Namgyal Monastery


Namgyal Monastery is currently located in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala, India. It is the personal monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama. Another name for this temple-complex is Namgyal Tantric College.
This monastery's key role is to assist with rituals involving the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Its main tantric practices reportedly include those of Kalachakra, Yamantaka, Chakrasamvara, Guhyasamaja, and Vajrakilaya.

Early years

Founded in either 1564 or 1565 as Phende Lekshe Ling by the Second Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso, Namgyal Monastery was renamed in honour of the female long-life deity Namgyälma in 1571.
Since the completion of construction on the Potala Palace, Namgyal was traditionally housed in the red section at the top of that building in Lhasa.

Since 1959

Following the Tibetan uprising of 1959, Namgyal Monastery relocated to Dharamshala, India, where it continues, active, to this day. According to Namgyal's website, Namgyal has "nearly 200" monks, representing all four main Tibetan monastic lineages.
In 1992, on the advice of the present Dalai Lama, Namgyal established an American branch in Ithaca, New York, including within it the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies. On 8 February 1996, the monks of Namgyal Monastery's Institute of Buddhist Studies offered their first "Blessing of Cyberspace" as part of the "Twenty-four Hours in Cyberspace" event.
In 1998, Namgyal incorporated a Tibetan monastery in Bodhgaya, India, called Gendhen Phelgyeling. That monastery is now known as Namgyal, and has 45 monks.
Namgyal also manages a temple in Kushinagar, and an elderly home in Simla.
Whether the People's Republic of China has maintained an institution with the same name inside Tibet is unclear.