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| Namdroling Monastery | |
|---|---|
Tibetan transcription(s) Tibetan:ཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་། Wylie transliteration: Theg-mchog-rnam-grol-bshad-sgrub-dar-rgyas-gling | |
 Entrance gate of the Namdroling | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Tibetan Buddhism |
| Sect | Nyingma |
| Festivals | Losar, Drubchen, bKa-ma'i Drubchod, Sagadawa, Mipham Anniversary, Longchen Anniversary, Gutor etc; |
| Leadership | Karma Kuchen,[1] 12th Throneholder ofPalyul Lineage |
| Location | |
| Location | Namdroling,Bylakuppe,Mysore,Karnataka India |
 Interactive map of Namdroling Monastery | |
| Coordinates | 12°25′49.8″N75°58′2.53″E / 12.430500°N 75.9673694°E /12.430500; 75.9673694 |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Kyabje Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche, also known asPenor Rinpoche |
TheThegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling (བོད་ཡིགཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་།) (Wylie:theg mchog rnam grol bshad sgrub dar rgyas gling), informally known asNamdroling Monastery (or ನಮ್ಡ್ರೋಲಿಂಗ್ ವಿಹಾರ, Namdroling Vihara) is the largest teaching center of theNyingma lineage ofTibetan Buddhism in the world. Located inBylakuppe, part of theMysuru district of the state ofKarnataka, the monastery is home to asangha community of more than five thousandmonks andnuns and qualified teachers, a junior high school named Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling, a Buddhist philosophy college orshedra for both monks and nuns, a home for the elderly, and a hospital.
The monastery was established by the 11th throneholder of the Palyul lineage, the 3rdDrubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche in 1963. It was founded after his1959 escape from Tibet[2] which was also prompted by the 1957 arrest of Palyul's then-head Khenpo, the 4th Karma Kuchen, who was tortured to death by China's forces by 1958.[3]
ThePalyul Monastery and it 400 branches is considered one of the Nyingma school's "Six Mother Monasteries" in Tibet, before China's forces demolished the monastery and its branches in the late 1950s.[3] Palyul Monastery's reconstruction by Penor Rinpoche began in the late 1970s, and by 1983 Penor Rinpoche was again giving teachings and ordaining sangha members in Tibet.[3]
Namdroling Monastery is considered a seat of Palyul Monastery's lineage in exile. The monastery's full formal name is Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling, but it's called "Namdrolling or Namdroling" for short. Its initial structure was atemple constructed frombamboo, covering an area of approximately 80 square feet (7.4 m2) and its founder Penor Rinpoche lived in a tent. Namdroling was carved into the jungle that the Indian government granted to Tibetans in exile for their resettlement. The initial challenges included rampaging elephants, a lack of roads and of funds, and other tropical dangers.
From these humble beginnings, Namdroling has grown into the largest Nyingma school monastery in the world.
As of 2016, the lodging facilities alone for the school include three buildings with over 200 rooms. The population fluctuates as monks attend or complete studies at Namdroling. A recent census had the population in excess of 4,000 monks and 800 nuns.[4]
Namdroling Monastery hosts several ceremonies yearly. Of particular interest is Tibetan New Year (Losar), based on theTibetan lunisolar calendar; dates are not static but usually the event is in February or March. The monastery hosts traditional Lama Dances, the hanging of giantThangka from the sides of its buildings, as well as solemn processions throughout the monastery grounds spanning approximately two weeks.
