Tsuglagkhang- McLeod Gunj

Tsuglagkhang is the main temple complex in McLeod Gunj, I had heard. For most of us in India temples are synonymous with architecture that dates back atleast 5 centuries & even if the temple is new no effort is spared to replicate its predecessors. So I walked up the concrete stairs of Tsuglakhang with a strange sense of anticlimax, forgetting that this was built by a people and culture in exile. But that said, there was no mistaking the sense of sacred in the open terraces of the temple and the sanctum sanctorum. Here the Silences were at home, as monks went about their prayers undisturbed by the constant stream of tourists.

Stupas : "The Tibetan Stupa is a precise traditional structure that transforms and harmonizes imbalances in elements and energies.It is a symbol of the enlightened mind of the Buddha and of our own potential as human beings. The form and contents of the stupa expresses the balance and purification of the five basic building blocks of the universe: earth, water, fire, air and space and also the wisdom and compassion of Buddha nature, the true nature of all living beings.more about stupas" Open terraces
This faced the main sanctum sanctorum...

....and held numerous little brightly polished lamps ready to be lit.


The main temple houses larger than life statues of the Buddha, Padmasambhava and Avalokiteshwara.

The hall is lined on either side by beautiful Tibetan Thangka paintings

Padmasambhava- This image is from shunya.net
Details of the throne on which the Buddha is seated.
Details of one of the many Thangka paintings

The temple also houses one of the largest collections of sacred Tibetan texts.

Around the main temple the corridors are lined with prayer wheels that you can spin while you circumambulate around the sanctum.

I mentioned the tourists :)

Some monks you knew not to disturb

The others were gracious and actually smiled for you :)