Ü - Tibet - page 204

Nalendra Monastery BUDDHIST, MONASTERY
(, Nàrénzhá Sì )
Ruins dwarf the rebuilding work at Nalendra Monastery but it's still an impressive place.
Founded in 1435 by the lama Rongtonpa (1367-1449; a contemporary of Tsongkhapa), it
was largely destroyed in 1959. Where there were once 4000 monks, now only 100 remain.
To get an idea of the original layout, look closely at the mural on the immediate left as you
enter the main assembly hall.
As you enter Nalendra's main building, the impressive gönkhang (women cannot enter)
has a central Gompo Gur, a form of Mahakala and protector of the Sakyapa school, as well
as statues of Pehar (on an elephant) and Namse (Vairocana, on a snow lion), both in the
left corner. Look for the three huge wild-yak heads and the stuffed mountain goat, in vary-
ing states of decay.
The main hall has a statue of Rongtonpa in a glass case, while the inner sanctum fea-
tures Rongtonpa in the front centre, flanked by two Sakyapa lamas. The same room con-
tains the silver funeral stupa of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyeltsen, who is credited with rebuilding
Nalendra after its destruction during the Cultural Revolution.
The chapel to the left contains hundreds of statues of Buddha Sakyamuni, which pil-
grims crawl under to receive a blessing. In the centre is an unusual statue of Nampar
Namse (Vairocana) with four faces.
Other chapels worth popping into include the Tsar Kangtsang, still under renovation, the
shedra (monastic college), the Jampa Kangtsang (with its interesting statue of skeletons in
a yabyum pose), and the ruins of the dzong (fort) outside the monastery gate to the west.
You can get a great overview of the monastery from ascending to the top of the new
white chörten just below the monastery's main buildings.
Nalendra is 12km west of Lhundrub. En route you can pop into Langtang Monastery,
with its impressive Kadampa-style chörtens.

Sleeping

Government Hotel HOTEL
(, Zhèngfǔ Jiēdài Zhōngxīn 139 8901 4873; 9 Suzhou Zhonglu; d with bathroom ¥120-150, tr without

bathroom ¥120)