Takthok
Gompa [Monastery] (also known as Trakthok, Thag Thog or Thak Thak) is
located in the village Sakti
in
Ladakh
[1]. To Leh it's about 53 km. The name Takthok means rock-roof [2].
Apart from Shergol in Mulbekh, it is the only cave monastery in
Ladakh worth mentioning. Mulbekh is located about 190 km west of Leh.
Takthok Gompa belongs to the Nyingma sect and is the only Nyingma
monastery in Ladakh. The monastery was founded around the mid-16th
century around a cave in which Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) is said
to have meditated eight centuries earlier. Nyingma is is known for
the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Old
Tibetan during the eighth century. The monastery serves as the
residence of approximately 55 monks.
Guardian divinities are painted around
entrance to the Dukhang, the main assembly hall. In the Dukhang are
paintings of Sakyamuni and Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava); one can see
also statues of Maitreya (the Future Buddha or Buddha of
Compassion), Padmasambhava and Dorje Takposal (a manifestation of
Padmasambhava) [3]. And as Nyingma means ancient and refers to the
school of the ancient translations, it's no surprise that you will
find the Kandshur, the 108 volumes of Buddha's teachings, in the
gompa.
The cave in which
Padmasambhava meditated is blackened with soot by the butter or
better oil lamps. Today, however, the electric light looks strange.
In the modern part
Make sure, that you know, where the
monk with the keys is, as I had to climb up twice and Takthok lies at
about 4000 m altitude.
 |
A look from the Gompa into the valley |
Links
and References:
[1]
Mattausch, Jutta: Ladakh und Zanskar (Reiseführer) (Deutsch). 2017.
.
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