is dotted with human habitation nestling among healthy forests and agricultural fields. But these villages are also the first victims of flash floods.

Thiksey Monastery is Holiness personified with its perfect backdrop of the silence of the hill, the majesty of mountain range proclaiming divine power and the picturesque Indus valley. 

Indus Valley

Photographs: Bulbul Sur.

Tags: Thiksey Monastery, Gelug Sect, Yellow Hats, The Dalai Lama, Indus Valley,.