Ladakh – Monks and Monasteries

Ladakh, the land of high passes, is also home to an ancient Buddhist culture that has remained unchanged for nearly a millennium. Every village in the region supports a monastery, usually located on a crag overlooking the village and serves the spiritual needs of the village’s population. The charm of these monasteries are many, like the ever-smiling monks, complex prayer rituals, young monks (or monklings, as a friend once called them) running around chasing each other in the monastery’s courtyards, the traditional materials of worship, the room of lamps, colourful prayer halls, exuberant festivals, the chortens (or stupas) in the premise and so on. Here is a collection of images of life and still-life of Ladakh’s Buddhist monastic institutions, captured over several visits to many monasteries over a period of three months.

lamayuru monastery

The most striking aspect of the Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh is their location. Ladakh is a remote region in itself and is separated from rest of the world by high mountains. Within it, the monasteries seem to look for the remotest possible place that keeps them away from everything worldly. Once, anyone who would like to make a visit would have had to make a slow and long climb in the rarefied air of Ladakh. Today, most of the monasteries are connected by road, though many still exist that only a few able people can approach. The Lamayuru Monastery in the picture, as you can see, is obviously in someplace faraway and remote. Yet, one can reach even here in a four wheeler. The monastery is believed to be established nearly a thousand years ago.

lamayuru monastery, ladakh

lamayuru monastery, ladakh

The setting of the monastery at Lamayuru Village is best described as queer. At the first sight, it appears to be hanging delicately on a mound that can collapse any moment. But it has seen a millennium pass by. Sections of the monastery go right under the ground and emerge on vertical walls, like in the picture above.

thiksey monastery, ladakh

Most monasteries, like the one in Thiksey seen above, are located on a crag overlooking the village. They are built in a place not too close to the village, perhaps to keep away from the everyday life of the villages but at the same time near enough to offer religious services to the pious villagers. Thiksey is one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh, if not the largest. Its cluster of buildings spread haphazardly along a hill and the prayer hall located right on the top are often compared to Lhasa’s Potala Palace.

diskit monastery, Nubra Valley, Ladakh

Diskit Monastery in Nubra Valley too is located high up the hill and a short climb from the village at the base of the valley.

namgyal tsemo  gompa, leh, ladakh

The Namgyal Tsemo Monastery high up the hill and visible like a beacon from anywhere in Leh Town is a great sight against the backdrop of tall hills that surround the town.

phugtal monastery, zanskar

But few monasteries today are really as far away from every place as Phugtal Monastery in the picture above. Located inside a cave on the banks of Lungnak River, it takes two days of walking from the nearest road-head to reach the monastery. And the road head at Padum itself is a two-day of bus ride from Leh. But the distances are shrinking by the day. New roads under construction will link Phugtal in the next few years, and the distance from Leh to Phugtal will shrink to just a day in the next decade when new roads will be built along Zanskar River.

alchi monastery, Ladakh

But the monastery at Alchi is an exemption to the trend of building monasteries in unapproachable places. One of the oldest monasteries in the region, Alchi is located on flat ground at the edge of the village, right next to fast-flowing Indus River. Alchi differs from all other monasteries in its design as well. Unlike other monastic institution built with the influence of Tibetan form of Buddhism, Alchi Monastery is said to be built at a time when Buddhism propagated here from Kashmir and the plains of India. The monastery is no longer an active institution, and is currently maintained by the neighbouring Likir Monastery. Rich, beautiful colour paintings have survived the onslaught of time in the inner walls of Alchi. Together with Tabo Monastery in Spiti Valley, Alchi is now in the list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site.

thiksey monastery

One of the most striking features of the monasteries is the richly decorated prayer hall. The halls are painted from wall to wall with deities and images of Buddhist iconography. The ceiling, the pillars, the seating and the tables, the altar are all decorated with colourful clothes and painting leaving not an inch of room empty, like the prayer hall or dukhnag at Thiksey Monastery in the above picture.

thiksey monastery, ladakh

Several incarnations of Buddha, seen on the walls of Thiksey Monastery. Sometimes, the Buddhist iconography can be so detailed and complex that even the monks at the monastery may not be able to describe the details of every one of these murals.

tson ka pa

This statue of Tson-ka-pa, the founder of yellow-hat sect (or gelugspa), a popular form of Buddhism in Ladakh and Tibet to which the current Dalai Lama also subscribes to, is frequently seen in the prayer halls of several monasteries across Ladakh.

buddha statye at thiksey

This richly decorated two-storey high statue of Buddha is another beautiful work of art, seen at Thiksey Monastery.

diskit monastery, nubra valley, ladakh

The painted doors of the prayer hall at Diskit Monastery, Nubra Valley, Ladakh

buddhist monk, ladakh

The prayer halls in the monasteries tend to be empty but for a caretaker monk for most part of the day. They come alive and get filled with monks during the morning prayer rituals and on the days when there are special pujas. This monk at Thiksey monastery is preparing torma (?) for decorations for an upcoming puja.

soma gompa, leh, ladakh

Monks gathered for morning puja at Leh’s Soma Gompa.

likir monastery

The prayer hall at Likir Monastery comes alive for a special Yamantaka Puja on the event of installing a mandala at the monastery.

buddhist monk, ladakh

A monk looks on during a special puja at Spithuk Monastery, wearing the traditional yellow hat.

vajra at a ladakh monastery

An apricot shares space with bell and a Vajra when the monks take a short break during a special puja ritual at Likir Monastery.

shey, ladakh

A room of lamp – a small area or a room dedicated for burning wick lamps is a feature of most monasteries in Ladakh. It is a beautiful place where several oil lamps of various sizes and shapes glow in the dull light coming from the windows.

shashur monastery, keylong

Another room of lamps, this one at Keylong’s Shashur Monastery, all lit up on the day of monastery’s annual festival day.

thiksey monastery

Chortens or stupas (?) are another dominant feature of the monasteries in Ladakh, usually seen in long arrays on the approach to the monastery.

shanti stupa, leh, ladakh

Shanti stupa is perhaps the most dominating and well-known chortens in Ladakh, located on the slopes overlooking Leh town. The views of, and views from Shanti Stupa give a grand preview of Zanskar and Ladakh Ranges and of the spread of Leh Town along Indus Valley.

chortens, thiksey monastery, ladakh

A line of newly built and freshly painted chortens at Thiksey Monastery.

thiksey monastery

The flutter of prayer flags, a long line of chortens and the clear blue skies make a grand spectacle at Thiksey Monastery.

prayer flags

People of Ladakh tie prayer flags at all sacred and important locations. The prayer flags have sacred mantras written on them. Ladakhis believe that when the wind blows, the mantra from prayer flags is carried on and distributed in the air, bringing good karma.

cham dance, ladakh

Once in a year, these monasteries celebrate their annual festival, when the premises will be buzzing with activity. The monks prepare for two long days of festivities which involves pujas, traditional music and dances. It is usually attended by the whole village and a large number of outside visitors.

cham dance, ladakh

The most sought after event of the festival is the cham-dance, a performances by the monks wearing demonic looking masks.

cham dance, ladakh

A masked monk performing at Gustor Festival at Korzok Village near Tso Moriri Lake.

korzok village monastery, ladakh

A monk looks through the doors of prayer hall at Korzok Monastery as they prepare for the festivities.

young monks, korzok

Young monks make an energetic participation at Korzok Gustor Festival.

dung chen

Dung chen, a long wind instrument is used to announce the arrival of rinpoche (chief monk) or the cham dancers. It is best compared to vuvuzelas, both in terms of their length and the sound coming from them.

young monks, korzok

young monks, ladakh

Young monks of different ages watch a cham-dance in progress during Korzok Gustor Festival.


Ladakh – Monasteries – Spituk Monastery

Spituk was the first monastery I visited in Ladakh. A few pictures from the visit.

Spituk Monastery

Spituk Monastery, like all monasteries in Ladakh, is located on a hill overlooking the village. River Indus flows behind the monastery, beyond which are the tall mountains capped with ice. On the other side of Spituk is a very different landscape where the wide valley of Indus is used in constructing the Leh Airport and the army installations. At less than 10km from Leh, Spituk it is almost ready to be consumed by the expanding town.

Spituk Monastery

The colourfully painted doors of dukhang (prayer hall) in Spituk Monastery.

Spituk Monastery

A mural of Virupaksha (also called Chanme-Zang), the lord of the west direction. The front wall of the prayer hall in every monastery is usually painted with images of guardians dieties of four directions.

Spituk Monastery

Colourful decorations in the prayer hall of Spituk Monastery.

A monk at Spituk Monastery

A monk wearing the traditional yellow hat of the gelug pa lineage at Spituk Monastery.

Spituk Monastery

A statue of Tara (also called Dolma), a female Bodhisattva. Spituk Monastery has a room dedicated to images of Tara, called Dolma Lhakhang or the Temple of Tara


Ladakh – Monasteries – Likir Monastery

Note: See glossary for meaning of terms marked in bold below.

Just getting to Likir and back was a mild adventure where we ran into multiple obstacles. But we happened to be there at the right time to witness the rituals in a special puja.

likir monastery

We got caught in high speed winds as soon as we left Leh in a rented two-wheeler. It seemed like a passing thing at first, but the strong winds kept our company for the next fifteen minutes. It was never too strong and threatening enough to blow us away, but had the strength to throw every bit of dust and dirt towards us. It was a tortuous ride against the wind, allowing me to go at speeds no more than ten to fifteen kilometers per hour. In a small stretch where we had to drive close to Indus, the gale lifted the river’s waters and splashed on us generously with great force.

Worried and stuck in the middle of the storm, I looked around for alarmed people who would be searching for a shelter. A jeep passed in the opposite direction, their occupants looking so calm as though they did not notice anything abnormal. A man riding a scooter came from behind and did not appear troubled either. ‘This must be normal,’ I told myself, and let go of the thoughts of searching for a shelter or thinking of heading back.

It was late evening before we approached the mountains near Likir, riding past the confluence of Indus and Zanskar in Nyemo (also written as Nimmu, Nimu, Nimo, Nimmo and every other possibility you can arrive at, keeping N in the beginning and m as the next consonant!) and the precariously perched Basgo Monastery. We missed our turn to Likir, as the only sign at the fork advertised a guesthouse and gave away no other information. Treading an extra five kilometers and realizing the folly after arriving at Saspol Village, we headed back and turned into the right track to arrive at Likir in darkness.

likir monastery

Next morning, we left the bike behind and walked through the village and its barley fields to the monastery at the far end of the village. What seemed to be a short walk stretched longer and longer in the hot sun, tiring my unprepared mind and body. Likir Monastery is a cluttered assembly of buildings surrounded by willow trees on a crag. A stream runs at the base of the crag, originating from the taller ica-capped mountains beyond the monastery. At a corner of the monastery is a tall statue of Buddha that shines brightly in the sun.

likir monastery

The monastery looked empty at first, until I saw the dukhang filled with ochre robed monks of all ages getting ready for a special puja to install a Yamantaka Mandala. The prayer hall was decorated with lines of torma and oil lamps for the puja. The puja was elaborate process, with all the monks gathered in dukhang and chanting together for a few hours. They begin with their regular ochre robe, slipping in another layer of cloth a little later. An ornate headgear gets added soon, which gets replaced later with the traditional yellow-hat of the drukpa lineage. Chanting continues all through, accompanied with hand movements making various mudras and gestures. The puja is finally concluded by returning to their original robes.

While all this goes on, the little monks sitting in a separate row behave the way kids should be. Some naughty kids begin play-fight with neighbours. Some of them look bored and lost in a world of dreams. One of the brats gets up in the middle and requests to be excused, but he is gently ordered to get back to his seat.

vajra

Back from the monastery in the evening, the adventures of the journey continued as we discovered that the bike’s rear tyre is punctured. The attempt to get the punctured bike back to Leh deserves another chapter altogether.

Information

The monastery at Likir is among the best maintained monasteries in Ladakh. One of the special features of the monastery is the 3-storey high statue of Buddha.

How to reach. Likir is about 50km from Leh. You can hire cabs in Leh to take you there. It should be possible to combine your visit to Likir with Alchi. If you have the time, visit the confluence of Indus and Zanskar at Nyemo on the way. Another worthwhile stopover is the fort and monastery at Basgo, which falls on the way. Public transport is available from Leh to Likir. But inquire in advance, as the buses may leave you at the village, which is an hour’s walk from the monastery.

Food and accommodation. There are many guesthouses spread along the village of Likir, but most of them are about 30 to 60 minutes walk from the monastery. Options for food are limited but available. Most guesthouses cater to their occupants.

Map and driving directions


View Leh to Likir in a larger map