Alchi Monastery

Alchi Monastery

Location: 70 km (44 mi) West of Leh, Leh district Map

Constructed: early 11th century by Rinchen Zangpo
Leh tourist office (01982)252 297
Open: daily
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Description of Alchi Monastery

Alchi Monastery or Alchi Gompa is a Buddhist monastery, more precisely, a famous temple complex (chos 'khor; chhoy khor) in the village of Alchi in the Leh district, in Ladakh, India. The monastery is considered to be four temples of different periods surrounding the village of Alchi, Alchi Gompa is the oldest and largest building. The monastery is subordinate to the abbot of Likir-Gompa.

Alchi is part of a group of villages (all in lower Ladakh) that make up the "Alchi Group of Monuments"; that is, Alchi is adjacent to Mangdu and Sundang Chung (now it is the Zanskar district). The monuments of these villages are unique in style and craftsmanship, but the Alchi Gompa complex is better explored.

It is traditionally believed that the monastery was built by the great lama (guru) Rinchen Sanpo (958-1055). The monastic records also mention the Tibetan aristocrat Kaldan Sherab, who lived in the middle of the 11th century; some researchers consider him the founder. Dukhang or Assembly Hall and Main Temple (gtsug lag khang, tsuklaghang-vihara), with an attached three-storey Sumtseg temple (gSum-brtsegs), built in the old Kashmiri style; The third temple is the temple of Manjushri (“Tib., Wiley jam dpal lha khang”; Jampal lhakhang). Chorten is an important part of the complex.

The artistic and spiritual features of Buddhism and Hinduism intertwined under the Kashmiri kings, as a result of which the murals of the monastery are especially interesting. The frescoes of the monastery are the oldest in Ladakh. The complex includes a huge Buddha statue, wood carvings and decor comparable to the Baroque style. Shakti Maira has compiled an excellent description of the monastery.

 

History

The exact history of Alchi and the two neighboring villages has not yet been compiled, although many inscriptions on the monastery walls date back to the first years of its existence.

Traditionally, the foundation of the monastery is associated with the great Rinchen Sanpo (958-1055), who also founded Lamayuru, Wanla, Mangyu and Sumda. In the tenth century, the Tibetan king, Yeshe Od of Guge, strongly sided with Buddhism and sent 21 scholars to spread the dharma in the region. Of these, only two survived, one of them was the Tibetan Rinchen Sanpo, who successfully spread the dharma in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. He also visited Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Sanpo received the title "Lotsava", that is, "Great Translator"; he is believed to have founded 108 monasteries in the Trans-Himalayas. These monasteries became the stronghold of the Vajrayana in the form of Tibetan Buddhism. It is indicated that Sanpo invited Kashmiri masters to paint the monastery frescoes, most of which have now been destroyed, but the frescoes of Alchi have been excellently preserved.

For a long time the monastery lived on the basis of self-government and was not formally included in any of the schools, but later it was taken under the patronage of the Kadampa school. When the influence of the monastery declined, it was subordinated to the Gelug school, many monasteries in the region fell under the influence of the Gelug, although Lamayuru became Drikung. In the 15th century, rituals in Alchi ceased to be carried out, and it was controlled from the Likir Gompa.

 

Geography and accessibility

Alchi stands on the young bank of the Indus at an altitude of 3250 m and 65 km from Leh (to the west). Leh can be reached by plane from Delhi. The road to Leh begins in Manali, from May-June to October you can move freely along it, but in winter it is covered with snow. At this altitude, it often rains in summer. There are three more villages near Alchi. The monastery complex stands apart from the village.

 

Structure

The three main shrines in the complex, Dukhang (Assembly Hall), Sumtseg and Manjushri Temple, date from the early 12th to early 13th century AD. e.. Stupas also play an important role. In addition, there are two more temples, the Temple of the Translator, i.e. "Lotsawa Lhakhang" and the new temple "Lakhang Soma".

Hinduism and Buddhism were equally revered in old Kashmir, so Alchi, built by the Kashmiris, bears the imprint of this style. The complex contains the oldest frescoes in Ladakh, a huge statue of the Buddha, and "the decor and wood carvings are almost baroque." Shakti Maira describes the beauties of the monastery as "stylistically an eclectic mixture of Tibetan and Kashmiri faces and robes."

 

Dukhang

The assembly hall is located in the center of the monastery, where rituals and ceremonies are performed. It is large and ancient, ancient wooden doors have been preserved. Many details have remained unchanged since the XII-XIII centuries. The hall of columns leads to the courtyard, in the aisle there are frescoes with 1000 buddhas. Bhavacakra (Wheel of Life) and Mahakala are depicted on the outer gate. The walls of the Hall are dedicated to the Buddha (Tathagata), depict 6 mandalas surrounding Vairochana, Dukhang is dedicated to him. Among the mandalas are Buddhas, bodhisattvas, goddesses, wrathful deities and Dharma Protectors, as well as minor deities.

 

Sumtses (or Sumtseg)

Alchi-Sumtses is one of the most interesting structures of the complex, but it is not clear why it is needed. Sumtses/Sumtseg (gsum brtsegs) - meaning "three-storeyed", consists of three small halls built of clay and natural stone in the traditional Tibetan style. Although, magnificent columns, facades, walls, interior frescoes are made by Kashmiri masters. The doors to the shrine on the first floor are 5.4 x 5.8 meters with niches 2.1-2.7 meters wide and 4 meters high (they are larger in the front wall than in the side walls). In the niches there are images of three Bodhisattvas (they are standing, 4 meters high) and around there are minor deities (four in each niche) and two flying goddesses in each niche. Sumtses was built at the beginning of the 13th century and has been perfectly preserved since then, except for the doors on the top floor, which have rotted away. The second floor has a balcony with a lamp. Maitreya, 4.63 meters high, is depicted on the back wall, Avalokiteshvara to his right, Manjushri to his left. Drapery (dhoti) worn on statues of deities is interesting; Maitreya's dhoti depicts the life of the Buddha, Avalokiteshvara's dhoti depicts holy places and palaces, and Manjushri's dhoti depicts 84 Mahasiddhas. Deities were depicted mainly in one-headed and four-handed form, they correspond to Dhyani-Buddhas. Maitreya represents Vairochana. Avalokitesvara is represented by Amitabha and Manjushri Akshobhya. The inscriptions indicate that these images hold relics of the speech and mind of the three bodies of the Buddha, Maitreya personifies the body of reality, Avalokiteshvara the body of bliss and Manjushri the body of emanation. To simplify, it is Compassion, Hope and Wisdom.

In addition, the life of Buddha Shakyamuni is embroidered on the dhoti, but, this is the only known case, in reverse order. The medallions on the fabric are embroidered in red, each 15 cm long, on a blue background. The 48 scenes represent 41 episodes, 5 sermons, and two scenes of panrinirvana, all in reverse order from the ascension to Tushita to the first sermon in Sarnath.

According to the records, it can be determined that the upper floor was built under Drigungpa Jigten Gonpo (1143-1217), the poet Semtses dates back to the beginning of the 13th century.

 

Manjushri temple

From the analysis of the murals and their comparison with other buildings, it can be concluded that the temple was built around 1225. The Manjushri temple, or "Jampe Lhakhang", is built around four images of Manjushri (they are back to back) in the middle of a platform in a courtyard of 5.7 meters. Four pillars support the image, at the top they are criss-crossed with the beams of the ceiling. The painting is similar to Semces, but worse in quality. The temple stands close to the Indus and is not very well preserved, except for the columns, wood carvings and doors. The Temple of Lotsava was added on the left much later. The image of Manjushri has been altered several times, including a recent painting. The image is somewhat non-standard, since Manjushri is not painted in the usual orange, but in various colors. It is surrounded by gods, animals, and an intricate ornament of the tails of the monster Makar, which creates a very frightening image.

Each of the four images is one-headed and four-armed, one hand clutches a sword, the other a book on top of a lotus, a bow and an arrow. The walls are decorated with Buddha images. Manjushri is depicted on the main wall, he sits on a lion throne; one of the camps is decorated with the image of Amitabha on the right and Akshobhya on the left. These images surround Manjushri depicted in a niche in the center of the wall. Manjushri is decorated with jewels (pearls and other stones) and a crown of flowers. At the base of Manjushri's throne, holy symbols are depicted: "Seven Jewels" and "Eight Auspicious Symbols" (around the lion) are enclosed in square frames, which is characteristic. The top of the throne is decorated with stylized images of Makar.

Stupas
The oldest - the Great and Small Chorten (stupa) date back to the beginning of the 13th century, but later than Sumtses. Chortens have decorative gates or "Kakani Chorten" ("Tib., wyli Ka ka ni mchod rten"), which is unique in monastic architecture. Many chortens were built between the 13th and 14th century. In Alchi there are three more chortens with ancient images.