Gongkar Choede Monastery

Gongkar Choede Monastery or Gongkar Dorjeden in Tibet was established in 1464 by the great tantric master, Dorjedenpa Kunga Namgyal and his Teaching Lineage is known as the Dzongpa Lineage, which is a sub-sect of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. After the annexation of Tibet by China, the religious practices of Gongkar Choede nearly became extinct. In order to preserve and develop this unique Dzongpa Lineage, Gongkar Choede Monastery was re-established in the Tibetan settlement of Kheracamp at Laldang, some 45 km north-west of Dehradun in the Uttarakhand State of Northern India. It was founded by refugee monks from Lhokha (Chi. Shannan) in Central Tibet, who had left their monasteries and their homeland in order to receive a proper religious education in India. Gongkar Choede Monastery was inaugurated by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and His Holiness the Sakya Trizin on March 7, 2003.

Gongkar Choede Monastery is an important center for religious study, contemplation and meditation for fully-ordained and novice monks. Gongkar Choede Monastery also fulfills the spiritual needs of the nearby Tibetan and Indian lay community.

Gongkar Choede Monastery is situated in a serene forest environment within a reserved jungle area, secluded from outside distractions and is easily accessible to the local Buddhist communities. The monastery is home to about 80 monks of different ages who engage in ritual practices, scriptural studies and dialectics as had been the custom at Gongkar Choede Monastery in Tibet. With the help of individual donors and foreign organizations, Gongkar Choede Monastery has now grown into a medium-sized institution. The rituals and teachings of the Dzongpa Tradition have some special features which make Gongkar Choede unique amongst the various other Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.