Lamayuru The Moonland Monastery of Ladakh

Lamayuru is home to one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh, dating back to the 10th century. Local legend has it that the place was once a lake that dried up. The village has around 100 houses scattered around the Lamayuru Monastery. This ancient monastery is the main seat of the Drikung Kagyu tradition in the lower part of Ladakh. There are more than 50 monasteries under the leadership of this great monastery in the lower region of Ladakh. About 300 monks are registered under the administration of the monastery. The history of Lamayuru monastery dates back to the 11th Century, when Mahasiddha Naropa (1016'“1100) visited the place coming from Zanskar. He spent a long time in strict retreat in a cave there and turned the place into a sacred land. The ancient temple in Lamayuru called Seng-ge-sgang is situated at the southern end of the monastery. The annual festival known as Yuru Kabgyat is the major attraction of the monastery. Renowned as Tharpa Ling which means the ‘place of freedom’; Lamayuru monastery is the oldest and one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh. It is located approximately 127 km from Leh on a steep mountain between Bodh kharbu and Kha-la-che. The monastery belongs to Red-Hat Sect of Buddhism. At its peak, the monastery housed 400 monks but nowadays there are only 50 inmates. About 150 monks reside in Lamayuru village. The monastery is famous for its rich wall paintings, collection of thangkas, murals, scriptures and statues of different forms of Buddha and other deities. There are several legends about the monastery. According to one of the legends, it was founded by Maha siddh acharya Naropa in 11th century who came to the place for meditation. However, the foundation of the monastery was predicted in the Bodhi sattva Madhyantaka. It was predicted that the lake would be dried and a monastery would be constructed at its place. When the lake dried, Naropa found a dead lion there and chose to construct first temple of Singhe Ghang (Lion Mound). He constructed five buildings but only one exists. According to another historical account, the king of Ladakh built the Lamayuru buildings during tenth century. Later the king donated the buildings to Rinchen Zangbo. According to a third account, the King of Ladakh during 16th century, Jamyang Namgyal contracted leprosy which was cured by a Lama. In gratitude, the king gave him the monastery buildings and some other privileges like exemption from taxes. Moreover, he declared the area surrounding the monastery as sanctuary where no one would be arrested. This is the reason that the Lamayuru is still said to be ‘Tharpa Ling’ which means the ‘place of freedom’. The monastery has a Dukhang, the assembly hall, Gonkhang, the temple and residential buildings for monks. Walls of the Dukhang are painted with colourful images of Buddhist deities. The Gonkhang is dedicated to guardians of Buddhism. In front of the temple there are three chortens. In the small temple there are some images of Avalokitesvara (with 1000 arms and 11 heads), Padmasambhava and statues of eight Bodhisattvas. The annual festival known as Yuru Kabgyat is the major attraction of the monastery. Mask dance by the lamas are the highlight of the festival. Another important ritual followed during the festival is the burning of effigies. It stands for destruction of the ego in every individual. Besides its monastery, Lamayuru also attracts tourists for its landscape quite similar to the lunar terrain.