Rumtek monastery

Rumtek (Tibetan: རུམ་ཐེག་དགོན་པ་, Wylie: Rum-theg dGon-pa), also called the Dharmachakra Centre, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. Originally built by the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje in 1740, Rumtek served as the main seat of the Kagyu lineage in Sikkim for some time. But when the 16th Karmapa arrived in Sikkim in 1959, after fleeing before the Chinese occupation of Tibet, it was in ruins. Despite being offered other sites, the Karmapa decided to rebuild Rumtek. To him, the site possessed many auspicious qualities and was surrounded by the most favorable attributes. For example, flowing streams, mountains behind, a snow range in front, and a river below. With the generosity and help of the Sikkim royal family and the Indian government, it has been built by the 16th Karmapa as his main seat in exile. Download high resolution version (900x665, 193 KB)Rumtek Monastery, Sikkim. ... Download high resolution version (900x665, 193 KB)Rumtek Monastery, Sikkim. ... The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using the keys on a typical English language typewriter. ... Tibetan Buddhism, (formerly also called Lamaism after their religious gurus known as lamas), is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... The Tikse monastery in Ladakh, India A monastery is the habitation of monks, derived from the Greek word for a hermits cell. ... Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. ... Gangtok is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim. ... The Karmapa (formally His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa) is the head of the Karma Kagyu (Bka rgyud), the largest of the lineages that make up the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. ... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... The Kagyu (Wylie transliteration: Bka-brgyud) school (known as the Oral Lineage and the Spotless Practice Lineage school) is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being Nyingma (Rnying-ma), Sakya (Sa-skya), and Gelug (Dge-lugs). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng or 藏区 ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Name section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... The Karmapa (formally His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa) is the head of the Karma Kagyu (Bka rgyud), the largest of the lineages that make up the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. ... EXILE is a 6-member Japanese pop music band. ...

After four years, construction of the monastery was completed. The sacred items and relics brought out from Tsurphu, the Karmapa's seat in Tibet, were installed. On Tibetan New Year's day (Losar) in 1966 the 16th Karmapa officially inaugurated the new seat called, "The Dharmachakra Centre, a place of erudition and spiritual accomplishment, the seat of the glorious Karmapa." Tsurphu (mTshur phu)is the seat of the Karmapas in the Tolung area of Central Tibet in the Dowo Lung valley,70 km from Lhasa. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

The monastery is currently the largest in Sikkim. It is home to the community of monks and where they perform the rituals and practices of the Karma Kagyu lineage. A Golden Stupa contains the relics of the 16th Karmapa. Opposite that building is a college, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies. A stupa in Tibet A stupa (from the Sanskrit) is a type of Buddhist structure found across the Indian subcontinent, Asia and increasingly in the Western World. ...

Rumtek is located 24 km from Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim, at an altitude of about 1500 m. Gangtok is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim. ...

The main shrine room currently has a throne for the 17th Karmapa. The community at Rumtek awaits the day when the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje returns and performs the Black Crown Ceremony. Urgyen Trinley Dorje at age 14, photographed in Tibet in 1999 shortly before fleeing to India. ...

External links

• Rumtek details at Kaguoffice.org

• Rumtek Monastery's Official Website

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