Bhutan: Snow lion statuettes within Tamzhing Lhundrup Monastery, Bumthang, Bhutan, 2015

Tamzhing / Tamshing Lhundrup Monastery is a temple complex in Bumthang District, central Bhutan. Tamzhing Monastery is the most important Nyingma gompa in Bhutan, a Tibetan Buddhist ecclesiastical place of learning that is a mix of a fortification, a vihara (monastery) and a university.

The temple was built in 1501 by Bhutanese saint Pema Lingpa (1450-1521). When he died in 1521, his descendants took care of the temple. It eventually fell into disrepair and neglect under private hands. It stopped being privately owned in 1960, when monks fleeing Tibet returned to the monastery and reestablished a presence there.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

Daniel Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia