Diskit Monastery
| Diskit Monastery Galdan Tashi Chuling Gompa | |
|---|---|
  Location within India | |
| Geographic coordinates | 34°32′28″N 77°33′37″E / 34.54111°N 77.56028°E |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Tibetan Architecture |
| Founder | Changzem Tserab Zangpo |
| Located in Diskit village, the headquarters of Nubra Valley | |
Diskit Monastery also known as Deskit Gompa or Diskit Gompa is the oldest and largest
It is 115 km north of Leh.It belongs to the
Lachung Temple and Hundur Monastery are also located nearby, the latter below the main road near a bridge.[3][4]
The monastery has a statue of Cho Rinpoche (Crowned Buddha) in the prayer hall, a huge drum and several images of fierce guardian deities. An elevated cupola of the monastery depicts a fresco of the
The monastery administration runs a school, with support from a non-government organization known as the "Tibet Support Group". The school has computer facilities and teaches science subjects, in English, to Tibetan children of the region.
A popular festival known as Dosmoche or the "Festival of the Scapegoat" is held in the precincts of the monastery in February, largely attended by people from villages of the
History
The Diskit monastery was founded by Changzem Tserab Zangpo in the 14th century.
Geography
The Diskit monastery is situated on a hill above the flood plains of the
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Access road to the monastery is from Diskit village along a rugged and dusty road that crosses a stream in the middle of the village.
The village reached from Leh by the Khardung pass. Traffic may be disrupted between October and May due to snowfall and landslides. This road is often incorrectly called to be the highest motorable road in the world.[
Structures
Diskit Monastery was built at the edge of the access road. This road links to Parthapur and Those. A flight of stone steps leads to the prayer hall of the monastery. A statue of
Diskit Monastery also has an elevated cupola, with a fresco depicting the
Recent extensions to the monastery building are in good shape but the dukhang ("main prayer hall") and zimcchungh are not in good condition. Paintings are covered with soot and images are kept in total disorder. The older part of the monastery is said to be in certain degree of decay, as cracks have been observed, and remain untended.[10]
Large statue of Jampa (Maitreya) Buddha
The photong or official residence of the chief lama of Nubra is located at the foot of the hill, where there is also a very large statue of
This impressive 32 metre (106 foot) statue on top of a hill below the monastery, faces down the Shyok River towards Pakistan and, according to Tsering Norphel, chairman of the committee that commissioned it, most of its funding came from local donations. The head of the Gelugpa, Ganden Thipa (the reincarnation of
The statue's construction was begun in April 2006 and it was consecrated by the Dalai Lama on 25 July 2010. Nophel says the statue was built with three main functions in mind - protection of Diskit village, prevention of further war with Pakistan, and world peace.
Lachung temple
Lachung temple is close to but above the Diskit monastery,[
School
The monastery, which houses about 100 monks, runs a school in its precincts. This school teaches Tibetan children. The school has been upgraded recently to enable teaching of scientific subjects with support from the Lungta, a 'Tibet Support Group' (a non governmental organization) that has created computer facilities in the school. Lungta has trained the monks of the monastery in computer skills and in the English language so that they could in turn teach the children of the school. Further additions to the school library in the form of dictionaries, encyclopaedias and English teaching materials are being provided.[11]
Festival
Desmochhey or Dosmoche, also known as "Festival of the Scapegoat" is the popular prayer festival that is celebrated at Diskit Monastery, Likir Monastery and Leh Palace[12] in Leh. Since the festival is celebrated in February, when snowbound Khardong peak is not passable to attend similar festivities at Likir monastery in Leh, large crowds from villages in the Nubra Valley assemble at Diskit to witness the mask dance. The mask dance, also known as Cham dance is performed by the lamas of the monastery to dramatically express the superiority of good over evil forces. The dances are believed to avoid ill-fortune in the new year (Tibetan new year is celebrated in December/January). On this occasion, images made of dough are thrown out to deter any disaster occurring and to usher peace and prosperity to the people. The cloths covering the heads of deity statues are removed in this period.[1][6][7]
Gallery
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Diskit Monastery -
Diskit monastery perched against the hills -
Diskit Monastery broad view -
Diskit Gompa. Nubra. 2010
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-74059-694-7.
- ^ "Diskit Gompa". Slate. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Diskit & Hundur". Buddhist-temples.com. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Diskit Gompa". Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- )
- ^ )
- ^ )
- ^ "The Nubra Valley Trekking". Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ^ "Nubra Valley". Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- )
- ^ "Helping to improve education in exile". Lungta Tibet Support Group. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ^ "Leh, Likir Dosmoche begins". 13 February 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
Sources
- Rizvi, Janet. 1996. Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia. Second Edition. Oxford India Paperbacks. 3rd Impression 2001. ISBN 0-19-564546-4.
- Traverse Nubra valley with the lens of 22 years old
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