Sangchhen Thong Delling monastery is located at Ging, at about 10 km from the town of Darjeeling. In the past it was an integral belief of lamaism that un-enlightened souls should not put anything in writing as anything written by him would be of an "un-enlightened" nature and that would help no one. Hence the real history of this monastery has been lost in the mists of time and one can only hope that future research will throw some light on its past. However, it can be safely said that it is one of the oldest monastery in Darjeeling. The monastery practices Nyingmapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In a signboard hung in front of the monastery the year of establishment is written as being 1818. However, this is a subject of debate and must remain open until further supporting evidences emerge. However there is an official document vide which the land on which the monastery is built was granted to the lamas of Pemayangtse in 1879. This is the "Freehold grant" given by the Lt. Governor of Bengal to Lama of Pemayangtse, Sikkim vide deed dated 28.2.1879. It is recorded that "19 acres of land at Ging bounded on the North-east, the eastern Lebong road, North and west, western Lebong road and south leading from Darjeeling to Rangeet, South and South West Govt. Ging road from Western Lebong to Darjeeling road" given to build the Ging monastery belonging to Lamas of Pemayangtse monastery in West Sikkim.This document is still being maintained at the archives of the Ecclesiastical Department of Sikkim. So, it can be accepted for a fact that the monastery was built by the Lamas of Pemayangtse not later than 1879 at its present location at Ging. Management and appointment of Head Lama- This monastery was directly looked after by the Darber of Sikkim. As per the Darber's notification No. 464/J dated 9.5.1933 in Tibetan, the control of the monasteries at Ging and Bhutia Busty in Darjeeling were entrusted to the Judicial Secretary of the Darber which is now carried out by The Ecclesiastical Affairs Department. The appointment of head lama was also regulated to be deputed from Pemayangtse monastery. The last head monk Phutuk Bhutia was also appointed by the Pemayangtse Monastery of West Sikkim. The Sikkim government used to provide Rs 6,000 to run the monastery and Rs 5,000 to run a class for the monks. After his death on January 25, 2011, no lama was appointed to fill up the vacancy. The Monastery is virtually left to its own fate and with it an important part of the history of Sikkim/Darjeeling as well. Moreover the 19 plus acres of land that originally belonged to the monastery has been drastically reduced due to the numerous encroachments. To make matters worse the September 2011 earthquake damaged the old and weary structures of the monastery immensely. However with grant of funds from the Ecclesiastical Affairs Department of Sikkim renovation work has been done. The RoyalHistory of Sikkim has it that Lama Rinzing Dorji Ladenla, also known as Kacheng Tulku, built this monastery on Observatory Hill in Darjeeling. The monastery was established probably around the 1760s, as an offshoot of the Pemayangtse Monastery in Western Sikkim. The monastery was re-established in the year 1818 by the Lamas of Pemayangtse Sikkim, the 193-year-old Sangchhen Thong-Delling Gonpa is one of the oldest monasteries in Darjeeling. The exterior appearance and date of preserving the manuscripts justifies the monastery to be the oldest in Darjeeling. The town of Darjeeling was not in existence then, this area was then a part of the erstwhile Sikkim kingdom. This monastery was directly supervised by the Darber of Sikkim. As per the Darber‘s notification No. 464/J dated 9.5.1933 in Tibetan, the control of the Ging Monastery and Bhutia Busty Monastery in Darjeeling were entrusted to the Judicial Secretary of the Darber, which is now carried out by Ecclesiastical Affairs Department of Sikkim. The appointment of head lama is also regulated from Pemayangtse Monastery. The monastery, built in 1818, had existed at a place where the present Gorkha Rangamnch is situated near Loreto College. The monastery was later shifted, i.e. in 1879, since the Britishers residing in the area were disturbed due to the blowing of conch shells, the loud sound of Lhabha, Gyaling in the early hours and the evening. An excerpt: "It is said that Buddhist monks in India deliberately wiped out Buddhism in India when it was threatened by the revival of Hinduism. All Buddhist artifacts, places of worship and literature were buried underground and movable ones were transported across the Himalayas to Tibet. The buried treasures were called "Termo" and they were later revealed by the chosen ones. The "revealers" of these hidden treasures or time capsules were called Ter-tyon-Ling-pa. There are eight of these "Ter-tyon-Ling-Pa" of which two are associated with Denjong/ Sikkim. The two are the Ter-Tyon-Dö-jom-Lingpa and Ter-Tyon-Dorji-Lingpa. The Ter-Tyon-Dorji-Lingpa was initially based at a place which became known as Darjeeling, a name derived from Dorji-Lingpa. There was a monastery of the lineage at this spot which was later shifted to Ging." Sangchhen Thongdor-ling Gonpa is one of the religious shrines of Darjeeling that attracts many tourists even till date, probably for its age-old heritage.
