Tango Goenpa, founded in the 13th century by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and rebuilt in 1688–89 by the fourth Druk Desi Tenzin Rabgye, is the senior monastic college of the Drukpa Kagyu school in Bhutan. Located near Cheri Goenpa above Thimphu valley, it now functions as a shedra under the Zhung Dratshang.
Tango Goenpa (Dzongkha: rTa-mgo, "horse-head") is a Buddhist monastery in Thimphu Dzongkhag, fourteen kilometres north of the capital and adjacent to Cheri Goenpa. It was founded in the thirteenth century by the Tibetan lama Phajo Drugom Zhigpo (c. 1184–1251), who introduced the Drukpa Kagyu tradition to Bhutan, and was rebuilt in its present form in 1688–89 by the fourth Druk Desi Gyalsey Tenzin Rabgye. The name derives from a self-arisen rock formation resembling a horse's head, identified with the wrathful deity Hayagriva.[1][2]
Tango is the senior monastic college (shedra) of the Drukpa Kagyu school in Bhutan, providing higher Buddhist studies for monks who have completed initial training in dzong-based monastic schools. It is administered as part of the Zhung Dratshang, the state monastic body, and is paired in the Bhutanese pilgrimage tradition with neighbouring Cheri Goenpa, the Zhabdrung's 1620 foundation.
This article covers the 13th-century founding, the visits of Drukpa Kunley and the Zhabdrung, Tenzin Rabgye's 1688 reconstruction, and the monastery's current role as a shedra.
Founding by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo
Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, regarded as the founder of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage in Bhutan, established the original Tango monastery on the site in the early 13th century. According to the traditional account, he was directed to the location by a vision in which Avalokiteshvara revealed himself in his wrathful Hayagriva form, identifying the rock formation as the deity's self-emanated likeness. Phajo's descendants administered the site for several generations, although the early monastery was modest in scale.[1][2]
Drukpa Kunley and the Zhabdrung
Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529), the "Divine Madman" whose name is associated with the founding of Chimi Lhakhang and a wide tradition of unconventional Drukpa teaching, is recorded as having visited Tango in the eighth Rabjung cycle and to have prayed that his successors would take care of the monastery. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal meditated in Tango's caves in 1616, the year of his arrival in Bhutan from Ralung. The Zhabdrung's subsequent foundation of Cheri Goenpa in 1620 on the adjacent ridge tied the two monasteries together as a pilgrimage pair.[1][2]
Tenzin Rabgye's reconstruction (1688–89)
The most consequential rebuilding of Tango was carried out under the fourth Druk Desi, Gyalsey Tenzin Rabgye (1638–1696), who held the office from 1680 to 1694. Tenzin Rabgye was a grandson of the Zhabdrung's lineage and is credited with formalising several of the institutions that define modern Bhutanese culture, including the categorisation of the zorig chusum (the thirteen traditional crafts), the establishment of regular tsechu festivals across the country and the introduction of the thongdrel (large appliqué religious banner) at Tashichho Dzong in 1690.[3]
He oversaw the reconstruction of Tango in 1688–89, expanding the monastery to its present form within a recorded period of two months. The structure dating from this rebuilding, with later restorations, remains the principal complex visible at the site today.[1][3]
Shedra and current status
Tango is the senior shedra of the Drukpa Kagyu school in Bhutan. The first reorganised modern shedra was established in 1966 by the 64th Je Khenpo, Jamyang Yeshey Sengyel, with the support of the Royal Grandmother Ashi Phuntsho Choden, and has been continuously expanded since. Monks admitted to the shedra typically have completed initial training in dzong-based schools and undertake an extended programme in Madhyamaka philosophy, Vinaya, Abhidharma and tantric studies.[1]
The monastery is also the residence of the Tri Rinpoche, recognised as the reincarnation of Tenzin Rabgye. The seventh in the line, Gyalsey Tenzin Sangpo Yeshe Yonten Dorji, has been the seated incarnation in recent years, although the recognition and seating of his line have at times been subject to the same political sensitivities that have shaped other Bhutanese reincarnation traditions.[1]
Architecture and approach
The monastery is reached by a steep footpath of about an hour from the road head above Cheri, climbing through pine forest to a flat shoulder where the main complex sits. The principal building is a multi-storey structure with classical Bhutanese rammed-earth lower walls and projecting timbered upper levels. The inner shrine houses the self-emanated Hayagriva image and a substantial collection of statues and thangkas dating from the Tenzin Rabgye reconstruction and later. Caves on the cliff above are used for closed retreats. The complex includes monks' quarters, a teaching hall, kitchens and administrative buildings.[1][4]
References
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