| Phodong Monastery | |
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Phodong Monastery |
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Phodong Monastery
Location within India
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| Monastery information | |
| Location | Sikkim, India |
| Type | Tibetan Buddhist |
| No. of monks | 260 |
| Architecture | Current building early 18th century |
| Festivals | Chaam Dance (28 and 29th of the 10th month) |
Phodong Monastery (or Phodang) is a Buddhist monastery in Sikkim, India. It is located 28 kilometres from Gangtok.[1] It was built in the early 18th century but an older monastery had pre-existed the current one.[1]
9th Karmapa was invited by the king of Sikkim, where he founded three monasteries : Rumtek, the most important monastery of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Phodong and Ralang Monastery [2].
It was reconstructed by Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal[3], who was recognized as the reincarnation of his uncle, Sidkeong Namgyal, the abbot of the monastery[4]. The line was to be continued by Palden Thondup Namgyal
The monastery has a residence of approximately 260 monks and has a numerous collection of some ancient murals.[1]