Buddhist Path Experience
Feel the Paradise to stay at Namra Villa , Ladakh.
BUDDHIST PATH
PRAYER MEETING WITH LOCAL NUNNERY
Tingmosgang nunnery is within 5 minutes’ drive from the hotel. This is a small nunnery where you will be much welcomed by the resident nuns and witness their prayers and daily activities. Namra village hotel feels a special connection with the residents of the nunnery and endeavors to support them through various contributions and projects. We helped the nuns with the construction of a new kitchen and provided them with beds, blankets and warm clothes for the very difficult and long winter seasons.
TSESKARMO MONASTERY
This serene monastery lies 3 km from the hotel. The monastery is a sanctuary for the beautiful prayer wheels running on natural spring water, very old meditation caves and two holy water reservoir. Some of the biggest holy trees in Ladakh are found here. A festival called Tukpaichunna takes place here annually in summer to celebrate the birth anniversary of Jay Gampopa, one of the greatest Kagyu masters. The exact date of the festival depends on when the anniversary falls in a particular year’s lunar calendar. Achi mask dance is its primary attraction. The festival attracts hundreds of people across the world every year.
ANG VIPASSANA VALLEY
10 km from the Hotel, is the green, verdant valley, home for Vipassana retreats of the famous Mahabodhi Meditation Centre. Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena founded it in 1986 to offer both spiritual instructions & humanitarian services to impoverished people in the remote land of Ladakh through sustainable spiritual, community & ecological projects. Vipassana and Samatha are amongst the two main paths of Buddha’s way to enlightenment. Vipassana is the Buddhist ‘concentration’ method of seeing reality as it is within the body-mind framework. Samatha is ‘wisdom through analysis’ for an in-depth understanding of Truth. The premises of Vipassana & Samatha is Bodhichitta or loving-kindness & compassion..
STARGAZE ON THE ROOFTOP OF THE WORLD
On the way to Lamayuru is Rizong monastery of Gelugpa sect. It is called Yuma Changchubling in Ladakh, India. It was established in 1831 by Lama Tsultim Nima. There are 40 monks in the monastery. The monastery is also called “the paradise for meditation” and is noted for its extremely strict rules and standards. It is also believed that long ago Guru Padmasambhava meditated in the caves around Rizong years before the monasteries were built. Lamas used to meditate for years in isolation from the rest of the villages.
LAMAYURU MONASTERY
40 km from the hotel is the oldest & largest religious centre of Ladakh housing 150 monks. It is famous for its rich collection of Buddhist artefacts, frescos or wall paintings, Thangkas or cloth paintings, statues, carpets and an impressive 11-headed, 1000 eyed image of Chenrezig. The history of Lamayuru monastery dates back to the 10th century, when the Indian scholar Mahasiddhacharya Naropa caused a lake to dry up, which fed up the entire valley and laid the foundation stone of Lamayuru monastery of Red-Hat sect of Buddhism.
ALCHI MONASTERY
20 km from the hotel on the Indus river bank, is the oldest Buddhist learning centre in Ladakh. A renown national heritage site, it is distinct from other monasteries in Ladakh as it lies on the flat ground unlike other monasteries on hilltops. Tibetan translator Rinchen Zangpo founded the monastery in the mid 12th century. Its ancient frescos, sculptures & statues of Buddhist deities like the big four-armed statues of Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Maitreya Buddha & Rinchen Zangpo, its founder inspires the visitors. The monastery is not operational anymore and monks from Likir inhabits it.