Mangyu Gompa near Alchi in Ladakh

Mangyu or Manggyu is a small village in the mountains near Alchi (15 km) in Ladakh. Mangyu Gompa is connected to the village at the highest spot. Below lies the little agriculture that a little tributary to the Indus river allows. 

 

A mandala on the wall

A display cabinet with books

A statue of Avalokiteshvara

And a thangka hidden under yellow cloth

Parts of the temple complex date back to the late 12th/early 13th century [1] and oral history tells us that the gompa was established by Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo, of whom you might want to read more here: [2]. Rinchen Zangpo (rin chen bzang po) was born in 958 (in Khatse Wingir, Western Tibet, parts are Ladakh nowadays, unclear location, maybe South of Leh) and lived until 1055 (in Khatse Wingir). So if he established Mangyu Gompa there is much to see original buildings nowadays, but my guess is that renovations followed the original concept. Mangyu Gompa is maintained by the monks of Likir Gompa, which would mean the temple complex now belongs the the Gelukpa sect [3]; earlier it belonged to the Kadampa school as Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo had been an emminent member of this school. According to Kevin Standage „it is still used as a place of worship under the Nyingmapa order, the old unreformed school of Tibetan Buddhism“ [4]. 

 

Details of a door (upper part)

 

A local pilgrim

perhaps pondering about the

vicissitudes of life

 

Main hall, entrance

The two main temples are dedicated to Shakyamuni and Vairocana, and two smaller chapels are literally filled with giant stucco statues of Maitreya, the Buddha to come. There are lots of mandalas and other paintings. 

The traditional lamps in the monasteries, 

not filled with butter but with oil

Lets hope that Mangyu Gompa survives 
climate (3500 m altitude, 35° C during Summer and -35° C during Winter) and political unrest. „Some temple walls and traditional mud roofs are in danger of collapsing and important paintings and figurines are being lost due to water damage“ [5]. 

 

The two large stucco statues

 

Talking about vicissitudes,

another sacred spot

Just above the village and gompa

 

A view into the valley

 

Links and References:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangyu_temple_complex

[2] Alexander Gardner, "Rinchen Zangpo," Treasury of Lives, accessed July 08, 2020, http://treasuryof lives.org/biographies/view/Rinchen-Zangpo/10199.

[3] Mattausch, Jutta: Ladakh und Zanskar (Reiseführer) (Deutsch). 2017.

[4] https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/mangyu-gompa-leh-ladakh/

[5] http://www.sacred-sites.org/threatened-sacred-sites/mangyu-gompa-monastery/

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