Rekindling the Flame of Bön Monastic Education
The possibility of establishing a seat for Bon monastic learning in Kathmandu found its origins in Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and the reestablishment of another monastery, the illustrious Menri monastery in Himachal Pradesh. Born in the Kham province of Eastern Tibet in 1926, Yongdzin Rinpoche had served as the principal teacher, Lopön, at the original Menri monastery in Tsang, Tibet for seven years, but was forced into retreat following Chinese backlash to the Tibetan rebellion of 1959. As a result of rising tensions in Tibet, Yongdzin Rinpoche attempted to flee the country and only narrowly escaped. In a harrowing experience, Rinpoche was shot and detained in a camp for ten months before finally making it over the Himalayan border. Once outside of Tibet, Yongdzin Rinpoche found himself collaborating and studying with scholars internationally as well as working with Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche in Solan. This latter work resulted, in 1977, in the reestablishment of Menri monastery, moved from its 600-year old home in Tsang to its current home in Dolanji, Himachal Pradesh in India, symbolizing the renewed availability of a rigorous Bön monastic education capable of conferring the distinguished Geshe degree upon its students.
Triten Norbutse Monastery was established with the following intentions:
1. To provide a possibility for offering the complete Bön Education and Practice Program, mainly to the younger generation of Bönpo people in the Himalayan borderlands, such as Dolpa and Mustang, and to Tibetan refugees. Even though there have been many Bönpo Monasteries in Dolpa, Mustang, and other districts of Nepal for many centuries, over the last three decades Triten Norbutse has become the hub of Bön scholarship in Nepal. It is aimed at offering a full opportunity to study and practice the Tradition of Bön to students, scholars, and practitioners from other parts of the world.
2. To preserve and restore the Bön Cultural and Religious heritage.3. To serve as a center for the social and religious life of the Bönpo Communities.
Present Activities and Plans for the Future
The monastery continues to uphold the two sectors of the education program as its main activities and provides all necessary facilities and education.The monastery continues computerizing and archiving ancient texts and artworks, in book and digital format, to make them available for monks, scholars, and lay people.
Triten Norbutse intends to start a school with a curriculum similar to that of the monks, with the aim of improving the education of lay practitioners in Dolpa and Mustang. This school will have an innovative dimension, combining necessary modern education with traditional subjects. Entrance will be open to lay practitioners regardless of gender or social status.
A center for the practice of traditional Himalayan/Tibetan Medicine is planned, where both patients and scholars can come and benefit. It is envisaged that this center will bridge traditional and modern medical practices.
As a consequence of all these activities, the monastery has assumed a place of considerable importance in its community.
In Tibetan and Himalayan society, a monastery serves as a center for the social life of the community in many ways: it is the meeting point on festive occasions; people come here with physical and mental problems to find help and guidance; there are public prayers and meditations for peace and prosperity in the country and the world; herbal medicine is gathered, prepared, and consecrated; public lectures are given to reinforce faith, peace, and harmony in the community; rites for the welfare of the deceased as well as for living beings are performed, and the monastery is an example of a favorable environment with a positive influence on its surroundings.
As part of this community, the monk-students’ needs are met by the monastery; accommodation, food, clothes, and books, as well as education and guidance are provided free of charge.