Rumtek Monastery

INDIA, Sikkim

The monastery is situated on a mountain 1,550 m above sea level, approximately 24 km from Gangtok. It is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Sikkim and was originally built by the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje, in the 16th century. When the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, arrived in Sikkim with a group of lamas in 1959, he found the monastery in ruins. Between 1962 and 1966 he reconstructed the monastery and expanded it on land donated by King Tashi Namgyal (reigned 1914–1963). The new complex is known as the Dharmacakra Center.
The main monastery building, the central hall, consists of four stories and is built in the Tibetan style. The interior is decorated with richly colored murals and reliefs. The principal features are Buddha Hall, Mahakala Shrine, and Mahakali Shrine. A 3 m high statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha, flanked by Sariputra and Maudgalyayana, is enshrined in the Buddha Hall. The Kangyur and Tengyur Buddhist texts are also housed within the hall. In front of the central hall there is a courtyard, in the middle of which there is a stone stele with inscriptions by the Sixteenth Karmapa.
Besides the central hall, the Dharmacakra Center consists of several training centers. The Karma Shri Nalanda Institute is a center for advanced Buddhist studies. It also houses the Golden Stupa that contains the relics of the Sixteenth Karmapa. Drupdra Yiwong Samten Ling is a retreat center, where the traditional three-year training of the Kagyu school is given. Karma Dechen Chokhor is a center for nuns to receive full training in the Vajrayana ritual arts and practices.
This monastery houses many precious Buddhist statues, paintings, and artifacts passed from one Karmapa to the next.