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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Beautiful Thikse Monastery – the Spiritual Retreat in India

Beautiful Thikse Monastery – the Spiritual Retreat in India

Thikse Gompa or Thikse Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Yellow Hat sect, located on top of a hill, approximately 19 kilometres east of Leh in Ladakh, India. It is noted for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and is the largest gompa in central Ladakh.

What To See


The monastery is located at an altitude of 3,600 metres in the Indus valley. It is a 12-storey complex and houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords. One of the main points of interest is the Maitreya Temple which is installed to commemorate the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to this monastery in 1970. A 15 metres high statue of Maitreya, the largest such statue in Ladakh, covering two storeys of the building is deified in the monastery. A nunnery is also part of the complex.

Beautiful Thikse Monastery – the Spiritual Retreat in India

The statue of Maitreya Buddha at Thikse is two storeys tall. One of the main points of interest is the Maitreya (future Buddha) Temple the largest such statue in Ladakh covering two storeys of the building. He is unusually portrayed as seated in the lotus position rather than his usual representations as standing or in a sitting posture on a high throne. As the largest Buddha statue deified in the monastery, it took four years to craft. It was made by the local artists under the master Nawang Tsering of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (Leh) - in clay, gold paint and copper.

Beautiful Thikse Monastery – the Spiritual Retreat in India title=

The main prayer room in the monastery has a number of handwritten and painted books. Monastery also has one temple which is dedicated to goddess Tara. Top floor of the monastery have Lamokhang temple, in which only male persons are permitted to go. A room above this temple is used as a school to teach boys from which some of themes are selected as Lamas.

Beautiful Thikse Monastery – the Spiritual Retreat in India

An annual festival in monastery’s enclosure is held which is known as Gustor Ritual. This festival is held from 17th October to 19th November. In this festival, there sacred dance i.e. mask dance is performed. A trade fair is also held at the base of the monastery in which all local people gathers there and socializes and trade with each other. This monastery also provided other facilities like medical facility, hotels, restaurants etc.

Beautiful Thikse Monastery – the Spiritual Retreat in India

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