Himachal Pradesh Key Monastery
Key Monastery is located in the Spiti Valley, with the Spiti River flowing alongside, in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated over a hill of height 4166mts. It is considered to be the largest in the Spiti valley and Lamas are trained in this location, with about 300 monks residing in the monastery and undergo religious training. It is supposedly about 1000 years old and makes for the oldest centre for learning for Buddhist monks. Key Gompa or Monastery is well known for the Gelugpa sect of Buddhism, which is also known as the Yellow Hat Sect. It belongs to the trio of Buddhist monastery in the Spiti Lhalung valley of himachal Pradesh and all these three belong to the Gelugpa sect. It is interesting to note that the Key Monastery along with the surrounding picturesque regions in the valley is considered to be the Little Tibet, because people in this region follow the Tibetan style of living. Together with the surrounding beauty of the valley, the Key Monastery adds the crafts to the perfect sense.
History
It is believed that this largest centre of learning for Buddhism in Spiti Valley has a history of over 1000 years. During that period, it was started by Dromton, who was himself a student of the well known Buddhist teacher Atisha, who belonged to the 11th century. Some notes point that this monastery by Dromton was actually the one which was destroyed in Rangrik, in the nearby village, belonging to Kadampa monastery. In the 17th century again, the Key Monastery was again attacked by the Mongols, after which it was changed into Gelugpa sect of Buddhism. In the 1840s and after that, a number of attacks by mongol armies, Sikhs, and other marauders, the Key Monastery was severely damaged. Most of the repair works were done after the earthquake of 1975, by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Architecture
In the present look of the Key Monastery, it almost looks like a fortress. Architecture of the gompa looks like that of Pasada style, which has the characteristics of having more than two stories and resembles a fort, housing the monastery. In the Key Monastery, there are three floors. The first floor, ground floor and an extra underground floor are the constituents of this monastery. One of the major attractions of this monastery is the meditative position of Gautam Buddha, which provides a serene look on the face. Apart from images of Buddha placed at different positions, there are also paintings and images of various Lamas and Buddhist religious leaders and the depictions of Buddhism. Musical instrument collections are a must to see in this place, which includes the cymbals, trumpets, drums, and many more. One distracting feature of the Key Monastery is that it appears like a stack of buildings, with haphazardly built structure, mostly because of the repeated renovation works which were done due to repeated destructions by foreign armies.
Monastic architecture is prominently seen in this Key Monastery, which gained prominence under the Chinese style of architecture, mostly found in the 14th century. It appears as if the rooms are built one over the other and low rooms and corridors are clearly marked. While going into the prayer rooms, monks have to pass through steep stairs, irregular corridors and they cannot be found to be of a single design.
Designs on the walls of the rooms and the different halls of the monastery are of exquisite style, painted with beautiful murals and thangkas, while a number of valuable manuscripts are preserved in the rooms. Stucco paintings are also found in plenty. Unique styles of wind instruments are found in the monastery at different places, giving a soothing and beautiful sound throughout the monastery. Apart from the paintings and music, one can find an assortment of fighting weapons, probably used by the inmates of the monasteries in the times of invasion from various foreign attackers. Presently, these weapons are used as props during the dance shows during festivals.
Festivals
During the year, there are a number of festivals, comprising mostly of dance rituals and meditation. The monks reside in the monastery and pray and meditate during the winter season, while they go to their families in the valley for cultivations and return back in the next winter. Festivals have the weapon and mask dances as important ingredients in the process. In the year 2000, a large festival of Kalachakra was celebrated in the Key Monastery, during which the ceremonies were attended by his Holiness, The Dalai Lama.
Reaching There
Key monastery is located in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, which is about 250 kms from Shimla. It is situated about 12 kms towards the north side of Kaza village, which is about 210 kms from Manali. From Kaza, people can take regular buses up to the Key Monastery or some also walk the distance.
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