Menri Monastery

Menri, ( Tibetan: སམན་རི་; Wylie: sman ri - " Medicine Mountain" ) is the main monastery of the Bon School, located in the district Namling the governmental district of Shigatse in Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is located in central Tibet, the Yarlung Zangbo River in a valley ( Brahmaputra ) slightly above the creek Gungchu, about midway between the cities of Lhasa and Shigatse. In the mountains the area is a variety of medicinal plants and medicinal springs to find, hence the name " Medicine Mountain" Menri.

History

The establishment of this important Bön monastery in central Tibet goes back to the year 1072, as the Bon monastery Ensakha which housed a famous school of the Bon Disputationskunst, was founded. 1386, this was destroyed by floods and a little further from the watercourse removed by Abt Nyammed Sherab Gyeltshen ( 1356-1415 ) under the name Menri 1405 rebuilt. As traditionally bedeutsamstes monastery of the Bon School of respective abbot of Menri was also a kind of spiritual leader of the Bon. In 1959, the monastery was completely destroyed by Red Chinese troops during the occupation of Tibet and the monks fled to India, including the then abbot of Menri 32, Shenrab Lodro ( 1935-1963 ).

One of the leaders of the monastic school of Menri, Lopön Tenzin Rinpoche Namdak ( in the West as " Lopön Rinpoche " become known ), took refuge in the rugged north of the province of Tsang, from where he tried in 1960 to get to India. He was taken there though wounded and taken prisoner, but was able to leave for Nepal and set up in 1967 with the support of the Christian Relief Service near the city of Solan (North India ) at the Tibetan settlement Dolanji a new monastery under the name Menri after ten months in prison.

The reigning since 1969 33rd abbot of Menri, Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, there is a community of about 350 currently before Bon monks. 1978 a study institution ( Yungdrung Bon Shedrup Lopnyer Dude ) was built for the Bon lamas, which ( roughly equivalent to a doctorate in theology ) gives a nine- year course of study the degree of Geshe.

Meanwhile, the original monastery Menri after the devastation of 1959 and the devastation during the Cultural Revolution has been partially rebuilt. Currently, around 50 monks live in the monastery complex ( pre-1959 approximately 400-500 monks ). At that time the monastery Menri were under 250 Besides monasteries, which were almost completely destroyed in 1959. Only in the nearby monastery Yungdrung Ling there are now again a larger community of monks.

Plant

In the three-story main building of the monastery is located on the first floor of the Dukhang, the central meeting room, in the second the library of the monastery. In the Sanctuary of Dukhang is especially made ​​of gilded copper reliquary stupa of the re- builder of the monastery, Shenrab Gyeltshen which relics of stupas two other important abbots - Sonam Lodro and Thadräl Sögyel - flanked worth seeing. Also this a "talking statue " Tazi Künzangs, which should have been brought here from paradise.

The lateral location Gönkhang (Temple of the guardian deities of the monastery ) dominates a representation of Takla Mebar ( stag la me ' bar), a protective deity of the Bon. In addition, the three-story residence of the abbot and a building for the Faculty of Arts of the University of monastery were repaired.

The monastery is on the list of monuments of Tibet Autonomous Region.