Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Sobrang Monastery

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Location
  
Bhutan

Type
  
Tibetan Buddhist

Founded
  
c. 1230

Lineage
  
Nyingma

Sobrang Monastery httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Founded by
  
Gyelwa Lhanangpa (1164-1224) or Nyoetoen Trushig Choeje (1179-1265)

Date renovated
  
Early 20th century and 2000

Sobrang Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Ura Gewog, Bhutan. It is one of the most important Bhutanese monasteries as descendants from its lineage include Pema Lingpa and hence the Wangchuck Royal family.

Contents

It was founded c. 1230 either by Gyelwa Lhanangpa (1164-1224) or Nyoetoen Trushig Choeje (1179-1265); traditions and texts differ.

It was restored in the early 20th century and again in 2000.

Lineage holder

The lineage holder is called the Sombrang Choeje.

Festivals

The Sombrang Choeje's family perform the Kangso ritual each year in the 9th or 10 Bhutanese month. This involves religious dances and provides a purification and blessing for the family and the community.

Relics

These include:

  • Three stone pillars, two in the courtyard and one inside the building. They are solid megaliths lacking inscriptions and dating to prehistoric times.
  • Several thick bamboos resembling vajra, believed to have been given by Gyelwa Lhanangpa to his son after opening sacred sites at Tsari Mountain.
  • A small drum called "the roar of the thunder"; the sound of which gave the monastery its name.
  • A statue of the founder, Nyoetoen Trushig Choeje.

    • References

    Sobrang Monastery Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA