Hemis Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa lineage located in Hemis, Ladakh (in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir) situated 45 km from the regional capital of Leh.
The monastery is a unique example of a gompa complex, manifest-ing in its structure the geomantic principles that underpin Buddhist architectural principles. The monastery was established in 1672 by the Ladakhi King Senge Namgyal.
Hemis Gompa was founded all those centuries ago and is today one of the wealthiest monasteries in Ladakh. Much of its fame is thanks to the Russian explorer Nicolas Notovitch, who revealed its connection to Jesus Christ. Issa, as Jesus is known in India (Hebrew Y'shua), studied Mahayana Buddhism there. In his 1894 travel book, he claims Hemis is the origin of an otherwise unknown gospel -- "The Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men" -- in which Jesus is said to have traveled to India during his "lost years."
Hemis belongs to the Kagupa Brugpa sect of Buddhism, the sect dominant in the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan. The annual Hemis festival honoring Padmasambhava is held here in early June.
(Adapted from Wikipedia)
No comments:
Post a Comment