Arunachal Pradesh Middle Gompa
Buddhist Gompas are aesthetically well maintained places to render prayers and meditation by people with Buddhist faith, positioned in a serene atmosphere, with idols and images of divinity kept in a main hall. They are mostly monasteries intended for learning, awakening and reaching ecclesial achievements by enduring divine worship. Monasteries or Gompas are established mostly in countries like Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and India. Gompas are also referred as lings they may also be in the form of stupas. They are constructed of varied designs according to region they are established, in some cases it can just be a hall for meditation.
Middle Gompa is located approximately 2 km from the main marketplace ofBomdila, housing the Blue Medicine Buddha, with which healers do meditation and prayers to acquire the curing power on their patients.
History
The GentseGadenRabgyel Ling Monastery at Bomdila, which is called Upper Gompa, was established by TsonaGontseRimpoche’s 12th reincarnate , in the years 1965 and 1966, the model for which had been taken from TsonaGontse Monastery at Tsona of South Tibet, which came up in the 15th century. The architecture of Upper Gompa therefore is exactly the same as that of TsonaGontse Monastery.
Upper Gompa isconsidered one of the most visited attractions of Bomdila. This monastery is the home of many Buddhist Monks and Lamas belonging to Mahayana Buddhism.
The 12th reincarnate who initiated Upper Gompa was born in theKalaktang Circle of West Kameng, in a place called Morshing. He completed the construction work of this Gompa beforehis death in the year 1966 in a modest manner. Thereafter, the present Rimpoche, who is the 13th TsonaGontseRimpoche, continued the mission and completed building of the main prayer hall.
Architecture
Gompas and Monasteries follow huge and expansive size of architecture, comparable to Palaces, maintaining uniqueness in any place they are established. If the Gampa is constructed amidst the living places, the Gampa building will be of different colour and size and anyone can clearly mark a Gampa from a far away place. Likewise, the Meditation Caves annexed to Cliffs, will be of distinct architecture that they stand out inviting Buddhist monks and other Buddhism followers to come there and do their Prayers. However, when the 12th Incarnate constructed the modest Upper Gompa, all he could do is to construct the barest minimum structure.
The huge prayer hall which is now the main attraction of Upper Gompa, which was built by the 13th reincarnate of TsonaGontse Rinpoche, is now keeps up the tradition of Buddhist Gompas.
Festivals
BomdilaGompa observes essentially two festivals during the year, which are
- Losar festival, which is the new year festival for Monpas, is celebrated usually in Feb-March of the year according to Buddhist Calendar and the celebration would extend from 8 to 15 days, the ritual parts including cleaning of homes, dispensing with old items and acquiring new items for living.
- Khan Festival is the other festival, which is important for Upper Gompa inhabitants, which is a kind of reunion event, the basic ritual of the festival requires the Priest tying of a piece of wool around teneck of every one, which sacred thread of wool is something that brings good luck to everyone in the Society.
How to Reach
Bomdilahas no railway link and Tezpur Railway Station in Assam is the nearest point to reach this place by train. There are Helicopter services available in Arunachal Pradesh to commute to different places, which can be availed for reaching Bomdila too. As for the regular air travel, the nearest airport is the Tezpur airport I Assam, which is connected through flights from Kolkata and Guwahati, with good frequency.
Upper Gompa is well connected by road with all other towns of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. There are regular buses from Tezpur to Bomdila, while large section of people use shared Jeeps for travel.
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