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Ralung Monastery

Ralung Monastery (Wylie: ra lung dgon), located in the Tsang region of western Tibet south of Karo Pass, is the traditional seat of the Drukpa LineageofTibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1180 by Tsangpa Gyare, 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, a disciple of Lingje Répa (Wylie: gling rje ras pa) who founded the Drukpa Lineage.^[1][2]

Ralung is one of the most sacred places in Tibet, for it is here that the great Dugpa school of red-hat monks originated, a school still influential with numerous adherents in Southern, Northern, and Eastern Tibet, and in Bhutan, which latter country is, in fact, called Dugpa owing to the preponderance of this sect. The Ralung-til, the head monastery of the Dugpa, is to the south-east of this village. This monastery owes its name to the fact that it is surrounded by mountains as the heart (mt'il) of a lotus is by the corolla.^[3]

The monastery is located in present-day Gyantse County several kilometers south of the road connecting Nakartse and Lungmar, immediately north of the Gasa districtofBhutan. In previous times, trade could be conducted across the Yak La pass across the high Himalayas, extending the influence of Ralung to the south.

The monastery is surrounded by the towering peaks and glacier fields of Gyetong Soksum (6,244m), Jangzang Lhamo (6,324m) and Nojin Gangzang (7,191m). From the beginning the location was recognized as especially auspicious:

The eight auspicious symbols adorned the surrounding: The mountain in front of the monastery appeared in the form of a white conch turning clock-wise; the peak of Rala pass appeared like a precious open parasol; the peak behind Pokya appeared like a brimming vase; the Tsenchu peak appeared like a victory banner hoisted high; the Yangon hill appeared like a pair of golden fish; the ground at Gormo appeared like a golden wheel; the hill in the direction of Penthang appeared like an open lotus stem with the twin streams appearing like two birds facing each other; and Gyamo meadow appeared like an auspicious knot.^[4]

The founder of Bhutan, the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche, Ngawang Namgyal, was the 18th abbot of Ralung Monastery. In 1616, he fled Tibet when his recognition as the reincarnation of renowned scholar Kunkhyen Pema Karpo was challenged by the governor of Tsang province. Ngawang Namgyal unified the warring valleys of Bhutan, fending off attacks from Tibet, forming a national identity and establishing a dual system of government that continues to this day in modified form as the Royal Government of Bhutan.

Chart of the hereditary Palden Drukpa lineage (Wylie: དཔལ་ལྡན་འབྲུག་པའི་གདུང་བརྒྱུད་) of Ralung from the founder, Tsangpa Gyare, to the last hereditary throne holder, Ngawang Namgyal. Successive throne holders are numbered with their names in bold text.

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Tibetan Buddhism
Schools Nyingma Kadam Sakya Bodong Kagyu Jonang Gelug Rimé
Key personalities First dissemination Padmasambhāva Śāntarakṣita Kamalaśīla Songtsen Gampo Trisong Detsen Ralpacan Second dissemination Atiśa Talika Abhayakirti Niguma Sukhasiddhi Milarepa Nyingma Yeshe Tsogyal Longchenpa Jigme Lingpa Patrul Rinpoche Dudjom Lingpa Mipham Kagyu Marpa Rangjung Dorje Jonang Dolpopa Taranatha Sakya Sakya Pandita Gorampa Bodongpa Samding Dorje Phagmo Gelugpa Je Tsongkhapa 5th Dalai Lama 13th Dalai Lama 14th Dalai Lama 10th Panchen Lama
Teachings General Buddhist Three marks of existence Skandha Cosmology Saṃsāra Rebirth Bodhisattva Dharma Dependent origination Karma Tibetan Four Tenets system Rangtong-Shentong Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction Nyingma Dzogchen Pointing-out instruction
Practices and attainment Lamrim Pāramitās Bodhicitta Avalokiteśvara Meditation Laity Vajrayana Tantra techniques Deity yoga Guru yoga Dream yoga Thukdam Buddhahood
Major monasteries Tradruk Drepung Dzogchen Ganden Jokhang Kumbum Labrang Mindrolling Namgyal Narthang Nechung Pabonka Palcho Ralung Ramoche Rato Sakya Sanga Sera Shalu Tashi Lhunpo Tsurphu Yerpa
Institutional roles Dalai Lama Panchen Lama Lama Karmapa Rinpoche Geshe Tertön Tulku Western tulku
Festivals Chotrul Duchen Dajyur Galdan Namchot Losar Dosmoche Monlam Sho Dun Losoong
Texts Kangyur Tengyur Tibetan Buddhist canon Mahayana sutras Nyingma Gyubum
Art Sand mandala Thangka Wall paintings Ashtamangala Tree of physiology Festival thangka Mani stone
History and overview History Timeline Outline Culture Index of articles
v t e

• Dorje, Gyurme; (1999). Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan (2nd Ed.) Footprint Handbooks. ISBN 0-8442-2190-2. p. 253.

• Ralung Monastery
• rwa lung^{[permanent dead link]} TBRC G44
• Ralung

28°50′05″N 90°05′59″E / 28.8347°N 90.0997°E / 28.8347; 90.0997