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HOLY
SITES IN LADAKH
granting blessings and
encouragement
Ladakh,
the land of high passes, is full of holy sites blessed by celestial
beings such as Dakinis and enlightened masters. For example,
Lamayuru is one of the very holy sites in Ladakh. Legend
has it that at the time of Buddha Shakyamuni, the valley of Lamayuru
Valley used to be a clear lake, resided by the King of Nagas and his
retinue. Bodhisattva Madhyantaka once predicted that the lake would
eventually dry up, making way for the construction of a Buddhist
monastery. Later in the 11th century, while Mahasiddha Naropa sat in
meditation for many years in one of the caves in Lamayuru, a crack
in the hillside surrounding the lake was formed. Through this crack,
the lake started draining. When the lake dried out, Naropa found a
dead lion lying inside it. On the same spot, he constructed the
first temple of the area, known as the Sengye Gang (Lion Mound).
King Jamyang Namgyal offered the monastery to Choje Denma of the
Drikung Lineage, and the monastery was renamed "Yungdrung
Tharpaling". Kyabje Togden Rinpoche is the spiritual head of
Lamayuru Monastery.
Lamayuru Monastery
There
are also countless self-arising holy images, stupas and palaces
built by Dakinis, and body-prints left behind by holy masters, as
support of spiritual practice.
Image of Mahakali on the rock surface
of a cliff, along Indus River
The 108 stupas built by Dakinis
overnight, along the Indus River
Ruins of a palace built by Dakinis
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