Chagri Monastery

Chagri Dorjeden Monastery Chagri Monastery
Chagri Monastery, Bhutan
Religion
Affiliation	Tibetan Buddhism
Sect	Southern Drukpa Lineage Kagyu
Location
Location within Bhutan
Geographic coordinates	27°35′54″N 89°38′50″E / 27.59833°N 89.64722°E / 27.59833; 89.64722
Architecture
Founder	Ngawang Namgyal
Date established	1620

Chagri Dorjeden Monastery, also called Cheri Monastery, is a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan established in 1620 by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche,^[1] the founder of the Bhutanese state.

The monastery, which is now a major teaching and retreat center of the Southern Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, is located at the northern end of the Thimphu Valley about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the capital. It sits on a hill above the end of the road at Dodeyna and it takes about an hour to walk up the steep hill to reach the monastery from there.

According to Bhutanese religious histories, the place was first visited by Padmasambhava in the 8th century. In the 13th century it was visited by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo the Tibetan Lama who first established the Drukpa Kagyu tradition in Bhutan. Johnsingh (2005) describes the beauty of the place and the occurrence of goral there.

Part of a series on
Tibetan Buddhism
Schools Nyingma Kadam Sakya Bodong Kagyu Jonang Gelug Rimé
Key personalities First dissemination Padmasambhāva Śāntarakṣita Kamalaśīla Songtsen Gampo Trisong Detsen Ralpacan Second dissemination Atiśa Talika Abhayakirti Niguma Sukhasiddhi Milarepa Nyingma Yeshe Tsogyal Longchenpa Jigme Lingpa Patrul Rinpoche Dudjom Lingpa Mipham Kagyu Marpa Rangjung Dorje Jonang Dolpopa Taranatha Sakya Sakya Pandita Gorampa Bodongpa Samding Dorje Phagmo Gelugpa Je Tsongkhapa 5th Dalai Lama 13th Dalai Lama 14th Dalai Lama 10th Panchen Lama
Teachings General Buddhist Three marks of existence Skandha Cosmology Saṃsāra Rebirth Bodhisattva Dharma Dependent origination Karma Tibetan Four Tenets system Rangtong-Shentong Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction Nyingma Dzogchen Pointing-out instruction
Practices and attainment Lamrim Pāramitās Bodhicitta Avalokiteśvara Meditation Laity Vajrayana Tantra techniques Deity yoga Guru yoga Dream yoga Thukdam Buddhahood
Major monasteries Tradruk Drepung Dzogchen Ganden Jokhang Kumbum Labrang Mindrolling Namgyal Narthang Nechung Pabonka Palcho Ralung Ramoche Rato Sakya Sanga Sera Shalu Tashi Lhunpo Tsurphu Yerpa
Institutional roles Dalai Lama Panchen Lama Lama Karmapa Rinpoche Geshe Tertön Tulku Western tulku
Festivals Chotrul Duchen Dajyur Galdan Namchot Losar Dosmoche Monlam Sho Dun Losoong
Texts Kangyur Tengyur Tibetan Buddhist canon Mahayana sutras Nyingma Gyubum
Art Sand mandala Thangka Wall paintings Ashtamangala Tree of physiology Festival thangka Mani stone
History and overview History Timeline Outline Culture Index of articles
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Chagri Dorjeden was the first monastery established in Bhutan by Ngawang Namgyal in 1620 when he was 27 years old. The Zhabdrung spent three years in strict retreat at Chagri and resided there for many periods throughout the rest of his life. It was at Chagri in 1623 that he established the first Drukpa monastic order in Bhutan.

In 1705, the 7th Druk Desi, Umze Peljor, retired to Chagri Monastery, where he lived until his death in 1707.^[2]

Cheri initiated a new chapter in the history of the Drukpa school. As soon as the temple was finished and the reliquary stupa installed, Zhabdrung introduced a monastic community of 30 monks according to the constitutional and procedural framework he had created for his first monastic community in Ralung. These monks and the lay devotees, who gathered in Cheri, were taught by Lhawang Lodoe, who passed down the Drukpa teachings transmitted to him by Pema Karpo.

At the age of 33, he sent out edicts bearing his emblem of Ngachudruma, declaring 'all gods, humans and spirits of the Lhomonkhazhi, from this day, fall under the dominion of the great magician Nagwang Namgyal and everyone must heed to his words'.

• Karma Phuntsho (2013). The History of Bhutan. Nodia: Random House India. ISBN 9788184003116.
• Ardussi, John (2004); Formation of the State of Bhutan ('Brug gzhung) in the 17th century and its Tibetan Antecedents in Journal of Bhutan Studies, Vol 11 2004, Centre for Bhutan Studies, Thimphu.
• Dargye, Yonten and Sørensen, P.K. (2001); The Biography of Pha 'Brug-sgom Zhig-po called The Current of Compassion. Thumphu: National Library of Bhutan Archived 17 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. ISBN 99936-17-00-8
• Dargye, Yonten (2001). History of the Drukpa Kagyud School in Bhutan (12th to 17th Century A.D.). Thimphu. ISBN 99936-616-0-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

• Dorji, Sangay (Dasho) (2008). The Biography of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal: Pal Drukpa Rinpoche. Kinga, Sonam (trans.). Thimphu, Bhutan: KMT Publications. ISBN 978-99936-22-40-6.

• Seeds of Faith: A Comprehensive Guide to the Sacred Places of Bhutan (volume 1). Thimphu: KMT Publications. 2008.
• Johnsingh, A. J. T. 2005. A paradise in the Himalaya. Frontline, January, 28: 67–72.

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