Nalanda University, Bihar

As a follow up to my previous blog, my visit to Nalanda monastery made me interested and curious about the original Nalanda university in India. So here is something that I found out -

 

Nalanda was a large Buddhist monastery in ancient Magadha (modern day Bihar), India. Located about 95 km southeast of Patna – centre of learning from the fifth century CE to c 1200 CW and was at its high of glory during the Gupta era.

Covering an area of around 12 hectares the residential school, constructed mostly in red bricks, during its heyday it claimed to have accommodated 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. There were eight separate compounds and ten temples, along with many other meditation hall and classrooms. Lakes and parks created a sense of peace and tranquility.

The library was an immense complex separated into three large buildings. The largest building known as the Ratnadadhi (Ocean of Gems) was nine stories high and housed most of the sacred manuscripts. Though the exact number of volumes of the library is not known, it is estimated to have been in the hundreds of thousands. The library had not only religious manuscripts but also had texts on such subjects as grammar, logic, literature, astrology, astronomy and medicine and attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey.

It is believed that the library burned for three months after invaders set fire to it, ransacked and destroyed the monasteries and drove the monks from the side.

 

 

Now around 800 years after it was razed to the ground, the University reopened its doors with the first academic session starting on September 2014 with 15 students, five of whom were women, in temporary facilities in nearby Rajgir. The modern complex is expected to be finished by 2020 and will have seven schools for postgraduate and doctorate students.

Nalanda Monastery, Punakha

I had not known that there was a Nalanda monastery here in Bhutan. I thought that there was only one - the famous Buddhist monastery/University of the past which was in Bihar, India. 

So while in Punakha, I took the opportunity to visit the Nalanda monastery of Bhutan. Located just below Talo Monastery and about 15 km away from Punakha town, the monastery is situated on a sunny slope overlooking the Punakha valley and the highway leading down from Dochula.

The upper temple of Nalanda, Punakha

 So here, for the knowledge and information of any who may be interested, I take the opportunity to share with you the history and interesting information I obtained from the notice board about the Nalanda monastery in Bhutan.

History about the Nalanda monastery in Punakha

In 1757 the 9^th Je Khenpo Shakya Rinchen, considered to be a reincarnation of Rechungpa (one of the two extraordinary disciples of Milarepa in Kagye Buddhist lineage), founded the Nalanda Monastery in Punkaha.

At the time when this monastery was built, the ancient Nalanda University in India was a very holy and sacred place. Bhutanese people made great efforts to visit this special holy place at least once in their lifetime. There were no roads and people had to walk to India. As a result the journey was very unsafe and people were at risk to be robbed or even worse. Once in India, people from Bhutan faced many difficulties including dealing with differences in food, culture, and language as well as being in an unfamiliar place. As a way of accommodating people’s desire to visit Nalanda, Gyalwa Shakya Rinchen Rinpoche built this monastery in Bhutan and named it after the Nalanda University in India.

Gyalwang Shakya Rinchen had completed the building of Phajoding in the monastery above Thimphu valley. Upon its completion he was wondering where the next site to build the next monastery. The monk body was moving their residence from Thimphu to Punakha, as was the traditional way to spend months in Punakha. When he was walking over Dochula mountain pass he saw eight vultures flying to a specific area that has now become the present Nalanda monastery. He through that maybe these vultures were the eight original scholars (pandits) from the Nalanda University in India. After seeing it he asked for a confirmation in a dream. Consequently the eight scholars appeared in his dream and gave a teaching to him. Based on seeing of the vulture choosing this site and the dream of the eight scholars, this site was chosen as the area in which to build Nalanda monastery.

During Gyalwang Shakya Rinchen’s lifetime, Nalanda monastery in Bhutan was a thriving Buddhist teaching institution with a renowned reputation. After Gyalwang Shakya Rinchen’s final thugham or Maha Samadhi, slowly the teachings stopped and the great institute lay dormant. Nalanda Monastery was restarted several times with different eachers but after the teachers departed the monastery would again be less inhabited with monks.

Eventually the uncle of His Majesty, the Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Lopen Yoenten Gyaltsen requested permission from the King to open an official Buddhist Shedra (institute). In 1991 His Majesty gave permission for Nalanda Monastery to become a Shedra. Then in 1992 two lopens (teachers) began the Shedra with 20 monks. Over time the number of lopens and students increased. In 2014 there are 6 lopens and 125 students that range from 8 to 28 years old.                                                

                                                                    Mural of Lord Buddha

There are eight statues made of clay inside the lower shrine room of the upper temple (lhakhang). Here is their story:

The Eight Disappearing Indians

While constructing the original temple of Nalanda in Bhutan, Gyalwang Shakya Rinchen Rinpoche saw eight Indians from India in an adjacent valley to the building site. He soon realised that these eight Indians must be the eight scholars (pandits) of the original Nalanda University in India. When he went to find them to see if it was true, they had disappeared. The disappearance of the Indians, led to the confirmation that these indeed where the eight great scholars of Nalanda University. In order to praise and honour them for their auspicious appearance, he built eight clay statues. These statues can be seen inside the lower shrine room of the upper temple (lhakhang).

Late afternoon view of Punakha valley from Nalanda monastery

 

Sipa-Chi-Dhoe at Punakha

I started my New Years by going to Punakha, specifically to offer prayers at the Sipa-Chi-Dhoe. Located in the Thangzana, the ground near the Punakha Dzong, hundreds of people had been coming every day to cleanse their negative deeds and offer prayers for protection from bad omen. Considered one of the most important traditions, the Sipa-Chi-Dhoe which is normally conducted once in 12 years, was being conducted after a gap of 13 years.

His Holiness the Je Khenpo and the monastic body preceded over a five day prayers during which symbolic offering were being made at the Dhoe (a great altar representing the universe) and there were two towering representations of the main protective deities of Bhutan, namely Yeshey Goenpo (Mahakala) and Pelden Lhamo (Mahakali).

Initiated by Guru Rimpoche and performed in Bhutan since the time of Zahbdrung in Punakha, the Sipa-Chi-Dhoe offering is made as a sacred offering to all the realms of the universe and to balance the forces of good and evil. Such offerings were to protect the nation against all threats and to foster peace and prosperity in the country.

The event culminates with the final dissipation of offerings (which happened on 5^th Jan 2015) during which scores of people rush to the Dhoe and dismantle the structure and take with them pieces of material and religious offering.

I was not there to witness the final event but it was nice to be a small part of such a big event. It was joyful to start my new year by witnessing such an important the religious tradition. There was a feeling of peace and tranquillity as I offered my prayers and listened to the monk body reciting prayers for the universe.