Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [137]
The primary statue in the inner sanctuary is of Guru Rinpoche flanked by Jampa (Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future) and Sakyamuni. This statue is particularly important because it was sculpted by the khandromas. The statue’s eyes are looking slightly upward, following the angels in their flight; another unique aspect of the statue is that the Guru is not wearing shoes. Above the altar are two maksaras (mythological crocodiles) and a garuda. On the walls are the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, four on each side. A small statue of Pema Lingpa occupies a glass case in front of the chapel.
At the far end of the inner kora path is a suit of chain-mail armour made by Pema Lingpa. It weighs about 25kg and it is an auspicious act to carry it around the goemba three times.
The upper floor forms a balcony around the assembly hall. Pema Lingpa was a short man and it is said that he built the low ceiling of the balcony to his exact height. Around the outside are 100,000 old paintings of Sakyamuni. In the upper chapel is a statue of Tsepame, the Buddha of Long Life, and a large collection of masks that are used for lama dances. Also here, but closed to visitors, is a statue of Pema Lingpa fashioned by the man himself.
There are good views from Tamshing back across the river to Kurjey Lhakhang.
KONCHOGSUM LHAKHANG
Just 400m below Tamshing is a small rural-looking temple – the source of many interesting stories. It was renovated in 1995 and looks quite new, but it is in fact very old, probably dating back to the 6th or 7th century. The current structure, however, dates from the 15th century, when Pema Lingpa restored it; the pillar outside the building is attributed to him. Pema Lingpa revealed terma on the hillside behind this goemba, and also in the lake said to be beneath the lhakhang.
There is a pedestal in the courtyard upon which a large and ancient bell used to sit. It is said that when this bell was rung, it could be heard all the way to Lhasa in Tibet. A 17th-century Tibetan army tried to steal the bell, but the weight was too great and they dropped it, which cracked the bell. It is said to comprise 10% gold, 20% silver, 50% bronze and 20% tin. After a period on display in the National Museum in Paro a fragment of the bell is now back inside the lhakhang.
The small statues of the three Buddhas (past, present and future) in the sanctuary (locked in the safe) are said to have flown here straight from Khaine Lhakhang in Dungkhar (in eastern Bhutan). Hence the name of this lhakhang is Konchogsum – konchog (divine being), sum (three).
The central figure in the lhakhang is Nampa Namse (Vairocana, one of the five Dhyani buddhas). On Vairocana’s left is Chenresig, and to the right is Guru Rinpoche. Other statues are of Pema Lingpa (right), the great Nyingma scholar Longchenpa (left) and, in the far corner, the protector deity Beker Gyalpo.
PEMA SAMBHAVA LHAKHANG
At the end of the road a short steep climb above the valley floor leads to the small Pema Sambhava Lhakhang. The original lhakhang was built in 1490 by Pema Lingpa around the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated and assumed his manifestation of Padmasambhava. It was expanded by Jigme Namgyal, the father of the first king, and restored in the early 1970s.
There are several rock paintings here, as well as a representation of the local protector Terda Norbu Zangpo, and the cave itself is painted in rainbow colours. The interesting round bamboo weaving that looks like a shield is an unusual representation of the bodhisattva Chenresig. The extremely elderly caretaker has lived in this chapel since he was 15.
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TANG VALLEY
Tang is the most remote of Bumthang’s valleys. As it is higher than Chokhor and the soil not as rich, there’s not much agriculture here, although the valley turns bright pink with buckwheat flowers in October. The people of this valley raise sheep and, at higher elevations, yaks. For a map of the region, Click here.
From Jakar it’s 10.5km