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Mustang Photo Gallery - Lo Manthang Thubchen Gompa

In May 2008 I trekked from Jomsom to Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang for the Tiji Festival

Lo Manthang Thubchen 01-1 Main Assembly Hall Thubchen gompa in Lo Manthang is a single-story fifteenth century Sakya-pa dukhang (assembly or prayer hall) where rows of monks face each other for prayers. Supporting the ceiling are thirty-five large 9m high wooden pillars, evenly spaced in rows.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 01-1 Main Assembly Hall

Lo Manthang Thubchen 01-2 Main Assembly Hall Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Statue I visited Thubchen gompa in Lo Manthang several times each day. A lone young monk banged a drum at 6 am to invite the rest of the monks to arrive at the Thubchen gompa by 6:30 each morning for prayers. The main statue in the assembly hall at Thubchen gompa in Lo Manthang is Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava).

Lo Manthang Thubchen 01-2 Main Assembly Hall Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Statue

Lo Manthang Thubchen 02 Four Guardian Kings Statues Statues of the four Guardian Kings guard the entrance to the Thubchen gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 02 Four Guardian Kings Statues

Lo Manthang Thubchen 03-1 Entrance Left Wall Painting Of Buddha Tourists walk quickly past the four Guardian Kings to the main assembly hall in the Thubchen gompa, without stopping to notice that the paintings on the left wall and above and around the assembly hall entrance door are as beautiful as anything inside. A painting of Buddha with his hands in the teaching mudra is on the left wall before the assembly hall entrance.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 03-1 Entrance Left Wall Painting Of Buddha

Lo Manthang Thubchen 03-2 Entrance Left Wall Painting Of Buddha Close Up The Nova Lost Treasures Of Tibet DVD had already told me about the restoration of the abandoned Thubchen gompa and its paintings. British architect John Sanday led the restoration of the Gompa roof in the traditional way with wood, flat stones and mud. Art conservator Rodolfo Lujan from Rome led the restoration of the paintings using the same techniques as the Sistine Chapel. Buddha’s face glows with the restored red, green and blue colours on the left wall before the assembly hall entrance door at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 03-2 Entrance Left Wall Painting Of Buddha Close Up

Lo Manthang Thubchen 03-3 Entrance Left Wall Paintings Close Up Pairs of smaller paintings have been restored to the right of Buddha on the left wall before the assembly hall entrance door at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 03-3 Entrance Left Wall Paintings Close Up

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-1 Entrance Left Of Door Painting Of Buddha A large painting of golden Buddha in the teaching mudra is to the left of the assembly hall entrance door at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang (658), with another smaller painting of Buddha above the door.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-1 Entrance Left Of Door Painting Of Buddha

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-2 Entrance Above Door Painting Of Buddha A smaller painting of golden Buddha in the teaching mudra is above the assembly hall entrance door at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-2 Entrance Above Door Painting Of Buddha

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-3 Entrance Right Of Door Painting Of Buddha A painting of golden Buddha in the teaching mudra is to the right of the assembly hall entrance door at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-3 Entrance Right Of Door Painting Of Buddha

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-4 Entrance Right Of Door Painting Of Buddha Close Up Buddha’s eyes gaze down in me to the right of the assembly hall entrance door at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-4 Entrance Right Of Door Painting Of Buddha Close Up

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-5 Entrance Right Of Door Small Painting Close Up Spend some time before entering the main assembly hall at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang, and you can see this very small but exquisite painting to the right of the assembly hall entrance door.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 04-5 Entrance Right Of Door Small Painting Close Up

Lo Manthang Thubchen 05-1 Entrance Monk A monk was leaving the assembly hall of the Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang during a break from morning prayers, and asked me to take his photo.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 05-1 Entrance Monk

Lo Manthang Thubchen 05-2 Main Assembly Hall Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Statue I think the monk I met leaving morning prayers from the assembly hall of the Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang was surprised that I knew that the main statue was Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). To the right of Padmasambhava you can see the left portion of a statue of Amitayus, the Buddha of long life. The monk asked me to take a photo of the statue, which I think turned out quite nicely despite the low light. I showed the monk the photo and we both smiled and embraced. A magic moment.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 05-2 Main Assembly Hall Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Statue

Lo Manthang Thubchen 05-3 Main Assembly Hall Hayagriva Statue To the right of Amitayus is a statue of red Hayagriva in yam-yum with his consort in the main assembly hall at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang. Hayagriva, a fierce form of the compassionate Avalokiteshvara, has huge wings, three heads crowned with skulls, six arms and four legs, and a horse head in his hair, which gives him his name “horse-necked one”. Hayagriva wears a belt strung with freshly severed heads, a lion skin loincloth. In his front left hand he holds a skull cup filled with transformed blood and guts of sentient beings and in his front right hand a vajra.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 05-3 Main Assembly Hall Hayagriva Statue

Lo Manthang Thubchen 06-1 Main Assembly Hall Painting Of Amoghasiddhi To Right Of Door Above and to the right of the main entrance door is an excellent large painting of what I think is green Amoghasiddhi, the Dhyani Buddha of the north, in the mudra of fearlessness. British architect John Sanday on Thubchen gompa:

Lo Manthang Thubchen 06-1 Main Assembly Hall Painting Of Amoghasiddhi To Right Of Door

Lo Manthang Thubchen 06-2 Main Assembly Hall Paintings Left Of Door There are many excellent small paintings just to the left of the entrance door to the assembly hall at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 06-2 Main Assembly Hall Paintings Left Of Door

Lo Manthang Thubchen 06-3 Main Assembly Hall Painting Of Blue Buddha To Right Of Door The paintings in the assembly hall at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang consist of twelve triad sets, each with a large, central figure flanked by two smaller standing figures. The second triad to the right of the entrance door of the assembly hall at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang features a blue Buddha in a mudra of teaching. To the right is another white figure.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 06-3 Main Assembly Hall Painting Of Blue Buddha To Right Of Door

Lo Manthang Thubchen 07 Main Assembly Hall Painting Of Buddha On Left Wall A beautifully restored painting of Buddha in the mudra of fearlessness is the third triad on the wall to the left of the entrance door of the assembly hall at Thubchen Gompa in Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang Thubchen 07 Main Assembly Hall Painting Of Buddha On Left Wall


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