Tamshing monastery originally known as Tamshing Lhendup Chholing (monastery of good message), is located in Chokhor valley at 5km distance from Jakar town. It is a small single storey complex surrounded by village houses and a magnificent view of the Kurjey Lhakhang on the opposite side of the Chamkhar River. ♤History. The monastery was built in 1501 by the Pema Lingpa himself. Pema Lingpa is a great Buddhist saint and spiritual master who discovered many treasures around the kingdom. He built the monastery with the help of Dakinis who built a lot of statues. Pema Lingpa is also credited with the founding of various sacred masked dances.

The Tamzhing Lhakhang/temple located opposite to Kurjey Monastery along the Bumthang river is one of the most historically, spiritually and culturally significant monasteries in Bhutan. Presently the temple serves as a place of daily worship for the community and many religious ceremonies are held regularly. The 3 days Tamzhing Phala Choedpa is held every year in the Autumn season and is a popular Festival amongst both the locals and visiting tourists. Tamzhing is one of the oldest Nyingmapa temple in the world built in 1501 by Terton Pema Lingpa, the great ‘treasure discoverer.’ Nyingmapa is the oldest of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism beginning with Guru Padmasambhava / Guru Rinpoche himself. In the 8th Century, Guru Rinpoche prophesied the birth of Pema Lingpa and he is one of the 5 great treasure discoverers. Treasure here means religious scrolls and teachings hidden by Guru Rinpoche to be discovered along the centuries and these treasures would further revitalize and propagate Buddhism. Tamzhing Lhakhang houses one of the oldest statue of Guru Rinpoche built by Pema Lingpa and the main essence of the statue is another statue of Dorji Sempa / Vajrasattava which is a treasure Pema Lingpa discovered from the Mebar Tsho/Burning Lake located in Tang valley in Bumthang. Another unique feature of the Tamzhing is a heavy iron net made and blessed by Pema Lingpa and it is believed that our sins will washed off if we can carry the iron net and circumambulate the temple three times.

It is a 15 century nyingmapa temple and one of the oldest in Bumthang valley. The wall paintings are as old as the temple with few restoration done. With around 100 monks it’s a must visit temple in Bumthang

Tamshing Lhakhang is a Buddhist temple located in Bumthang, Bhutan. It was founded in 1501 by Pema Lingpa, a famous Bhutanese saint and treasure revealer. The temple is considered to be one of the most important Nyingma (ancient) Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan, and is renowned for its ancient murals, sculptures, and other artworks. The temple houses several important relics, including a statue of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) that is said to have miraculously flown to its current location from Tibet. There are also many sacred objects and texts that are kept in the temple's library.

Local Name: Tamshing Lhundrup Choling Date of Construction: 1501 Category: Heritage sites – Temple Geographical Location: Chhoekhor, Bumthang district Description Tamshing is a small one-storey temple surrounded by monastic and village dwellings. From Tamshing monastery there is an excellent view of the Kurje complex on the other side of the river. A little bit north of Tamshing, a footbridge crosses the river and from there, it is only a ten-minute walk to Kurje. Today, the monastery suffers from precarious conditions of conservation. Amongst other problems, due to roof leakages, the wall paintings are now becoming detached from the mud plaster of the walls and require urgent restoration History Tamshing, is one of the most historically, spiritually and culturally significant monasteries in Bhutan. Built in the early sixteenth century, it has maintained living Vajrayana Buddhist traditions for over five hundred years. The founder of Tamshing, Pema Lingpa (1450 – 1521), is considered a great saint and spiritual master in both the Bhutanese and Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist traditions. Moreover, Tamshing is also a great centre of Bhutanese sacred masked dance, and Pema Lingpa himself introduced many of the sacred dances that remain a vibrant part of the monastic dance repertory throughout the region. Tamshing Lhakhang, founded in 1501 (completed in 1505) by Pema Lingpa, contains paintings of fundamental interest for the history of painting in this region. It is also, along with Gangtey Gonpa in the Black Mountains and Drametse Gonpa in the East, one of the only places where Pema Lingpa’s tradition of religious teachings still continues today. Source: Bhutan Cultural Atlas

It was built by Terton Pema Lingpa as his resident during 15th century. The most interesting legend is about the statue of Guru Rimpochoe. You can also see the chain armor of Terton Pema Lingpa which he used during the battle.

Tamshing Lhakhang is one of the most significant historical sites in Bhutan associated with Tertoen Pema Lingpa and continues to be the main seat of Nyingma School of Buddhism in central Bhutan. The temple is also well-known for its unique mural paintings which are considered some of the oldest in the country. Tamshing Lhakhang is about 5 kms from Jakar town in Bumthang.

One of the oldest temple in the country.. just loved the calm feeling it provides.

Wonderful old Monastery where we witnessed a fascinating festival.

I can still feel the weight of the 200 kg iron blanket I carried while circumambulating the altar room.

Tamshing monastery was offered to Terton Padma/Pema Lingpa by one of his patrons when he was looking for a site to build his founding place(dhensa) in the 15th century. It is not the oldest monastery in Bumthang as Jampa Lhakhang (7th C) and Konchogsum Lhakhang (7th C) are the oldest in the valley. The main statues inside such as the main Guru Rinpoche statue with his eight manifestations on the ground floor was said to be made by Terton Pema Lingpa with the help of divine Dakinis(female celestial beings). The Terton had locked himself up, without food or water, for several days. People were concerned and opened the door to the inner sanctum to find dakinis helping the Terton. Upon being discovered, the dakinis flew up into the skies and the main Guru Rinpoche statue is said to have looked up at them flying. Therefore the unique feature of the main statue is that it looks upwards towards the sky during the morning, straight ahead during mid day and a little down cast during the evenings. All the murals are in its original state of the 15th to 16th century. One can also find the iron(rust less) chain coat/chain mail that Terton Pema Lingpa made, not for war, but for meditational practice. Pilgrims are allowed to carry this chain coat around the Barkor(middle circumambulatory area) three times to rid oneself of negative karma. The 2nd floor height is supposedly built according to the Terton's own height as he was known to be a short and stout person. Terton Pema Lingpa is one of the 5 Kingly Tertons out of the 108 Major Tertons or Trasure Discoverers prophesied by Guru Rinpoche. They are the incarnations of Guru Rinpoche and His 25 disciples who reveal Termas at later future centuries that were divienly hidden by Guru and his disciples in the 8th century for the benefit of future sentient beings. Terton Pema Lingpa is the ancestor to the current Kings of Bhutan.

Dzong, chortel, lakhanag I visited many of them in Bhutan during our trip so not much fond of this one too All are same with statues with beautiful scenic beauty, generally they open only one temple for tourists which is also found to be closed many times. This one was different as it is very old and unique

A quiet and meditative place. Has this large chain material that is worn and carried around the temple by devotees.