Namdroling Monastery
Tibetan transcription(s)
Tibetan: ཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་།
Wylie transliteration: Theg-mchog-rnam-grol-bshad-sgrub-dar-rgyas-gling
Entrance gate of the Namdroling
Religion
AffiliationTibetan Buddhism
SectNyingma
FestivalsLosar, Drubchen, bKa-ma'i Drubchod, Sagadawa, Mipham Anniversary, Longchen Anniversary, Gutor etc;
LeadershipKarma Kuchen,[1] 12th Throneholder of Palyul Lineage
Location
LocationNamdroling, Bylakuppe, Mysore, Karnataka  India
Geographic coordinates12°25′49.8″N 75°58′2.53″E / 12.430500°N 75.9673694°E / 12.430500; 75.9673694
Architecture
FounderKyabje Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche, also known as Penor Rinpoche
Outer view of Namdroling Monastery

The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery or Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling(བོད་ཡིག ཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་།) (Wylie: theg mchog rnam grol bshad sgrub dar rgyas gling), or ನಮ್ಡ್ರೋಲಿಂಗ್ ವಿಹಾರ (Namdroling Vihara) is the largest teaching center of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. Located in Bylakuppe, part of the Mysuru district of the state of Karnataka, the monastery is home to a sangha community of over five thousand lamas (both monks and nuns), a junior high school named Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling, a religious college (or shedra for both monks and nuns) and hospital.

History

The monastery was established by the 11th throneholder of the Palyul lineage, Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche in 1963, following his 1959 exit from Tibet as the second seat of the Palyul Monastery one of the six great Nyingmapa Mother monasteries of Tibet prior to annexation.

The monastery's full name is Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling, called "Namdrolling or Namdroling" for short. Its initial structure was a temple constructed from bamboo, covering an area of approximately 80 square feet (7.4 m2). It is carved into the jungle that the Indian government granted to Tibetan exiles. The initial challenges included rampaging elephants and other tropical dangers.

Picture of Dalai Lama at Namdroling Monastery.

Branches

Dharma Centres Around the Globe

  • Canada
    • Ogyan Osel Chodzong Monastery & Retreat Centre
    • Ottawa Palyul Center - Dhonyag Shedrup Ling
    • Palyul Namdroling Foundation
    • Palyul Pema mani Center
    • The Palyul Foundation of Canada
  • Hong Kong
    • Penor Rinpoche Charity Foundation Ltd.
  • India
    • Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh
    • Palyul Namdroling Temple, Bodh Gaya, Bihar
    • Tsechu Association, Darjeeling
  • Indonesia
    • Palyul Nyingma Indonesia
  • Macau
    • Macau Palyul Centre
  • Malaysia
    • Nyingma Palyul Buddhist Association Selangor and Kuala Lumpur
    • Yayasan Pema Norbu Vihara
  • Nepal
    • Nyingma Palyul Orgyen Dorje Chholing Monastery
    • Nyingma Palyul Retreat Centre
    • Palyul Thegchog Wodsel Choling
  • The Philippines
    • Philippine Palyul Centre
  • Singapore
    • Palyul Nyingma Buddhist Association
  • Taiwan
    • Palyul Nyingmapa Buddhist Centre
    • Sheng Keng Palyul Centre
    • Shien Tein Palyul Centre
    • Taichung Palyul Centre
    • Tainan Palyul Centre
    • Taipei Palyul Centre
    • Taiwan Nyingmapa Palyul Namdroling Buddhist Association
  • USA
    • Namdroling Montana, MT
    • Nyingma Palyul Dharma Centre, NY
    • Palyul Changchub Choling, FL
    • Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, CA
    • Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, MD
    • Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, TX
    • Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, VA
    • Palyul Changchub Dargyeyling Buddhist Study & Meditation Centre, OH
    • The Palyul Retreat Centre, NY

Buildings - Timeline

  • On 17 February 1978, the Buddhist College ("Shedra") was constructed and completed.
  • A new temple, the "Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara" (known by locals as the "Golden Temple") was inaugurated on 24 September 1999. The temple has space for several thousand monks.
  • 27 November 1993, the Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery mTsho-rGyal bShad-Drub Dargyas-Ling was established.
  • In 2004 Zangdog Palri Temple a temple to the main Nyingma (old school) Buddha, Guru Rinpoche was built and inaugurated on 13 December of that year.

As of 2016, the lodging facilities alone for the school include three buildings with over 200 rooms. The population fluctuates as monks attend or complete studies at Namdroling. A recent census had the population in excess of 4,000 monks and 800 nuns.[2]

Ceremonies

Namdroling Monastery hosts several ceremonies yearly. Of particular interest is Tibetan New Year (Losar), based on the Lunar Calendar; dates are not static but usually occurring in the months of February or March. The monastery hosts traditional Lama Dances, oversize Thankga hanging from the sides of its buildings, as well as solemn processions throughout the monastery grounds spanning approximately two weeks.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.palyul.org/eng_biotulku_karmakuchen.htm
  2. ↑ The History of Palri Phodrang, Copyright 2004, Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee, Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, Bylakuppe, Karnataka State, India

Further reading

  • Zangpo, Tsering Lama Jampal (1988), A Garland of Immortal Wish-Fulfilling Trees, Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 0-937938-64-5, ISBN 978-0-937938-64-5
  • Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche (2005), "A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage", Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing. ISBN 978-1-881847-41-0
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