Rongbuk Monastery

Location

Rongbuk Monastery lies near the base of the north side of Mount Everest at 4980 m above sea level, at the end of the Dzakar Chu valley.{{cite book

Today, the monastery is accessible by road after a two- to three-hour drive from the Friendship Highway from either Shelkar (New Tingri) or Old Tingri. From Rongbuk Monastery, there are dramatic views of the north face of Mount Everest, and one of the first British explorers to see it, John Noel, described it: "Some colossal architect, who built with peaks and valleys, seemed here to have wrought a dramatic prodigy—a hall of grandeur that led to the mountain."

Architecture

In front of the Monastery, there is a large, round, terraced chorten containing a reliquary.

File:Rombuk monastery in Tibet, 02.08.2005.jpg|Rongbuk monastery in August 2005, with North Face of Mount Everest File:Rongbuk, tibet, china, Mount Everest Base Camp, Tibet - panoramio.jpg|chorten in Rongbuk File:Chorten with prayer flags and the North Face of Chomolungma in 2006 at Rongbuk Monastery.jpg|Chorten with prayer flags and the North Face of Mount Everest File:Rombuk monastery 02.08.2005.jpg|Rongbuk monastery in August 2005, Mount Everest in the background File:Rongbuk Monastery4.jpg| Monastery arch File:Rongbuk Monastery3.jpg File:Mount Everest Base Camp, Tibet - panoramio (14).jpg|Building construction with stone and clay File:Tibet Mount Everest.jpg|Stone buildings File:Mount Everest Base Camp, Tibet - panoramio (6).jpg File:Mount Everest Base Camp, Tibet - panoramio (10).jpg File:Mount Everest Base Camp, Tibet - panoramio (8).jpg

History, religious and cultural significance

Rongbuk Monastery was founded in 1902 by the Nyingmapa Lama Ngawang Tenzin Norbu in an area of meditation huts and caves that had been in use by communities of nuns since the 18th century. Hermitage meditation caves dot the cliff walls all around the monastery complex and up and down the valley. Mani stone walls, carved with sacred syllables and prayers, line the paths.

The founding Rongbuk Lama, also known as Zatul Rinpoche, was much respected by the Tibetans. Even though the Rongbuk Lama viewed the early climbers as "heretics," he gave them his protection and supplied them with meat and tea while also praying for their conversion. It was the Rongbuk Lama who gave Namgyal Wangdi the name Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, or Tenzing Norgay, as a young child.

In previous times, the Monastery became very active with Buddhist teachings at certain times of the year. It was, and is, the destination of special Buddhist pilgrimages where annual ceremonies are held for spectators coming from as far away as Nepal and Mongolia. These ceremonies were shared with satellite monasteries across the Himalaya also founded by the Rongbuk Lama. These ceremonies continue to this day, notably at the Sherpa Monastery at Tengboche.

Rongbuk Monastery was completely destroyed by the excesses of China's Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) by 1974, and was left in ruins for several years, as recorded by photo-journalist Galen Rowell in 1981.

The monastery's vast treasury of books and costumes, which had been taken for safekeeping to Tengboche, was lost in a 1989 fire.

Since 1983 renovation work has been carried out and some of the new murals are reportedly excellent. Adjacent to the monastery there is a basic guesthouse and small but cosy restaurant.

According to Michael Palin, it now houses thirty Buddhist monks and thirty nuns,{{cite episode | author-link = Michael Palin | series-link = Himalaya with Michael Palin | access-date = 9 June 2019

In 2011, Rongbuk Monastery was ranked at the top of CNN's 'Great Places to be a Recluse'. File:Rongbuk Monastery with yaks.jpg|A view of the modest Rongbuk Monastery with yaks in the foreground File:Rongbuk Monastery.jpg|Monks in Rongbuk Monastery File:Mount Everest Base Camp, Tibet - panoramio (12).jpg|Rongbuk Monastery Near Basecamp File:China107.jpg|view of Mount Everest

References

References

1. "Rongphuk Monastery and the Everest Region".
2. [[Standard Tibetan. Tibetan]] in [[Wylie transliteration]]: ''dpa’ gsum''; {{zh
3. Dorje, Gyurme. (1999). "Tibet". Footprint.
4. Palin, Michael. (2004). "Himalaya". Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
5. "The Highest Monasteries in Tibet – Why Rongbuk is not the Highest Monastery in the World_Destination_China Tibet Online".
6. Tenzing Norgay and [[James Ramsey Ullman]], ''Man of Everest'' (1955, also published as ''Tiger of the Snows'')
7. Noel. (1922). "Climbing Mt. Everest: The cinematograph record of the Mount Everest Expedition of 1922".
8. Noel, J. B. L.. (1989). "Through Tibet to Everest". Hodder & Stoughton.
9. Early 18th century according to Victor Chan or the late 18th century according to Gyurme Dorje
10. "Rongphuk Monastery and the Everest Region".
11. "NOVA Online {{!}} Everest {{!}} Rongbuk Monastery".
12. Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005). ''Tibet'', p. 191. Lonely Planet Publications. {{ISBN. 1-74059-523-8.
13. So, Winnie. "9 great places to be a recluse". CNN.
14. (14 June 2017). "Guide to Tibet - Things to do, Places to go and Practicalities".