Namdroling Monastery

Namdroling Monastery
Entrance gate of the Namdroling
Basic information
Location Namdroling, Bylakuppe, Mysuru, Karnataka  India
Geographic coordinates 12°25′49.8″N 75°58′2.53″E / 12.430500°N 75.9673694°E / 12.430500; 75.9673694Coordinates: 12°25′49.8″N 75°58′2.53″E / 12.430500°N 75.9673694°E / 12.430500; 75.9673694
Sect Nyingma
Festivals Losar, Drubchen, bKa-ma'i Drubchod, Sagadawa, Mipham Anniversary, Longchen Anniversary, Gutor etc;
Founder Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche
Outer view of Namdroling Monastery

The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery (or Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling)(བོད་ཡིག ཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་།) (Wylie: theg mchog rnam grol bshad sgrub dar rgyas gling) 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 junior high school named Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling, a religious college (or shedra for both monks and nuns) and hospital.

History

The monastery was established by the 11th throneholder 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 to Tibetan exiles, initial challenges included rampaging elephants and other tropical dangers.

Branches

Buildings - Timeline

  • On February 17, 1978, the Buddhist College ("Shedra") was constructed and completed.
  • A new temple, the "Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara" (known by locals as the "Golden Temple") was inaugurated on September 24, 1999. The temple has space for several thousand monks.
  • November 27, 1993, the Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery mTsho-rGyal bShad-Drub Dargyas-Ling was established.
  • In 2004 Zangdog Palri Temple a temple to the main Nyingma (old school) Buddha, Guru Rinpoche was built and inaugurated on December 13 of that year.

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.[1]

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. ↑ The History of Palri Phodrang, Copyright 2004, Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee, Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, Bylakuppe, Karnataka State, India

Further reading

  • Zangpo, Tsering Lama Jampal (1988), A Garland of Immortal Wish-Fulfilling Trees, Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 0-937938-64-5, ISBN 978-0-937938-64-5
  • Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche (2005), "A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage", Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing. ISBN 978-1-881847-41-0
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