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Briefly about Lhodak Gaden Dhonnyiling monastery
Glory and Destruction in Tibet
Our monastery is one of the 13 monasteries that came to be established under the aegis of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama. It was established in 1649 at Lhodak Dhuwa Dzong, in the south of Tibet. Within a short span, it became an important centre for learning the Buddhist philosophy in the Lhokha area, with students coming from all the 18 Dzong (district). At its prime, it accommodated more than 350 monks, whom which many were distinguished scholars and practitioners in both the Sutra and Tantra traditions. In 1959, our monastery was completely destroyed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army when they invaded our country. Our monks actively revolted against the Chinese when they entered Lhokha region. The majority of our monks died while trying to protect our monastery from being destroyed. The Chinese walked on their bodies while entering the monastery to confiscate the precious images and objects of immense worship. In Exile in India
The few surviving monks followed His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama into exile in India. In exile, our monastery could not be re-established for a long time because some from the surviving monks succumbed to the onslaught of heat and disease in India and the number of monks got even less. It was only in 1993 that meager arrangements were made to re-establish our monastery at Dekyiling Tibetan Colony, near Dehradun in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. On 24th November 1996, His Holiness the Dalai Lama auspiciously inaugurated and consecrated our small monastery. This monastery is the re-establishment of our original monastery in Tibet and we wish to take this monastery to the height of glory and imminence that our original monastery was known for.
Lhodak Gaden Dhonnyiling monastery in exile.
Struggle for Revival in Tibet
In Tibet, the Chinese authorities have allowed revival of certain monasteries but our original monastery is one of the few monasteries that they continue to put extra restriction on revival. However, during the visit of our abbot to Tibet last year, he was able to persuade the district officials to let him recruit at least two monks to look after the remains of the monastery. This, he sees, as a beginning of our efforts to revive our original monastery in Tibet. From our part, we are willing to do everything we can to see this happen. This Tibetan cultural heritage tour is aimed to gather some funds for the benefit our monastery in India and also to revive and re-construct our original monastery in Tibet. There we shall have to start from the scratch and much will be needed to bring this revival into reality. This tour becomes very, very important in our efforts to raise funds. Lama Lobsang Tendar
Lhodak Gaden Dhonnyiling Monastery
Phone: +91 135 2607561
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