The History of Monasteries in Zanskar

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Zanskar or The Valley of Copper is a unique valley of Ladakh known for its solitariness, vast pasture lands, and living practice of Tibetan Buddhism since ages. The people of the valley are very simple and honest, poor and hardworking, religious and spirited, affectionate and hospitable. Unfortu nately, the ever blowing cold wind and Penzela Pass and the inaccessible roads via Kargil or Chilling or Darcha have kept the beautiful valley segregated from the progressive world, and even from Leh, the headquarters of Ladakh. So Zanskar has remained underdeveloped, unexplored and cut off from the mainstream civilization. Despite this, with numerous monasteries and shrines, Buddhism is a living heritage in Zanskar. In this connection Dr. Yangjor's effort to bring these unknown monasteries into limelight is laudable.

The book almost provides information on all small and big monasteries and nunneries located in the valley. Some information is based on factual evidences and some, on oral history. Nevertheless, the book serves its purpose to make the scholars interested in Zanskar's history know what the copper valley is.

Tsewang Yangjor was born at Shun Village in Lungnag Valley of Zanskar on 6 June 1976. He is the son to father Shri Rigzin Angdus and mother Srimati Tashi Lhanzes. As per the wishes of his parents, he became a monk in his childhood under Phukthar Monastery. After spending a few years at the monastery, as per the guidance of his Dharmaguru Ven Ngari Choszad, he got admitted for education at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh (Ladakh). He studied there for three years from Class-VI to Class-VIII. After that in 1991, he was admitted at CUTS, Sarnath, Varanasi for his Purva Madhyama. Again, he was admitted at CIBS, Leh in 1993 and completed his education from Uttar Madhyama to Acharya. He obtained his Ph.D. from S. S. University, Varanasi in 2008. He did his MA in Tibetan Literature from CIBS, Leh in 2014. In the mean time, he completed his B.Ed. Degree from Kashmir University, Srinagar. Now he has been working as an Assistant Professor in Bhoti Literature at CIBS since 2000. He has written three books in Bhoti language. The first is a compilation of his songs and poems; the second is a compilation of his plays and writings; and the third is a compilation on Tibetan Literature. He has written a book in Hindi entitled Zanskar ke Boudhh Viharon ka Itihas. The present English version is based on this Hindi edition.

Ladakh is divided into several valleys, like Zanskar, Changthang, Nubra, Sham, Leh etc. With the gracious deeds and blessings of many kings and lamas, many monasteries were constructed in the pre-independent India in these valleys. I have tried to highlight some of these monasteries of Zanskar valley in this book. From the view point of culture and religion, Zanskar is a rich valley. In olden times, numbers of monks from Zanskar went to Tibet for studying Buddhism and its philosophy, and they returned as renowned scholars. Zanskar is called the Spiritual Land, because more people were inclined towards knowing Buddhism and its philosophy. They constantly devoted to the practice of Buddhism in comparison with people in other parts of Ladakh. With the blessings of such great and incomparable gurus, many historical monasteries have been founded in Zanskar, such as Phukthar, Karsha, Rangdum, Stongde, Bardan, Zongkhul, Stakrimo, Mune etc.

Zanskar has produced many great scholars, but it is a matter of regret that none tried to write the history of monasteries in Zanskar valley. So people interested in the history of monasteries in Zanskar face many difficulties, because of the non-availability of a special book on Zanskar. Keeping these points in view, I have compiled this book as The History of Monasteries in Zanskar. For this I have studied every book and manuscript available on Zanskar. Also I travelled extensively and visited all the monasteries to collect the first hand experience; had interviewed many people in this context. I hope this book will quench the thirst of all people concerned.

Dr. Dillip Kumar Pattanayak, Assistant Professor in English, Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh has translated this book into English and has taken a lot of care to bring out a very neat and grammatically error-free edition. He accepted my request as a close friend and translated, proof-read and edited the book, despite his busy schedule. I express my thanks to him from the core of my heart. I also extend my thanks to my friend Dr Sonam Zangpo (Paldar) for helping me in collecting information and data on this book. My thanks are due to Mr. Eshey Stanzin, Gyan Typing Computer Centre, Tashi Thongsmon, Choglamsar for type-setting the matter neatly in a very short time.

Research is a never-ending process. The author will be thankful to those, who will provide more information on the monasteries in Zanskar to be included in the future editions.

**Contents and Sample Pages**