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Ladakh himalayas

General Info

 ·  Villages
 ·  Valleys and plateaus
 ·  Lakes
 ·  Passes
 ·  Glaciers
 ·  Rivers

 ·  People

 ·  Religion
    ·  Islam
    ·  Buddhism
    ·  Lamaism
      ·  Gompas
        ·  Hemis Gompa
          Structure
        ·  Religious ceremonies
        ·  Kushoks

 ·  Fairs and festivals
 ·  Other places of interest

The Himalayas - where earth meets sky
Indian Himalayas - Ladakh

Structure of Gompas
Most gompas have an impressive structure with many different types of rooms and halls. The main structural components of a gompa are:

The Road to Alchi - Near Alchi Monastery, Ladakh. Credit: Luke Powell
The Road to Alchi
Near Alchi Monastery, Ladakh

Credit: Luke Powell

Living quarters
There are living quarters or apartments for the kushoks and the lamas. The kushoks' living quarters are well furnished.

Worship halls
A gompa can have many worship halls. The main worship hall contains the images of Lord Buddha and various luminaries of the Buddhist hierarchy. There may be pictures of important events in the life of Lord Buddha and salient features of the Tibetan Mahayanist cult.

Library
Each gompa usually has a library with books consisting of loose leaves measuring about 1 ft by 4 inches held between wooden boards and wrapped with pieces of silk.

Entrance
Three pictures or carvings can usually be seen at the entrance of every gompa. These are of the pig, representing delusion; the vulture, representing greed and the serpent, representing hatred.

They form an unbreakable ring or chain with the mouth of each holding the tail of the next. This symbolizes the chain of cause and effect manifest between these three moral observations.

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