On the 10th and 11th days of the 6th Tibetan lunar month (28th and 29th July, and birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava). the Dragthog monastery, said to be the only Nyingma monastery in Ladakh, (generally mis-spelt online as Tagthog, which some even say Tigtog 🙂 ), held a two-day cham dance festival which I was very fortunate to attend. I have never visited this particular monastery before, despite having visited Ladakh several times before. It is renowned in Ladakh as a place where Guru Padmasambhava meditated in a cave, which is present within the confines of the exquisite monastery perched on a hilltop about an hour’s drive from Leh. The two-day Dragthog monastery festival 2023 began on the 10th day of the sixth lunar month. Unfortunately, due to various obstacles even though I was in Ladakh, I was unable to attend that day, but managed to attend the final day.
The head of the Dragthog monastery, Taklung Setrung Rinpoche a profound scholar renowned for his expertise in Tibetan Vajrayana school. was not present at the event, as his reincarnation (a young boy from Spiti) was only recently discovered. The Cham dance ritual was presided over by Do-ngag Rinpoche who I discovered is the resident lama of the Dorje Drag monastery, in Shimla, India. Another monastery I have not visited but would like to do so. The Dorje Drag monastery རྡོ་རྗེ་བྲག་དགོན་པ།, “Indestructible/Vajra Rock”) in Tibet is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and one of the Nyingma school’s “Six Mother Monasteries” in Tibet. It is located in the Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region, older southeastern U-Tsang. Dorje Drak is also the name of the monastery built to replace it in Shimla, India after the original was destroyed during the Battle of Chamdo [1]. More on that in another post perhaps!
Guru Padmasambhava, who is considered to be the founder of Nyingma lineage, introduced the practice of monastic dance to Tibetan Buddhism. During the reign of King Trisong Detsen, he would dance to vanquish enemies and demons. The monks execute a unique Cham known as “Guru Tsen-gye Cham ”—the eight manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava—during this festival.
In this article I share some background on the Dragthog monastery and the Nyingma in Ladakh, for more of my research on other lineages in Ladakh see:
- LADAKH TRILOGY (PART I): THE KARMAPAS IN LADAKH. Previous visits and the Karma Drubgyu Monastery
- LADAKH TRILOGY (PART II): THE DALAI LAMAS IN LADAKH. Ladakhi King Senge Namgyal and the Gelug/Tibet-Mongolian takeover of Ladakh; Drugpa Kagyu and the subsequent banning of Gelug in Bhutan; and 14th Dalai Lama activities in Ladakh
- LADAKH TRILOGY (PART III): THE DRUGPA (DRAGON) KAGYU IN LADAKH. Tiger’s Nose (Stakna) Monastery, a cathartic Lama Chopa puja, Tibetan History and masters: past and present, the Bhutanese connection, current activities/teachers and the Kung Fu cycling nuns
As I wrote about in the Dalai Lamas in Ladakh article, the Ganden/Gelug have had a big impact politically on both Tibet and also Ladakh (which could be asserted was not a very beneficial one overall in the long-term). In a strange twist of fate, as I was wandering around the small temples (du-khang) surrounding the caves, a monk came in and started handing out blessing cords from the Dalai Lama. When I asked him where he was from , he told me Ganden Monastery (a big Gelug monastery). I asked him why he was coming to a Nyingma monastery to do that and he said that ‘all the Dharma was the same’. To which I agreed, but also thought well then why is the 17th Karmapa still not allowed to teach freely in India, Nepal and Bhutan? He asked which teacher I followed and I replied the 17th Karmapa. A man standing next to him then said ‘which Karmapa? There are three of them.’ which they all laughed about. To which I replied, that there is only one official Karmapa and that even the Dalai Lama has said as much, so if they follow him (as they say they do), then they should take his word on that too. Stunned silence and awkward laughs followed. Seems like even though the Ganden/Gelugpa say they are non-sectarian and that everyone else should be, their conduct is anything but that at times!
After this conversation, I proceeded to the courtyard nearby to watch the main event, the cham dance (see photos below). As I listened to the chants and gyaling horns, and watched the masked dancers with their phurba daggers and vajras, and the comical clowns blowing flour over the hysterically laughing children and adults in the breaks, mental glimmering images of Vajrakilaya and Guru Rinpoche in union with Yeshe Tsogyel appeared in the centre on a lotus, a truly blissful event going back centuries. Even though I had a mild altitude headache and exhaustion (my second day in Leh it is normal) it was a blissful and memorable experience indeed!
Music? For Guru Padmasambhava Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen and Barche Lamsel by Guru Rinpoche.
Written and researched by Adele Tomlin, 2nd August 2023.
Dragthog (Roof-rock) Monastery – the oldest and only Nyingma monastery in Ladakh
Dragthog Monastery ( བྲག་ཐོག་) is a Buddhist monastery in Sakti village in Ladakh, northern India, located approximately 46 kilometres east of Leh. The name Dragthog, literally meaning ‘rock-roof’ was named because both its roof as well as its walls are made up of rock. It belongs to the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and approximately 60 monks reside there. It is said to be the only Nyingma monastery in Ladakh. The monastery was founded around the mid-16th century during the reign of the Ladakhi King, Tsewang Namgyal (1575-1595) on a mountainside around a cave in which Padmasambhava is said to have meditated in the 8th century.
The monastery is surrounded by a stunning landscape of desert mountains. The small monastery , which is easy to walk up to about five minutes from the road where the cars drop you off. It’s centrepiece is the Guru Padmasambhava cave which has been built around and encased with a small temple shrine inside.
Taglung Setrung Rinpoche
The head of the Dragthog monastery, Taklung Setrung Rinpoche a profound scholar renowned for his expertise in Tibetan Vajrayana school. was not present at the event, as his reincarnation (a young boy from Spiti) was only recently discovered.
The Cham dance ritual was presided over by Do-ngag Rinpoche (see photo) who I discovered is the resident lama of the Dorje Drag monastery, in Shimla, India. Another monastery I have not visited but would like to do so. The Dorje Drag monastery རྡོ་རྗེ་བྲག་དགོན་པ།, “Indestructible/Vajra Rock”) in Tibet is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and one of the Nyingma school’s “Six Mother Monasteries” in Tibet. It is located in the Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region, older southeastern U-Tsang. Dorje Drak is also the name of the monastery built to replace it in Shimla, India after the original was destroyed during the Battle of Chamdo [1]. More on that in another post perhaps!
He reluctantly let me take his photo when I asked his permission, saying twice ‘I am not very handsome’ (zigpo ma re), which I thought was both humble and sweet! More on the cham dance itself below.
Guru Padmasambhava’s Cave
Dragthog monastery is based around the Guru Padmasambhava cave itself where there is now a small lha-khang temple, with stunning wall paintings and some statues (see photos below):
While I was wandering around the Dragthog monastery cave temple, a monk came in and started handing out blessing cords from the Dalai Lama. When I asked hm where he was from, he replied Ganden Monastery (a big Gelug monastery). I asked him why he was coming to a Nyingma monastery to do that and he said that ‘all the Dharma was the same’. To which I agreed, but also thought well then why is the 17th Karmapa still not allowed to teach freely in India, Nepal and Bhutan. He asked me who my teacher was and I told him I followed the 17th Karmapa. A man next to him then said ‘which Karmapa?’ as there are three. To which I replied, that there is only one Karmapa and that even the Dalai Lama has said so! So if they follow him as they say, then they should take his word on that too. Seems like even though the Ganden say they are non-sectarian, their conduct is anything but that at times!
Outside wall art mural
After walking outside the cave temple, there is a stunning painted wall art mural of various masters and meditators opposite down the steps. I was unable to find anyone to ask about them, so if anyone knows who they are, please let me know.
Guru Rinpoche temple and Draglung Rinpoche Kudung golden stupa
The main monastery temple and courtyard
Here are some photos and descriptions of the monastery itself and some of the stunning old artworks and statues contained within it.
Dragthog Cham Dance Tsechu Festival – Guru Padmasambhava dance on 10th and 11th day of the sixth lunar month
Endnotes
[1]At the monastery’s relocation site, a footprint of Padmasambhava (Pad-ma ‘byung-gnas), also known as Guru Rinpoche, was found on the rock mountain behind the monastery, along with a naturally formed crossed vajra. Considered auspicious, it led to the addition of “Indestructible Rock” to the monastery’s founding name: Ewan Chogar Gompa became Thubten Dorje Drag Ewam Chogar, known of as Dorje Drak.
In 1632 the monastery relocated from Tsang to its present tranquil setting on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, when the young Third Rigdzin Ngagiwangpo and his guardian Jangdak Tashi Topgyel were forced to flee the wrath of the kings of Tsang. Their successor, the erudite Fourth Rigdzin Pema Trinle (b. 1641) greatly enlarged the monastery before his untimely death at the hands of the Dzungar Mongolians, who sacked the monastery in 1717.
Rebuilding began in 1720, under patronage of the 7th Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso. However, when Kelzang Pema Wangchuk, The Fifth Dorje Drak Rigdzin (1719/20-1770/71) was enthroned as the monastery’s third throne holder, its buildings were still lying mostly in ruins.
As the original monastery was destroyed after the Chinese invaded Tibet, a new monastery was founded by Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche in 1984 in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India, modeled after the original Dorje Drak monastery in Tibet. It is called Thupten Dorje Drak Ewam Chogar Chökhor Namgyal Ling.[2]
The current throneholder is Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche or H.H. Taglung Kyabgon Tsetrul Thupten Gyaltsen Rinpoche, who also accepted the position of Head of the Nyingma sect on 22 March 2012.
Perhaps nyigma master/scholar Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche (now resident in New York State) can assist identifying those beautiful portraits:
https://www.padmasambhava.org/ven-khenpo-tsewang-dongyal-rinpoche/
Thanks! I think they are the eighteen arhats perhaps…they are beautiful indeed.