Lamayuru
Encyclopedia
Lamayuru or Yuru Gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist Gompa
(monastery) in Kargil District
, Western Ladakh
, situated on the Srinagar - Kargil - Leh road 15 km east of the Fotu La
, at a height of 3,510 m.
A. H. Francke states that, "according to popular tradition," it was originally the foremost Bonpo monastery in Ladakh and was called gYung-drung Monastery (from Tibetan: gYung-drung - a swastika - a popular symbol in Bon, Buddhism, and other religions); also gYung-drung-bon is the name of the Bon religion.
The Indian scholar Mahasiddhacarya Naropa
(956-1041 CE), allegedly caused a lake which filled the valley to dry up and founded Lamayuru Monastery. The oldest surviving building at Lamayuru is a temple called Seng-ge-sgang, at the southern end of the Lamayuru rock, which is attributed to the famous builder-monk Rinchen Zangpo
(958-1055 CE). Rinchen Zangpo was charged by the king of Ladakh to build 108 gompas, and certainly many gompas in Ladakh, Spiti
and the surrounding regions, date from his time.
The gompa consisted originally of five buildings, and some remains of the four corner buildings can still be seen.
Lamayuru is one of the largest and oldest gompas in Ladakh, with a population of around 150 permanent monks resident.
It has, in the past, housed up to 400 monks, many of which are now based in gompas in surrounding villages. Lamayuru is host to two annual masked dance festivals, in the second and fifth months of the Tibetan lunar calendar, when all the monks from these surrounding gompas gather together to pray.
Nearby is Wanla Monastery
.
Gompa
Gompa and ling are Buddhist ecclesiastical fortifications of learning, lineage and sadhana , located in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
(monastery) in Kargil District
Kargil District
Kargil is a district of Ladakh, Kashmir, India. Kargil lies near the Line of Control facing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Baltistan to the west, and Kashmir valley to the south. Zanskar is part of Kargil district along with Suru, Wakha and Dras valleys...
, Western Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
, situated on the Srinagar - Kargil - Leh road 15 km east of the Fotu La
Fotu La
Fotu La or Fatu La is a mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway in the Himalayas Zaskar Range in India. At an elevation of , it is the highest point on the highway, surpassing the famed Zoji La....
, at a height of 3,510 m.
History
The Indian scholar Mahasiddhacarya Naropa
Naropa
thumb|right|NaropaNāropā was an Indian Buddhist yogi, mystic and monk. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism...
(956-1041 CE), allegedly caused a lake which filled the valley to dry up and founded Lamayuru Monastery. The oldest surviving building at Lamayuru is a temple called Seng-ge-sgang, at the southern end of the Lamayuru rock, which is attributed to the famous builder-monk Rinchen Zangpo
Rinchen Zangpo
Rinchen Zangpo , also known as Lha Lama Yeshe O'd or Mahaguru, was a principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet . He was a student of the famous Indian master, Atisha. His associates included Legpai Sherab...
(958-1055 CE). Rinchen Zangpo was charged by the king of Ladakh to build 108 gompas, and certainly many gompas in Ladakh, Spiti
Spiti
-Geographical locations:*Lahaul and Spiti, a district in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India.*Spiti Valley, former heartland of the former Spiti district now combined.*Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh.*Spitia River-Language:...
and the surrounding regions, date from his time.
"The oldest gompas, those dating from Rinchen-zang-po's time — Alchi
AlchiAlchi is a village and monastery in the Leh district of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, situated on the bank of Indus River 70 km downstream from the capital in Leh...
and Lamayuru, and the less accessible Wanla, Mang-gyu and Sumda — belonged at the time of their foundation to none of these Tibetan schools, whose establishment they antedate. They were at some stage taken over by the Ka-dam-pa, and when it fell into decline they were taken over again, this time mostly by the Ge-lugs-pa. The exception was Lamayuru, which was for some reason claimed by the Dri-gung-pa"
The gompa consisted originally of five buildings, and some remains of the four corner buildings can still be seen.
Lamayuru is one of the largest and oldest gompas in Ladakh, with a population of around 150 permanent monks resident.
It has, in the past, housed up to 400 monks, many of which are now based in gompas in surrounding villages. Lamayuru is host to two annual masked dance festivals, in the second and fifth months of the Tibetan lunar calendar, when all the monks from these surrounding gompas gather together to pray.
Nearby is Wanla Monastery
Wanla Monastery
Wanla Gompa is an historic Buddhist monastery on the ridge that crowns Wanla village in Ladakh, part of Indian controlled Kashmir. Its small but impressively preserved three-storeyed Avalokitesvara temple is one of the earliest known Drigung Kagyu prayer chambers to have survived in Ladakh...
.