Hemis Monastery

Coordinates: 33°54′44.91″N 77°42′10.2″E / 33.9124750°N 77.702833°E / 33.9124750; 77.702833
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hemis Monastery
Drukpa
LeadershipThe Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa
Location
LocationLadakh, India
CountryIndia
Hemis Monastery is located in Ladakh
Hemis Monastery
Location within Ladakh, India
Geographic coordinates33°54′44.91″N 77°42′10.2″E / 33.9124750°N 77.702833°E / 33.9124750; 77.702833
Architecture
StyleTibetan Architecture
FounderSengge Namgyal
Guru Rinpoche
(Padmasambhava) and pilgrims at Hemis
Hemis Monastery, a Buddhist Monastery of Drukpa Order.

Hemis Monastery is a

Indus river, Ladakh, India. Situated 45 km from Leh, it was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. The annual Hemis festival honouring Padmasambhava
is held there in early June.

Hemis village is located 40 km southeast of Leh on

Leh-Manali Highway and under-construction Bhanupli–Leh line
.

History

Hemis Monastery existed before the 11th century.

In 1894 Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch claimed Hemis as the origin of an otherwise unknown gospel, the Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men, in which Jesus is said to have travelled to India during his 'lost years'. According to Notovitch, the work had been preserved in the Hemis library and was shown to him by the monks there while he was recuperating from a broken leg.[1] However, once his story had been re-examined by historians, it is claimed that Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence.[2][3] Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman states that "Today there is not a single recognized scholar on the planet who has any doubts about the matter. The entire story was invented by Notovitch, who earned a good deal of money and a substantial amount of notoriety for his hoax".[4]

The Indian

The Gutenberg Project has published Notovich's manuscript as a free ebook.[8]

Paintings of Mahasiddhas

Courtyard with paintings of Mahasiddhas

In the courtyard of the monastery, there is a gallery with paintings of the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas, dating back to the 17th century. These paintings are created using ground mineral pigments.

Paintings of Mahasiddhas 1 to 14

Paintings of Mahasiddhas 1
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 2
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 3
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 4
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 5
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 6
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 7
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 8
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 9
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 10
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 11
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 12
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 13
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 14

Hemis Festival

The Hemis Festival is dedicated to Lord

Buddha Shakyamuni. It is also believed that his life mission was, and remains, to improve the spiritual condition of all living beings. Therefore, on this day, which comes once in a cycle of 12 years, Hemis observes a major extravaganza in his memory. The observance of these sacred rituals is believed to provide spiritual strength and good health. The Hemis festival takes place in the rectangular courtyard in front of the main door of the monastery. The space is wide and open, save for two raised square platforms, three feet high with a sacred pole in the center. A raised dais with a richly cushioned seat, a finely painted small Tibetan table, and ceremonial items – cups full of holy water, uncooked rice, and tormas
made of dough and butter, along with incense sticks – are placed. A number of musicians play traditional music with four pairs of cymbals, large-pan drums, small trumpets, and large-sized wind instruments. Next to them, a small space is assigned for the lamas to sit.

The ceremonies begin with an early morning ritual atop the gompa where, to the beat of drums, the resounding clash of cymbals, and the spiritual wail of pipes, the portrait of "Dadmokarpo" or "Rygyalsras Rinpoche" is ceremoniously put on display for all to admire and worship.

The most esoteric festivities include the mystic mask dances. The mask dances of Ladakh are collectively referred to as chams performances. Chams performances are essentially part of the Tantric tradition, performed only in those gompas that follow the Tantric Vajrayana teachings, and the monks perform tantric worship.

Gallery

  • Chortens at Hemis gompa
    Chortens at Hemis gompa
  • Mani wall along the driveway to Hemis Monastery
    Mani wall
    along the driveway to Hemis Monastery
  • View from Hemis Monastery. 2010
    View from Hemis Monastery. 2010
  • Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, by Vasily Vereshchagin (1875)
    Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, by Vasily Vereshchagin (1875)
  • The entrance to Hemis monastery
    The entrance to Hemis monastery
  • Inside the Hemis monastery
    Inside the Hemis monastery
  • Mural painting in the Hemis monastery
    Mural painting in the Hemis monastery
  • Traditional monk dance at Hemis Festival
    Traditional monk dance at Hemis Festival
  • Traditional Ladakhi women at Hemis monastery
    Traditional Ladakhi women at Hemis monastery

See also

Footnotes

Part of a series on
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Dharma Wheel
Schools
Key personalities
First dissemination
Second dissemination
Nyingma
Kagyu
Jonang
Sakya
Bodongpa

Samding Dorje Phagmo

Gelugpa
Teachings
General Buddhist
Tibetan
  • Four Tenets system
  • Rangtong-Shentong
  • Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction
Nyingma
Practices and attainment
Major monasteries
Institutional roles
Festivals
Texts
Art
History and overview
  1. ^ Nicolas Notovitch (1907). The Unknown Life Of Jesus Christ, Chicago: Progressive Thinker Pub. House
  2. ISBN 066422721X
    page 84 "a particular book by Nicolas Notovich (Di Lucke im Leben Jesus 1894) ... shortly after the publication of the book, the reports of travel experiences were already unmasked as lies. The fantasies about Jesus in India were also soon recognized as invention... down to today, nobody has had a glimpse of the manuscripts with the alleged narratives about Jesus"
  3. ISBN 083864208X
    page 133 "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich confessed to fabricating his evidence."
  4. ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. Archived from the original
    on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  5. ^ Swami Abhedananda's "Journey into Kashmir and Tibet" rendered into English by Ansupati Dasgupta and Kunja Bihari Kundu.
  6. ISBN 978-1571746801
    .
  7. ^ "The original scrolls brought from India to Nepal, and from Nepaul to Thibet, relating to the life of Issa, are written in the Pali language and are actually in Lhassa; but a copy in our language—I mean the Thibetan—is in this convent." [1]
  8. ^ The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, by Nicolas Notovitch, Translated by J. H. Connelly and L. Landsberg.

References

  • Francke, A. H. (1914, 1926). Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi.

External links

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