Mindrolling Monastery

CHINA, Tibet, Lhoka

Mindrolling means Place of Perfect Emancipation. It is located in the Drachi Valley in Granang, Lhoka and is one of the Six Major Nyingma Monasteries. It was founded in the late 10th century by Tsultrim Sherab. In 1677 Terdak Lingpa Gyurme Dorje reconstructed and expanded the monastery. It was severely damaged on three occasions and very little of the original architecture remains. In 1983 the central hall was restored to its original form. It was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 2006.
The monastery occupies approximately 10 ha. The existing buildings include the central hall, the Labrang Chokor Lhunpo Palace, the Kumbum Tongdrol Chenmo Stupa, the Drubcho Sangak Palace, and the Namgyel Palace. The stupa compound is located 100 m southeast of the monastery and has a kumbum surrounded by eight other smaller stupas.
The three-story central hall faces east and is the main building of the monastery. In the center of the first story there is the five-by-six bay assembly hall supported by 20 square columns. Two of the tallest columns are 5.5 m high and reach up into the second story. There is a courtyard in the center of the second story surrounded by five small shrines and cells for the monks. On the third story there are two shrines, one of which contains a mural of the past famous lamas of the Nyingma school. The roof of the central hall is magnificently decorated with gilt Dharma wheels and golden finials.
The monastery emphasizes on the study and research of Buddhist scriptures, linguistics, calligraphy, astrology, and traditional Tibetan medicine. Over the years Mindrolling Monastery was responsible for calculating and scheduling the Tibetan calendar.