Sangchen Rabten Norbuling (Great Secret, Absolutely Firm, and Precious Location)Monastery is located deep in the Himalaya mountains in an incredibly beautiful valley called Kyimo Lung (Valley of Happiness), near the Nepal-Tibetan border in the central Himalaya. It is known by Tibetan Buddhist spiritual practitioners as a Be Yul or “hidden valley”. Although the monastery is small, it’s untouched beauty and serenity provides an undisturbed environment for the practice of Dharma.
Sangchen Rabten Norbuling is a place of retreat, contemplation, and meditation, with awe-inspiring vistas, and many natural power places which are visited by Buddhists for their blessings. The monastery itself is on a small and idyllic plateau, crowded with wild flowers, rhododendrons, holy junipers and other pines associated with mountain spirits; wild animals roaming around within feet of a small meadow in front of it.
Sangchen Rabten Norbuling today continues to grow and expand. Currently, over 60 monks and 45 nuns reside at the monastery. Recently, retreat quarters have been built on the monastic grounds for practitioners wishing to do extended retreats.
Sangchen Rabten Norbuling
Ward No. 4, Bi Gaon
Gorkha District, Nepal
Website : http://www.kyimolung.com
Map : http://ncthakur.itgo.com/districtmaps/gorkha_district.htm
Long ago the Master, Padmasambhava, blessed Kyimo Lung with his presence (ca. 9th century). Later Jetsun Milarepa also came and practiced here (ca. 12th century). Sometime after, the first in our line of sublime guru forefathers, the matchless Chokyi Gyaltsen, settled in this sacred place. He build Serang monastery and firmly established the tradition of the Buddha’s teachings.
Since then, up to the present day, an unbroken lineage of ten generations spanning roughly 300 years has propagated the teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism starting with Chokyi Gyaltsen’s son Namkha Kunsang. This father to son tradition was maintained through nine generations to Yeshe Thinley, and then to his son, Chokyi Nyima.
The structure of the original monastery, now very old, gradually deteriorated into a state of serious disrepair (though some of the most important portions and objects were faithfully preserved). In 1984, Lama Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche spent all of his savings, property, and possessions as well as donations from others, to initiate the rebuilding of the monastery.
The geographic isolation of the Monastery causes many hardships. It is
located 6-days walk away from the nearest road, and during the winter
season can be covered in four feet of snow. The Lamas, Monks, and Nuns
suffer from the cold weather and from illnesses that are not easily
treated due to the long distance to medical care. Additionally,
adequate food and water are often in short supply during certain times
of the year.
However, donations from students and patrons that
support the goals of the monastery have always been essential to the
survival and the expansion of the monastery. We appeal to your
generosity in order to continue with our work of providing a place of
study and practice to young people in the Himalayan region.