Hemis Gompa - page 2 Also read the previous page Up a ladder is the top room, the inside of which measures approximately 8 square feet. It is almost entirely filled with a miniature temple, there being just enough room to walk around it by keeping close to the walls. This model is a marvel of intricate workmanship. It is painted and decorated all over with bright figures of the Buddha, and standing about 4 feet high.A tiny alter is kept in the corner and before it is a decorated stool and a box, 2ft by 3ft by 1ft in dimensions, covered with a fur mat, obviously intended for the lama whose vigil is beside the temple.

Near Lekir Monastery, Ladakh Credit: Luke Powell

Outside lies the sunlit courtyard, polished like a terrace above the village. A path leads down with prayer flags in either side through a sloping meadow. At each end of this path stands a chorten, a stone monument often to be found near monasteries and other holy places throughout the country. Chortens have a special structure: a cube at the base, signifying water; next a cone, strangely interpreted as fire; and the top crowned with a crescent and a circle of gilded wood which stands for "air".

Between these chortens and surrounded by prayer flags runs a 'mane wall'. This wall of stone is about 120 ft long, two and a half feet wide and two and a half feet tall. It contains the usual carved and pointed stones bearing the formula "Om Mane Padme Hum". (bless the gem in the lotus)

On the painted walls of the prayer wheel house are hung painted tankas depicting incidents in the life of Buddha. The walls themselves are adorned with a riot of colors and designs in which warlike and religious scenes can be distinguished. It is an impression of the Buddhist heaven and hell.