Tango Monastery

The Tango Monastery is a Buddhist monastery located 14km to the north of the capital city of Thimphu in Bhutan, near Cheri Mountain. It was founded by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo (1184? - 1251?) in the 13th century and built in its present form by Tenzin Rabgye, the 4th Temporal Ruler in 1688. In 1616, the Tibetan lama Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal meditated in its cave. The self-emanated form of the wrathful Hayagriva is deified in the monastery. It belongs to the Drukpa Kagyu School of Buddhism in Bhutan.EtymologyThe word 'Tango' in Bhutanese language means “horse head”. This name conforms to the main deity Hayagriva (local name Tandin) deified in the monastery.Legend and tributeAccording to local legend, the location of this monastery is the holy place where Avalokiteshvara revealed himself as "the self-emanated form of the Wrathful Hayagriva". The location had been prophesised in Tibet. The acclamation of the divine nature of this place was performed by Ngawang Tenzin.HistoryAccording to a local legend Phajo Drugom Zhigpo propounder of the teachings of Dodeyna who was on a visit to this place during his teaching mission heard the neighing of a horse coming from the direction of the Tango. Concurrently, he witnessed the cliff in the form of god Tandin (horse head or Hayagriva) engulfed in flames. The deity appearing before Zhigpo prophesised that the place was meant to build a monastery for meditation. The prophecy also mentioned that Zhigpo would marry the Dakini, Khando Sonam Peldon and establish the Drukpa Kagyu School of Buddhism in Bhutan. The earliest history traced to this location is when Guru Rinpoche on a visit to the place in the 8th century had identified the place as representing the Hayagriva or horse head. It was only in 1222 that the place again got its recognition when Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, propounder of the Drukpa Kagyu School of Buddhism, witnessed the cliff in the form of god Tandin (horse head) or Hayagriva.