Pokhriabong Lepcha Monastery

Pokhriabong Lepcha Monastery also popularly known as the "Boudha Terda Pema Lingpa Lepcha Community Gompa " is located in the Indian state of West Bengal approximately 30 km away from the Darjeeling town at a place called Pokhriabong. The monastery follows the teachings and practices of the Nyingma school which is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism founded by the Vajrayana revealer Guru Padmasambhava. This was the first Buddhist monastery ever built in Pokhriabong.

Historically, the Lepcha people were deep rooted in the cult of "Mun or Munism" also called 'Bongthingism' which is highly devoted towards nature worshiping. The Lepcha people assimilation with the Buddhist religion can be traced back to late sixteen century CE to the first half of the seventeenth century CE when a monk named Lhatsun Namka Jigme of Nyingma Buddhist order traveled from the north (Tibet) to the Sikkim and played important role in spreading the Buddhist religion among the native people of Sikkim and the Darjeeling region. Henceforth, the Buddhist religion became the main beliefs for the many Lepcha people of the Eastern-Himalayan region until the arrival of the western missionaries who were successful in converting many Lepcha people into Christianity.

History
The genesis of this monastery is mostly dominated by the oral narratives passed down over the generations by the Lepcha people. It is said that the place where the monastery is established remained an important place of gathering during ancient times for the Lepcha people of the surrounding areas. Here they came together and greeted each other with garland particularly made of ' pago rip'  ('rip'  meaning flower in Lepcha language and  'pago'  which is Lepcha name of the flower having its scientific name called Oroxylum indicum), which is also a very important traditional flower used by the Lepcha people over centuries in every good occasion like marriage ceremony and also during Munism' rituals etc., this particular place became important rendezvous point for the aboriginal Lepcha people and popularly came to known as "Taor-zóóm" ('Taor'  meaning 'garland' and 'zóóm'  meaning 'gathering' in Lepcha language) and at present the place is known as Turzum'. Such gatherings of the Lepcha people in this land where the monastery is built, continued for many centuries, until on one occasion the learned Lepcha Lama (Monk) named "Nāni-rańgéy" was born in a Lepcha family. The discourse about his birthplace remains an important topic of discussion among the Lepcha scholars. He was the one who decided to build a Tshötëń (Lepcha Buddhist Stupa) in that place and started the construction of the stupa. Over the centuries, due to natural calamities, the structure of the stupa which was built by the Nāni-rańgéy lama was destroyed and lost its importance among the new generations of Lepcha people. Nevertheless, it was in the late 1960s that some people in the surrounding area where the stupa was built began to notice a mound that was in the exact shape of a Buddhist stupa. During that time some Lepcha people who were aware of the religious importance of that place came forward to understand more about the place where the mound was located. The excavation of the mound was done by the group of Lepcha people and they found some valuable objects within it. The reconstruction process of the stupa was started and within sometime it was completed. Hence, the place became an important religious center for the Lepcha Buddhist people of Pokhriabong. An annual gathering like in the ancient times among the Lepcha people on the same land where their ancestors gathered in the past was continued every year by the new generation Lepcha people on the auspicious day of Buddha Jayanti.



Concise history of Stupa
According to legend while constructing the stupa Nāni-rańgéy lama needed some valuable objects to place within the stupa, so he traveled far down the hill every day. His disciples who were helping him in the construction of the stupa did not know where he goes to bring these objects whenever Nāni-rańgéy lama returned from his journey he had something with him which was used to place within the stupa. One day, one of his disciples followed the lama secretly and reached a place called  'Zear-Dom' ('Zear' meaning jewelry, 'Dom' meaning box in Lepcha Language)which at present is located in the Dajai Khasmahal and Rangvang valley region near Balason river which is almost 12 km away from the Pokhriabong bazaar. This particular place has important significance in the history of Lepcha people and in the history Pokhriabong Lepcha monastery. It was from this place Nāni-rańgéy lama used to collect the valuable objects for the stupa. Historically, it was the stupa that was built before the monastery in circa seventeenth  to eighteenth century CE by the Nāni-rańgéy lama (during this period the Tibetan Buddhism was spreading its shadow of wisdom among the aboriginal people of the Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalayan region) The stupa existed for a long period of time before it was destroyed due to natural calamities such as earthquakes. It lost its importance for many centuries until it was rediscovered and came into notice in the 1960s.

Festivals
The annual festival held in the monastery is the celebration of the Buddha Jayanti where all the people from the Lepcha community of the surrounding areas and people from all ethnic communities in the region come to attend this event in large numbers. The Lepcha monks recite prayers from the ancient verses by reading Buddhist manuscripts on this occasion. Such practices are continued since the establishment of the monastery. On this auspicious day, people visit Lepcha monastery and offer Khada (traditional scarf) and takes blessings from the head lamas. Sweet rice porridge is commonly served to recall the story of Sujata milkmaid, a maiden who, in Gautama Buddha's life, offered the Buddha a bowl of milk porridge. Non-vegetarian food and alcohol are normally avoided on this day in the monastery. A procession is taken out around the Pokhriabong bazaar by the managing committee of the monastery on this day and people participate by carrying the holy books of Buddhism, the statue of Buddha is also carried by the people in a beautifully decorated Palanquin. The external structure of the monastery was completed during the 1980s.