Lachung Monastery, Sikkim

Lachung Monastery: A place of magical chanting words

Author: Pema Yankee bhutia
Date: 2020-09-28

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An empty hall with idols and pictures of Guru Rinpoche, in front of which the fragrant smoke of incense sticks slowly surround the idols of God, hypnotizing the entire atmosphere. What kind of place is this where the moment you enter you find peace and a sense of spirituality and then you can’t help but bend your knees chanting the prayers you know? What kind of place is it where you feel like home yet it isn’t?

A monastery with an emptiness that’s all. Perhaps, that is why we feel so fulfilled inside it.
When it comes to talking about a monastery, all the Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim are more or less the same, with the same architectural design, except for the place where it is located, age, and its history.

Place
Lachung Monastery is situated amid the apple orchards and pine trees just across the Lachung River in a small beautiful village known as Lachung in North Sikkim, India. It is almost about 5-6 km from Lachung town. It lies at a height of about 2,750 m and forms the base of the Green Lake Trek. What makes this monastery beautiful is this village, which is always surrounded by snow-covered mountains, vivid species of flora and fauna, and the scenic river. The view around the monastery will leave you breathless and excited. It has a large compound in front, and at the backside of the monastery, there is a long staircase leading upward into the forest where you can get the view of the entire village from the top. This was my favourite part of this place.

History and Age
A symbol of cultural and religious heritage, Lachung Monastery contains a huge statue of Guru Padmasambhava, who is the founding father of Tibetan Buddhism. It was installed in 1806 by the Nyingmapa sect of Buddhism. The monastery was designed by senior monks during that time and is marked by unique Tibetan designs and art. It is small and colorful and has a two-storey prayer hall. There are two huge metal prayer wheels inside the prayer hall and two dragons facing each other on the top of the porch. The ancient old wall murals and statues inside the monastery are admired greatly by the visitors.

Practice and Rituals
All the main religious rituals and activities are carried out inside the Lachung Monastery such as monthly community pujas, local religious meetings, and appointments of the head monk and monastery-in-charge, including the selection of a caretaker.

Apart from this, the major festival in Buddhism, Chyam, is also celebrated here. The festival holds the annual monk mask dance, which lasts for about five days. In addition, an attractive funfair is also organized by the locals where gambling games are held in the surroundings of the monastery.
 
All the households in the village are provided with their own permanent reserved spots in the pavilion to sit with their family and enjoy the show. For the success of this festival, it is mandatory for all the households in the village to donate a certain amount of cash and wood (used for making the public meal and tea).

Although there are three other monasteries in this village, Lachung Monastery carries a lot of significance as it is considered the main monastery by the monk community of Lachung.

An important function of this monastery is providing loans to the locals; there are no stringent formalities involved like commercial banks; however, the interest rate is quite high in comparison.

I personally feel so peaceful whenever I visit this monastery. Not only the monastery but also the tour around this monastery is so satisfactory. This place has been like a second home for me during my childhood, and I have so many fond memories of running around and playing hide and seek around this monastery. So, if you ever visit this amazing village, make sure you visit this monastery and create memories of your own to come back to later.

Until next time!


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