| Travel / Ashram, Monasteries |
Hemis Monastery, Ladakh, India
Drukpa Kagyu Lineage, 17th century, about 1000 monks.
History
Hemis is the largest gompa1 founded in 1630 by the 1st Taksang Repa, a great yogi of the Drukpa (Dragon) Lineage of Buddhism, under the patronage of King Sengge Namgyal.
Hemis Monastery, Ladakh, India. Foto: Bernard Gagnon.
Hemis Monastery is considered to have existed before the 11th century and to be connected with Naropa, the disciple of the yogi Tilopa, and teacher of Marpa Lotsawa. It is believed that Naropa and yogi Tilopa met at Hemis.
Hemis has more than 200 branches in the Himalayas and more than 1000 monks under its care. Some of the important temples of the Drukpa sect under the Hemis administration are Shey, Stok, Mahe, Chumtang, Chusul, Nyoma, Mulbek, Basgo, Khalstse, Skurbuchan, Sumda, Sani Leh, Phugthal and Wanla.
The other affiliated monasteries of Hemis, founded almost at the same time, are Chemrey (Chemde), Hanle and Timosgong. The location of these monasteries is in the four cardinal directions with Hemis at the centre.
Retreats
Drukpa spiritual centers are in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, France, Germany, Monaco, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and United States.
The centers organize collective retreats providing teachings on a range of subjects like: refuge and prostrations, practice of Vajrasattva, offering of the Mandala, Guru Yoga, pho-wa, bardo and meditation.
Festivals
Traditional Monk Dance at Hemis Festival. Photo: Prajakta Kailas Jadhav.
Hemis Teschu (Hemis Festival) is an important event in the annual calendar of the monastery.
The festival was introduced by Gyalsras Rinpoche Mipham Tsewang around 1730. It is celebrated on the 10th day of the fifth month of the monastery calendar (May or June in the Christian calendar) marking the birthday of Guru Padmasambhava.
The festivities start four or five days earlier as monks from monasteries affiliated to Hemis gather for the preparations. Rituals are performed in various parts of the monastery, Dukhang Barpa2 being the centre.
Monks practice Cham or the mystical dance with the dance master overseeing the various logistical and ecclesiastical needs. The main events unfold over the next two days. Specific series of thangka are put up in Dukhang Barpa, of either the Drukpa teacher, Dadmokarpo, or that of Gyalsras Rinpoche.
Masked dances are performed over the two days. On the second day, the large thangka of Gyalsras Rinpoche is unfurled. The events of the day culminate with the performance of Hashang and Hatuk.
Hashang is a representation of the Chinese smiling Buddha and the five hatuks are his disciple, they act out scenes from daily life. The performance ends with them distributing apricots to people before returning to the Dukhang.
Guru Padmasambhava in Guru Lhakhang. Photo: Sanjay Dhar.The other major event related to Hemis is held in the monkey year—once every 12 years according to the Chinese calendar. It is known as the Naropa ceremony.
On this occasion, the Six Bone Ornaments belonging to Naropa, are donned by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, the head of the Drukpa Order, while delivering the teachings of Chakrasambhava.
These ornaments symbolize the origin of many practices of Tibetan Buddhism and are considered some of the holiest treasures in the Himalayas. The Rinpoche also performs special tantric rituals.
A large applique thangka of Guru Padmasambhava—containing pearls and other precious stones and commissioned by Gyalras Rinpoche—is unfurled in the courtyard; this event is an attraction for the locals as well as the tourists who gather for the festival.
The last Naropa at Hemis was held in 2016. The festival is blessed by the spiritual head, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, and is typically attended by thousands of guests from across the world. The festival also holds the annual 'bazaar' where tourists and Ladakhis from remote areas buy and sell goods.
Location
Hemis is located in Shang Valley of the Stok Kangri mountain range at an elevation of 3700m, about 40 km from Leh, and reachable in one day by car.
Travelers should consult with their tour operator to make arrangements for required travel permits in this area.
Accommodation and Facilities
Hemis monastery has a guest house with a shared washrooms per floor. Even in summer the weather is cold. Bookings can be made by phone without advance payment.
Hemis monastery and museum can be visited from 8:00AM to 6:00PM, except for a break between 1:00PM and 2:00PM.
Etiquette and Awareness
Cameras, mobile phones and bags are not allowed inside Hemis Museum. Any form of photography is strictly prohibited and deemed a serious offence.
Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People can respond to high altitude in different ways. Symptoms may include headaches, vomiting, tiredness, confusion, trouble sleeping, and dizziness.
Acute mountain sickness can progress to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) with associated shortness of breath or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) with associated confusion. Prevention is by gradually increasing elevation by no more than 300 metres (1,000 ft) per day.
Sources
https://www.sahapedia.org/hemis-monastery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fv98VUWXAw&ab_channel=Paddy971
https://www.thebetterindia.com/60798/ladakh-naropa-festival-hemis-monastery/
https://azureskyfollows.com/hemis-monastery-guest-house/
https://www.khamtrul.org/
Footnotes
1. A Gompa or Gönpa ("remote place", Sanskrit araṇya), also known as ling, is a Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a university associated with Tibetan Buddhism and thus common in historical Tibetan regions including parts of China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Bhutanese dzong architecture is a subset of traditional gompa design.
A gompa has a meditation room where practitioners meditate and listen to teachings. Design and interior details vary from region to region; however, all follow a general design of a central prayer hall containing a murti (image, statue) or a thangka (painting), benches for the monks or nuns to engage in prayer or meditation and attached living accommodation. The gompa or ling may also be accompanied by any number of stupas.
2. Dukhang or assembly hall, is one of the most important spaces within a monastery complex. Dukhang Barpa, is the middle prayer hall
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