Likir Gompa or Likir Monastery in Ladakh

 

Likir Monastery or Likir Gompa (Klud-kyil – I've also seen Lukhgil and Klu-kkhyil) is located 52 km west of Leh at an altitude of 3700 m [1]. It is 9.5 km off the Srinagar-Leh-highway and therefore a little bit isolated. The Gompa has been established in 1065. It belongs to the Gelugpa sect. The Gelugpa (you will also find: dGe-Lugs-Pa) is the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism [2]. Gelugpa “was founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader”. The first monastery Tsongkhapa established was Ganden (1409) [3].

Had there been a conflict, when Gelugpa took over Likir Gompa? The German Tibetologist August Hermann Francke visited the Likir monastery in 1909, when he was shown an inscription, which said that Lama Lha-dbang-chos-rje converted the lamas to the reformed doctrines of the Gelugpa order. Nowadays Gelugpa (Yellow Hats) and Kagyupa (Red Hats) coexist peacefully. Of the Gelugpa monasteries I've visited Likir, Rizong, Sankar, Spituk, Thiksay, and of the Kagyupa gompas Hemis, Lamayuru (Drikung Kagyu), Phiyang, Shey. So <i don't think of a big conflict. Likir Monastery houses about 120 monks and about 30 students today.

On the veranda of the dukhangs you can see lots of paintings, inside the two dukhang there are tangkha and books like the the kandshur, images of lamas, the white Tara, and again outside chörten, the 23-metre high golden statue of Maitreya (the future Buddha) and much more. One can also visit the new Gonkhang (1983), which is dedicated to the guardian divinities [4]. Oh, the room for Yamataka and Kalachakra is off-limits for women.

Links and References:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likir_Monastery
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelug

[3] https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2018/08/ganden-monastery.html
[4] Mattausch, Jutta: Ladakh und Zanskar (Reiseführer) (Deutsch). 2017.

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