Dali Monastery, Darjeeling

Internationally famous for both its tea industry and the UNESCO World Heritage listed Himalayan Railway (aka “toy train”), Darjeeling is also home to a sizable Tibetan population who practice their form of Vajrayana Buddhism in a number of monasteries in the region. With an average altitude of 2128m, Darjeeling’s location in the Shiwalik Hills at the foothills of the Himalayas, surrounded by tea gardens makes it an ideal place to contemplate the spiritual side of life. After the jump, we’ll take a closer look at Dali Monastery. Note that these are low-res scans of some old film and haven’t been heavily processed digitally.

Darjeeling, India

Dali Monastery or Dali Gomba is also known as the Druk Thupten Sangag Choeling Monastery and is about 4 kilometers away from Darjeeling town. The eleventh Gyalwang Drukchen Tenzin Khenrab Gelek Wangpo passed away in 1960 leaving His Ennence Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche as regent of the Drukpa Kargyud Lineage.

Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche’s compassion, love and his fame as a concerned teacher spread. He started building Druk Thubten Sangag Choling Monastery at Dali, Darjeeling in 1971. Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche stressed that the sole aim of this monastery was to preserve the precious Dharma, the Tibetan culture and its traditions.

Dali Monsatery, Darjeeling

The gompa was inaugurated by His Holiness The Dalai Lama in 1993, where he gave 3 days of religious teachings. At the time I shot these photographs (2002), there were just over 200 monks in residence at the monastery. This monastery forms the headquarters of the XII Drukchen Rimpoche, the supreme head of the Kargyud lineage. Thuksey Rinpoche himself died in 1983 and his incarnate was born in 1986 at Ladakh.

Druk Gompa, Darjeeling, India

Thuksey Rimpoche was born in 1916 in Tsari (Pure Crystal Mountain), Tibet close to the border with India. While still a young child, he was sent by his father to Zigar Monastery in Kham, Tibet for religious education and training. Following the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the Tibetan uprising of 1959, Thuksey relocated to India, spending time in both Ladakh and Darjeeling.

Tibetans in traditional dress at Dali Gompa, Darjeeling, India

For pilgrims and travelers in the region, morning and afternoon prayer times (5am-6:30am and 5pm-6:30pm) are the best times to visit. During these times, the somber and devout chanting resonates, lending an authentic spirituality to the ambience of the gompa.

Doorway at Dali Gompa, Darjeeling, India

Outside of those times, you may find the residents of the gompa undertaking various chores around the monastery, engaged in study and mediation or simply resting.

Novice monks walking the dog at Dali Gompa, Darjeeling, India

Tibetan monk tending the flowers, Dali Gompa, Darjeeling, India

Getting to Dali Gompa is quite easy. The nearest airport is Bagdogra (96km away) and major railway station is New Jalpaiguri (88km). Both of these locations offer connections to major Indian cities such as Delhi and Kolkata. To reach Darjeeling, a shared taxi up the mountain is the easiest method.

Tibetan monks exit Dali Gompa after prayers. Darjeeling, India

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at Dali Gompa. Your feedback is much appreciated so feel free to leave a comment below.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 06:00. It is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.