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NAMDRUK RESTORATION (Druk Sewa Jangchub Ling Monastery )

HISTORY

Namdruk monastery, also known as 'Druk Gonpa', was the Dragon lineage's second monastic seminary, founded by Tsangpa Gyare in 1206. The lineage's first established monastery was Ralung (Shedrub Chokhor Ling), founded by Tsangpa Gyare in 1193, following the inspiration he received from his yidam, Chakrasamvara and his guru, Lingchen Repa. Tsangpa Gyare later established Namdruk as the main seat of the lineage.

The reason why the lineage is known as 'Druk', which means 'Dragon' in Tibetan, can be traced back to the establishment of Namdruk monastery. When the first Gyalwang Drukpa Tsangpa Gyare arrived at the holy place where his root guru, Lingchen Repa, had instructed him to build a monastery, nine dragons roared up in the sky with a loud clap of thunder and white flowers rained down. To signify this auspicious occurrence, Tsangpa Gyare decided to name his lineage 'Drukpa', which literally means 'lineage of the Dragon'. The spot where the monastery was built also took its name after this event, and was called 'Namdruk', which means Sky Dragon. Prior to this, the location was not known by any particular designation.

Tsangpa Gyare's teachings were so precise and helpful that they reached far beyond Namdruk. Devotees came from all over Tibet and other Himalayan regions to receive his teachings, and the name of his lineage quickly blossomed. Therefore, Tsangpa Gyare and his subsequent incarnations were revered as the 'Drukchen', meaning the 'Great Dragon'. His official title became 'Gyalwang Drukpa'; the supreme and ultimate head of the Drukpa lineage.

The cremated relics of Tsangpa Gyare manifested different forms of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion. Consequently, his devotees strongly believed that he was indeed the emanation of this Bodhisattva, whose only motivation was to free every single being from suffering. This explains why Tsangpa Gyare returned again and again, life after life, to oversee the welfare of all beings, especially those who followed in the footsteps of the Dragon lineage.

During the lifetime of the 4th Gyalwang Drukpa, Kunkhyen Pema Karpo, the seat was moved to Druk Sangag Choeling Monastery, in Jar province of Tibet. The prominence of Namdruk was henceforth greatly reduced despite its original significance. Nevertheless, to this day, Namdruk has continued to be an extremely important heritage site. In the past, there used to be innumerable monasteries and branches of the Drukpa order throughout the Himalayan regions.

HIS HOLINESS’S WISHES FOR NAMDRUK

“As the monastery was totally destroyed and although we have built some small buildings to let some of my monks stay and practice, it is very sad for me to know that many practitioners are having a lot of difficulties even tryig to stay in the limited compound of Namdruk. Therefore I have promised myself that within this life, I will do my best to restore Namdruk so that we all can enjoy the great blessing left behind by our forefathers and to remind ourselves of our connection with the lineage and the profound teachings that have been transmitted from Tsangpa Gyare to the Drukpa heroes of current times.
There is an immediate need to begin restoring several Drukpa heritages, and Namdruk is the first on my list.”

PRESENT STATE OF NAMDRUK
Namdruk was completely destroyed during the cultural revolution. The present buildings were constructed 1986 on just a very small part of the original monastery. There are 20 monks, 10 nuns (at the nunnery in Nun valley) and some staff. Most of them study in their rooms. Currently six of the monks are in the first year of the traditional three-year retreat. The monks not in retreat visit the two villages in the valley regularly to perform Buddhist rituals and there is a lot of local support from the local villagers and nomads, but they are all very poor.

PROGRESS OF RESTORATION

The monastery has purchased most of the land around the existing buildings. Permission to reconstruct the monastery has been obtained from the authorities and now funds are required to begin the restoration as soon as possible.
Please contact the following if you are interested to help with the meaningful endeavor of restoring Namdruk:

NAMDRUK RESTORATION PROJECT:
Attn: H.H. the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa

Suite 702, Malaysia Building,
50 Gloucester Road,
Wan Chai,
Hong Kong .
Tel: 852 6148-9089
Fax: 852 2887-6880
Email: info@drukpa-hk.org