Rumtek Monastery

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Rumtek Monastery
Vikramjit-Kakati-Rumtek.jpg
Rumtek Monastery
Tibetan transcription(s)
Tibetan རུམ་ཐེག་དགོན་པ་
Wylie transliteration Rum-theg Dgon-pa
Rumtek Monastery is located in Sikkim
Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek Monastery
Location within Sikkim
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Monastery information
Location Near Gangtok, Sikkim, India
Founded by Wangchuk Dorje, 9th Karmapa Lama
Wangchuk Dorje
Founded 16th century
Type Tibetan Buddhist
Sect Karma Kagyu


Rumtek Monastery (Tibetan: རུམ་ཐེག་དགོན་པ་, Wylie: rum theg dgon pa), also called the Dharmachakra Centre, is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is a focal point for the sectarian tensions within the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism that characterize the Karmapa controversy.

History

Originally built under the direction of Changchub Dorje, 12th Karmapa Lama in the mid-1700s, Rumtek served as the main seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage in Sikkim for some time. But when Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, arrived in Sikkim in 1959 after fleeing Tibet, the monastery was in ruins. Despite being offered other sites, the Karmapa decided to rebuild Rumtek. To him, the site possessed many auspicious qualities and was surrounded by the most favorable attributes. For example, flowing streams, mountains behind, a snow range in front, and a river below. With the generosity and help of the Sikkim royal family and the local folks of Sikkim, it was built by the 16th Karmapa as his main seat in exile.

After four years, construction of the monastery was completed. The sacred items and relics brought out from Tsurphu Monastery, the Karmapa's seat in Tibet, were installed. On Losar in 1966, the 16th Karmapa officially inaugurated the new seat, called "The Dharmachakra Centre, a place of erudition and spiritual accomplishment, the seat of the glorious Karmapa."[citation needed]

The monastery is currently the largest in Sikkim. It is home to the community of monks and where they perform the rituals and practices of the Karma Kagyu lineage. A golden stupa contains the relics of the 16th Karmapa. Opposite that building is a college, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies.

Rumtek is located 24 kilometres (15 mi) from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, at an altitude of about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).

The Rumtek Monastery features in the 2014 Indian mystery thriller novel The emperor's riddles by Satyarth Nayak.

Controversy

Rumtek lamas

Rumtek was at the centre of the Karmapa controversy with a lengthy battle being played out in the Indian courts. Two rival organisations, each supporting a different candidate for the 17th Karmapa, claimed stewardship of the monastery and its contents. The two organisations are the Tsurphu Labrang (supporting Ogyen Trinley Dorje) and the Karmapa Charitable Trust (supporting Trinley Thaye Dorje).

Neither candidate resides at Rumtek since monks supporting Trinley Thaye Dorje were thrown out of Rumtek by Ogyen Trinley Dorje's followers.[1] Since 1992, the monastery has been the site of pitched battles between monks supporting one candidate or the other.[2] Armed Indian soldiers still patrol the monastery to prevent further sectarian violence.[1]

Gallery

  • Dharma Chakra Centre

  • Prayer Wheels in the Monastery

  • Students of Rumtek Monastery

  • Rumtek Monastery

  • Rumtek Monastery, Gangtok, Sikkim

  • Rumtek Monastery Buddha


See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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Rumtek Monastery, Sikkim, India, Photographer : Vikramjit Kakati
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