‘The Celestial Paradise…Chosen by the Horse’

Day 19. Early morning as the first rays of the sun fall on India, we witnessed the light falling on the Tawang Monastery. It stands majestically at over 10,300 ft and is the second biggest and oldest in Asia and is known as the Tawang Ganden Namgyal Lhatse i.e., ‘the celestial paradise of divine site chosen by the horse’ was founded by Merag Lodroe Gyamtso in the year 1680-81.

Tawang is also the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama, Rechen Tshangyang Gyatso (1683-1707) who was born in Urgelling. Before the 6th Dalai Lama set forth on his journey to Tibet, he planted his walking stick and prophesied that when its three tree trunks attained equal height, he would return to his homeland. This prophecy is believed to have been fulfilled when the 14th Dalai Lama first came to Tawang in 1959, as he escaped from Tibet. That itself is a truly fascinating story. You can reading all about in a beautiful book – ‘Crossing of the Frontier’.

Being present here in the monastery today was one of the major defining moments of my life. The history, legends, myths, sublimity, serenity and simplicity of life in a Buddhist monastery and around it, in the villages and towns, always leave a lasting deep impact.