Tawang: India's Largest Buddhist Monastery

Posted 2nd October 2015

According to legend, the monastery was founded when its founder, Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso, went out on his horse under the instruction of the 5th Dalai Lama to find a new spot to build a monastery. After failing to find a suitable spot, the rider began to pray for some sort of divine intervention. Following this, Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso noticed that his horse was missing. He later found it grazing at the spot where Tawang Monastery can now be found today. When broken down, the ‘ta’ in Tawang means ‘horse’, whilst the ‘wang’ means ‘chosen’, something that reflects the belief that this horses actions were the result of divine intervention.

The inner walls of the main temple (known as the ‘Dukhang’) are adorned with intricate paintings of different divinities, but the most impressive feature of this monastery is the 24 foot tall gilded image of Buddha in a lotus position. This statue sits on top of a platform with the Buddha’s head extending up through the first floor of the monastery. Like many idols, this statue was brought from Tibet and has an image of the current Dalai Lama at its base.

Next to this image of the Buddha is a silver casket that houses a ‘thanka’, which is a painting that has been done on a piece of silk or cotton that is kept rolled up when not in use. This thanka depicts the guardian deity of the monastery known as Sro Devi and was donated by the 5th Dalai Lama in the late 17th century. It has been suggested that the image of Sro Devi was painted using blood extracted from the 5th Dalai Lama.

Today, Tawang Monastery houses around 400 monks that continue to dedicate their lives to spiritual wellbeing and the monastery. Amidst a dramatic Himalayan landscape, visitors here are invited to experience a way of life that continues to thrive and has remained unchanged for centuries.