Rangjung

Rangjung (རང་བྱུང་, meaning "self-created" in Dzongkha) is a small town on the Gamri River in Trashigang District, eastern Bhutan. It sits in the Radhi Gewog area and serves as a local commercial and religious centre. The town\'s identity is shaped by Rangjung Woesel Choeling Monastery, one of the largest Nyingma institutions in the country.

Geography

Rangjung lies in the Gamri valley in eastern Bhutan, downstream from the dzongkhag capital of Trashigang. The Gamri River (Gamri Chhu) flows through the town before joining the Drangme Chhu further south. The area sits at a mid-altitude position — lower than the main Trashigang ridge but above the subtropical lowlands near the Indian border. The surrounding landscape includes terraced farmland, forested slopes, and scattered hamlets characteristic of eastern Bhutan\'s settlement pattern.

Roads connect Rangjung to Trashigang town to the northeast and to Radhi Gewog to the east, an area known for raw silk production and terraced rice fields.

Rangjung Woesel Choeling Monastery

Rangjung Woesel Choeling Monastery was founded in 1989 by His Eminence Dungse Garab Dorje Rinpoche (commonly known as Garab Rinpoche), who was born and raised in Tibet before leaving at age 17. The monastery follows the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, specifically the Dudjom New Treasure Lineage (Dudjom Tersar), distinguishing it from the Drukpa Kagyu tradition that dominates most of Bhutan\'s official monastic institutions.

The monastery began with a small number of monks and nuns. By 1993, the growing number of female practitioners necessitated a separate nunnery, which was established at Radhi Pakaling, approximately 12 kilometres from the main monastery. The community has since grown to more than 300 resident monks and nuns, including tulkus (reincarnate lamas), khenpos (scholar-abbots), and elderly practitioners who have retired to the monastery for their final years.

Four retreat centres operate under the monastery\'s umbrella, providing facilities for intensive meditation practice. Monks undergo years of training in philosophy, ritual practice, chanting, meditation, and debate. The monastery covers an area of roughly one acre (4,047 square metres).

Significance

Rangjung Woesel Choeling is one of the few major Nyingma institutions in a country where the state-supported monastic body follows the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. Its growth since 1989 reflects the continuing vitality of the Nyingma school in eastern Bhutan, where Nyingma and other non-Kagyu traditions have historically maintained a stronger presence than in the west.

The monastery draws pilgrims from across eastern Bhutan and attracts monks and nuns from the surrounding dzongkhags. Garab Rinpoche\'s leadership has made it a centre for the Dudjom Tersar teachings, and the institution\'s rapid expansion from a handful of monks to over 300 residents in three decades reflects both the Rinpoche\'s spiritual authority and the demand for Nyingma religious education in the region.

Town Life

Beyond the monastery, Rangjung functions as a small market town serving the agricultural communities of the surrounding gewogs. The town has basic commercial facilities and a road junction that connects it to Trashigang and to the Radhi area. Agriculture in the surrounding valleys centres on rice, maize, and livestock, supplemented by the raw silk weaving for which Radhi Gewog is known.

References

1. Rangjung Woesel Choling Monastery — Trashigang Dzongkhag Administration
2. Rangjung Woesel Choling Monastery — Little Bhutan
3. Rangjung Woesel Choeling Monastery — Truly Bhutan Travel