Skip to main content

Ralang Monastery, Ravangla

New Ralang Monastery or Ralong Palchen Choling is a Buddhist monastery of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in southern Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located six kilometres from Ravangla.

According to legend, Ralang was built after the fourth Chogyal came back from his pilgrimage, when the 12th Karmapa performed the Rabney (blessing). He threw grains from his residence in Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet and where the grains fell, eventually, became the site for the Ralang Monastery. Ralang Monastery has an extensive collection of paintings and thangkas.

Approaching Ralang Monastery.
Ralang Monastery is located six kilometres (3.7 mi) from Ravangla.


Naga in the tank in front of the monastery.
In Tibetan Buddhism, nagas are known as klu or klu-mo and they are associated with water and cleanliness, as they live in oceans, rivers, lakes, and springs, and do not want their environments to be disturbed or polluted.

  • The Nagas are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art.
  • Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least 2,000 years.
  • They are principally depicted in three forms: as entirely human with snakes on the heads and necks, as common serpents, or as half-human, half-snake beings in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
  • See more at Nāga - Wikipedia.

Ralang Monastery facade.
In front of the facade, at the bottom of the photo, we can see the tank with water and the naga on its back.


Flag on the facade of the monastery.
Namkhyen Gyaldar (Victorious Flag of the Buddha's Wisdom), the flag created by the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu sect of Buddhism from a vision he saw in a dream.


Four harmonious animals.
The tale of the four harmonious animals, four harmonious friends or four harmonious brothers is one of the Jātaka tales, part of Buddhist mythology, and is often the subject in works of Bhutanese and Tibetan art.

  • A popular scene often found as wall paintings in Tibetan religious buildings represents an elephant standing under a fruit tree carrying a monkey, a hare and a bird (usually a partridge, but sometimes a grouse, and in Bhutan a hornbill) on top of each other.
  • The scene refers to a legend which tells that four animals were trying to find out who was the oldest. The elephant said that the tree was already fully grown when he was young, the monkey that the tree was small when he was young, the hare that he saw the tree as a sapling when he was young and the bird claimed that he had excreted the seed from which the tree grew. So the bird was recognized by the other animals as the oldest, and the four animals lived together in co-dependence and cooperation, helping each other to enjoy the fruits of the tree.
  • After the story is finished, it is revealed the partridge was the Buddha in a previous life. The story was meant as an illustration of cooperation and respect for seniority, and was told by the Buddha after some of his students had failed to pay due respect to the senior disciple Sariputra.
  • See more at Four harmonious animals - Wikipedia.

Wheel of the Law (Dharmachakra).
The Dharmachakra or "Wheel of the Law" (Tibetan: cho kyi khorlo) represents Gautama Buddha and the Dharma teaching.

  • This symbol is commonly used by Tibetan Buddhists, where it sometimes also includes an inner wheel of the Gankyil (Tibetan). Nepalese Buddhists don't use the Wheel of Law in the eight auspicious symbols.
  • Instead of the Dharmachakra, a fly-whisk may be used as one of the Ashtamangala to symbolize Tantric manifestations. It is made of a yak's tail attached to a silver staff, and used in ritual recitation and during fanning the deities in pujas. Prayer wheels take the form of a Dharmachakra guise.
  • See more at Ashtamangala, Dharmachakra - Wikipedia.

Chikshey Kundrol program.
The poster says:

  • «Public Information
  • We at Palchen Chosling Monastery, Ralanga, South Sikkim would like to inform everyone that on the last day of the Chikshey Kundrol Empowerment (a total of 56 empowerments), the 12th Goshri Gyaltsabpa will be bestowing the Long Life Empowerment and performing the Holy Red Vajra Crown Ceremony on the 20th of October, 2019. The program is as follows:
  • 06:00 am - Concluding Tsog (Prasad) Offering Puja
  • 08:00 am - Long Life Puja
  • 11:00 am - Lunch for all
  • 12:00 pm - Long Life empowerment (Tsewang), Holy Red Vajra Crown Ceremony and the distribution of Tselha Namsum Thankas to everyone.»

Ralang Monastery courtyard.

Participants line up to make their offerings.

The courtyard is full of participants.

Many monks attend the ceremonies.

Long Life empowerment (Tsewang).
The 12th Goshir Gyaltsab performing the Long Life empowerment (Tsewang).

  • The 12th Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche (b. 1954) is considered to embody the activity of Vajrapani. Like that bodhisattva, he is a guardian of the Buddha and his Word.
  • See more at Goshir Gyaltsab - Wikipedia.

Holy Red Vajra Crown Ceremony.
The 12th Goshir Gyaltsab performing the Holy Red Vajra Crown Ceremony.

  • The Gyalwang Karmapas began the tradition of Vajra Crown ceremonies with the Black Crown, which is particular to them.
  • The black and red crowns are thus a unique and distinctive feature of the Karma Kamtsang.
  • The Chinese Ming Yongle Emperor (1402-1424) is said to have made a replica of the black-haired crown bestowed by the dakinis on the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, and given it to the 5th Karmapa, Dezhin Shekpa (1384-1415). Karma Pakshi, the Second Gyalwang Karmapa, stated that whoever witnesses the Crown Ceremony will not fall into the lower realms.

Distribution of Tsel Lha Nam Sum (Long Life Buddha) Thangkas.
Amitabha, the name of the Bodhisattva whose sambhogakaya (enjoyment body) is known as Amitayus, in Vajrayana Buddhism, is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awareness of emptiness.

  • He is frequently invoked in Tibet either as Amitabha – especially in the phowa practices or as Amitayus – especially in practices relating to longevity and preventing an untimely death.
  • See more at Amitābha, Vajrayāna Buddhism - Wikipedia.

Inside the temple.
The interior of the temple is covered with offerings making it difficult to see the golden statue of Buddha.

  • Bhumisparsha Buddha: the right hand pointing towards the ground is the gesture of taking the earth as a witness for determination. The left hand carries the alms bowl.
  • The bhumisparsa or "earth witness" mudra of Gautama Buddha is one of the most common iconic images of Buddhism. Other names include "Buddha calling the earth to witness", and "earth-touching".
  • It depicts the story from Buddhist legend of the moment when Buddha attained complete enlightenment, with Buddha sitting in meditation with his left hand, palm upright, in his lap, and his right hand touching the earth.
  • In the legend, Buddha was challenged by the evil one, Mara, who argue for a witness to attest his right to achieve it. In response to Mara, Buddha touched the ground, and Phra Mae Thorani, the earth goddess, appeared to be the witnesses for the Buddha's enlightenment.
  • See more at Mudra, Buddhist Iconography - Wikipedia.

Walking to a private audience.
Walking through the interior corridors of the monastery towards a private audience.


Audience with the 3rd Bokar Rinpoche.
A boy from Sikkim, a resident of Gangtok, was enthroned as 3rd Bokar Rinpoche. This most prestigious recognition to the boy from Sikkim was given by His Holiness, the 17th Karmapa, Ugen Thinlay Dorjee, in 2015 at Tergar Monastery in Bodh Gaya.

  • Bokar Tulku Rinpoche (1940 – 17 August 2004) was heart-son of the Second Kalu Rinpoche and a holder of the Karma Kagyu and Shangpa Kagyu lineages
  • In January 2014, during a celebration of the Tsurphu New Year, the 17th Karmapa gave a letter identifying the reincarnation.
  • See more at Bokar Tulku Rinpoche - Wikipedia.

Stupa with large prayer wheel.
On the north side of the monastery is this stupa with a large prayer wheel inside.

  • A prayer wheel is a cylindrical wheel (Tibetan: 'khor lo) on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone, leather, or coarse cotton, widely used in Tibet and areas where Tibetan culture is predominant.
  • Traditionally, a mantra is written in Ranjana script or Tibetan script, on the outside of the wheel. The mantra Om mani padme hum is most commonly used, but other mantras may be used as well.
  • At the core of the cylinder is a "life tree" often made of wood or metal with certain mantras written on or wrapped around it. Many thousands (or in the case of larger prayer wheels, millions) of mantras are then wrapped around this life tree.
  • According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on the lineage texts regarding prayer wheels, spinning such a wheel will have much the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the prayers.
  • See more at Prayer wheel - Wikipedia.

See also

Source

Location

Location: 88HP+93X, Sikkim 737139, India