Tibetan Buddhist Centre & Monastery
This is a place that is special to me. Although it is a working monastery, visitors are welcome, free of charge, and there is a gift shop and delightful tea rooms to cater for the occasional visitor.
I'm not going to go into great detail about it, as it has such personal meaning for me, but I thought you'd like to see a few photos of what is truly a wonderful place of peace and tranquillity
The Green Tara, and the medicinal herb garden. The Sangha are the keepers of the knowledge of Tibetan medicine
This shrine stands where a lesser river flows into the River Esk, and is a guardian against flooding.
The Clootie tree- you make a small offering, say a prayer, take a strip of coloured fabric out of the box and tie it to the tree. As the wind blows the ribbon, the prayer is blown upwards
The Great Stupa.
The pond and statue of Guru Rinpoche. Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru), was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th - 9th centuries). According to some early Tibetan sources like the Testament of Ba, he came to Tibet in the 8th century and helped construct Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. However, little is known about the actual historical figure other than his ties to Vajrayana and Indian Buddhism.
the peacocks roam loose in the gardens. This one will follow you if you enter the vegetable garden - presumably to ensure you don't steal anything. He also has a decided hatred of cars, and will attack any car that drives into the monastery grounds. He doesn't seem to mind motorcycles though!
The monastery is open to people of all religions and none . It has a lovely little shop and tearooms
*Tibetan Buddhists came to Scotland after the Chinese seized control of Tibet, and His Holiness, the Dalai Lama had to flee to India, in 1959. Samye Ling was founded by brothers Akong Tulku and Yeshi Losal, who is the current Abbot of the monastery, in 1967. Akong Tulku Rinpoche was murdered, whilst on a charitable trip, in Chengdu, China on October 8th 2013.
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