Sikkim Yoksum Monastery
Yuksom Monastery is also known as Dubdi Monastery which is a Buddhist Monastery belonging to Nyingma Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
It is one of the oldest Monasteries in Sikkim, established as early as 1701AD in the top of a mount involving an hour’s trekking to reach the location from Yuksom.
Yuksom Monastery is today headed by His Holiness Yangthang Rinpoche, who is considered one of the renowned incarnations of Nyingma School Masters of Tibetan Buddhism. TertonDorjeeDechenLingpa, who was a treasure revealer, a monk of PemayangtseMonastery , was the one he is assumed to have incarnated.
During the earthquake which occurred in 2011 this monastery , some of the murals of the monastery had crumbled out of the walls, however the Monastery holds a wealth of Thangkas, Icons and Statues intact.
Yuksom is known to be a Sacred place because it is considered the Hermit’s Cell on account of the enthronement of the first ChogyalPhuntsogNamgyal was consecrated here in 1641AD.
History
Yuksom Monastery was established in 1701 by H.H. ChogyarNamgyal, and it is mostly referred as Dubdi Monastery, the term Dubdi meaning ‘the retreat’.
In the later part of seventeenth century, the State of Sikkim was founded at Yuksom by Lhetsum Chenpo and two of his associate Lamas, and the Dubdi Monastery was formed as a commemoration of founding of the State. In fact, four Monasteries were constructed at that time, of which now only Dhubdi Monastery exists today, the other three being those of Khardok Pa sect ,Nadak Pa sect and a third site which is now a chorten.
Yuksom has a lot of religious and cultural significance for the Bhutia tribal community of Sikkim, while it is the starting point of Khangchendzonga National Park and the base camp for trekking in Khangchendzonga range, it attracts large number of mountaineers from all corners of the world.
Architecture
The Yuksom Monastery is positioned at a place above 7000 ft height, while the interior is adorned by Images of Saints, Divinites and other symbols of Buddhism.
The monastery is also having the magnificent statues of the three Lamas who were responsible for the formation of Yuksom and the monasteries there.
The monastery has a flat roof with tapering tower, the roof made of iron sheets with eaves projecting. The roof’s top is decorated with a dome called Gyaltshen. In the two aisles of the Monastery a huge collection of manuscripts and Buddhist ritual texts are kept safely.
Yoksum lifestyle
Yuksom people’s living style and happy innocent way of looking at things would amaze any visitor. One would see a cute Nepalese woman wearing goldcolor boots and in trousers, holding a big straw basket with material to feed the cows. On the other side, the local tribal men carry massive pile of leaves in their heads, with a sense of satisfaction of having gathered enough food for their cattle. Suddenly one other person would appear with baskets of ferns covering one’s entire body, and invite the visitors to one’s home. There the visitor would see an innocent Nepali woman cooking some chang, which is a barley brew and the man refers her as his ‘golden cow’. The visitor will be stunned to see the youngest among their 12 daughters returning from school, wearing a modern school uniform. Really, the visitor to Yuksom will have a wonderful feeling of seeing a society which he can never see in any urban setting.
Most of the Yuksom people are engaged in agriculture and farming, some of them turning as tourist guides seeing the population pouring in as visitors to this land.
Other Attractions
Yuksom has few other Monasteries to visit, which include
- NorbugangChortenwhich is a white dome chorten, constructed with stone and earth where one can find the throne of the first Chogyal king of Sikkim and see the footprints of one of the three lamas, embedded in a rock opposite kings throne.
- Melli Monastery, standing in close vicinity to the village, the term Mellimeaning : The "a lepcha village".
- Shaivite Monastery situated nearMaha Bodhi templewith four other temples around and several samadhis, at which spotAdiShankaracharya, the Hindu religious philosopher, had discussion once with the Buddhists.
- Sinon Monastery established in 1716AD , the name of which implies 'the suppressor of intense fear'is another Monastery located 10 km from the main town.
How to Reach
To reach Sikkim by air one has to take a flight to Bagdogra airport in West Bengal, and there are ample flights from Kolkata, Patna, Delhi and Guwahati to this airport.
By rail, the nearest railway station is at Jalpaiguri, which is the most convenient railpoint to reach Sikkim.
Yoksum is approachable by road from the airport at Bagdogra and Railway Station at New Jalpaiguri , from which places there are abundant buses and taxies are available. When one can take a taxi uptoJoksumor drive through in about 5 and ½ hours, those taking buses would go to Jorethang in about 4 hours from where another bus has to be taken to reach Joksum in about 3 hours.
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