Lama Tsang Tsing’s monastery is small but glorious. He has employed the best painters, carvers and builders to provide a vehicle for maintaining the profound rituals of the Kagyu Lineage.
Lama-la’s Monastery
A place of grace, power and beauty.
A profoundly trained teacher, Lama puts his throne in the back, encouraging his senior students to lead the rituals.
Lama-la lives in the USA for most of the year, the monks must know how to carry on without him.
While we were there the ritual being celebrated was Mahakala.
Everyone has a job to do.
From the smallest monk, to the most experienced
Within the sounds of a traditional Tibetan monastery, you can hear the roar of the elements, the call to power
\
This torma of Mahakala will be burned at the end of the ritual
Tormas are sculpted out of barley flower mixed with butter. Some of the adornments are made of pure, colored butter
The objects of the ritual are themselves a thing of beauty
The vajra, the bell, the damaru.
The Karma, the 16th and behind the 17th has the most prominent, highest throne.
Every part of the temple is elaborately adorned
Dragons slithering across the ceiling panels
The Worldly Protectors
Golden Tara, representing abundance,holding a stalk of wheat.
The Wheel of the Dharma
Walls completely covered with exquisite paintings
Shakyamuni Buddha
Amitabha Buddha
Lama was very generous to let us go into the protectors room
Mahakala
Fierce Female Protectors
Bernarchen
Around the corner another shrine room where monks were studying the scripture
Vajrasattva
Mandala of the Vajra
Family
Mandala of the Ratna Family
Mandala of the Karma Family
Mandala of the Padma Family
Milarepa
The 21 Taras
Ganesh - a Protector in Tibetan practice
The Wheel of Life
Meanwhile the kitchen crew is cooking up a feast for us
Lama was so happy to be able to serve us beautiful food
And to have us spend time with his beautiful family
And his very friendly monks.
An old stupa just outside the monastery
Kutira enjoyed thrilling the youngsters
Lama’s relatives
The assembly of all the monastery’s monks
One more cup of tea before we go
A quick hop up the steps in front of the monastery
To this beautiful stupa a family in the area built. Blessings abound.
