Home
Beyul
History
Chorten Gonpa
Life at Nubri
Contact Us
Donate
Request Prayers

Photo Gallery
People

Environment

VISION

Succession

Lama Nubri, Chö Kyi Nyima expressed his perspective on Buddhism in Kyimo Lung, Nubri Monastery, and his life. Losar 2002:

"Our place is a hidden land and for 500 years it was a center of dharma. Everyone practiced, we had accomplished lamas and the people all had tremendous faith. But now it appears that the positive karma of this hereditary system in this land, has come to an end.

The sons of the lamas are not lamas but businessmen. Some have even become thieves and stolen valuable offering bowls and butter lamps out of the Gonpas. When the people see this happening they lose their faith in Buddhism.

I was born to a family of lineage holders. Traditionally, in this area of Nepal, most of the monasteries are hereditary. The religious community consists of tantric practitioners (Ngag-pas), householders with families who go to the monastery to say prayers, attend ceremonies and take part in the annual summer and winter retreats. Times have changed, the Ngag-pas no longer have the time from work and worldly responsibilities to do retreats or take care of the Gonpa. As a result, over the course of fifty years the previous monastery at Nubri had fallen into such disrepair that it had to be pulled down.

As a young man I worried that, because there were rich lamas from Tibet, Nepal and India, living in Kathmandu, the people of the hidden land would go there to study. If our people went and then came back that would be one thing, but a person gets used to the easy life of the city when a place to stay, clothing, food, and money are all provided by the monasteries. Who would want to come back up the mountains where life is hard? Even if these practitioners did come back here to live, it would mean that new lineages would come with them. Subsequently our traditional lineage of empowerments, authorization to practice and, explanation (Wang, Lung, and Tri,) of the experiential meditation lineage (Nyam Len) would all be neglected, lost and forgotten. I became very aware of all this when I did my first retreats. When I was young it felt to me that the spiritual life energy of "the peaceful valley" was being depleted. What was once a central place of dharma had become a barren land. And I thought, "If only there were some way for people to live here in Kyimo Lung and practice the Dharma then there would be hope. If people lived here maybe they would get used to the harsh climate and wild environment." Seeing this was hard for my mind to bear. But I was young and I do not come from a wealthy family. I had no solutions to offer.

And so I did retreat in various different places until I came to Dodrup Chen's monastery, Choten Gonpa, in Sikkim. My intention had been to remain there and devote my life to meditation and the attainment of realization. However, after I completed my retreat, Rinpoche advised me to go back to Kyimo Lung and rejuvenate the spiritual energy of the hidden land. This was about twenty years ago. I have not given up on my endeavors; a monastery has been built and we now have a thriving community of monks and nuns.

My idea has always been to devote my life to teaching and practice; hearing pondering and meditation, for the benefit of all sentient beings. This is my main endeavor. As a monk I don't have to take care of a wife and children, or work to build up my own wealth. Whatever money I get I am free to give to the monastery. For the past nine years we have had a new system of nuns and monks. In terms of knowledge the difference between the monastic and the lay practitioners is like that of sky and water. The monks and nuns are instructed exactly equally, they read much more and they know more about the criptures, meditation, making tormas, and all our ceremonies.

Now the monastery and lineage will pass from teacher to heart disciple. My hope is that this system of a monastic community will last for a further four to five hundred years. Karma Tulku has been appointed as my successor. He was trained at Choten Gonpa and is now living at Nubri Monastery. Tulku is learned, has a very good nature, and is able to take care of the monastery, but he cannot raise funds."

This is what the late Nubri Lama, Chö Kyi Nyima, said at the Losar celebration at Chorten Gonpa in 2002.

In March of the Fire-Male-Dog year, 2006, Nubri Lama unexpectedly died in a bus accident, on his way back to Sera Gonpa from Chorten Gonpa.