Bhutia Busty Monastery – Get Calm and satiate Your Inner Satisfaction

Belonging to the Karma Kagya tradition of the Buddhism, Bhutia Busty monastery which is bitterly known as Karma Choling monastery is positioned at an expanse of about 2 km from Darjeeling main town in the C.R Das Road of Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The world third highest peak, Mt. Kanchenjunga provides a spectacular backdrop to this monastery which makes it utterly astounding.

The name of Darjeeling is supposed to have been derived from the name of the Lama Dorji Lingpa who constructed the monastery initially on the Observatory Hill (at the place where the current Mahakal temple is situated) ‘Dorjee’ meaning thunderbolt in Tibetan and ‘ling’ meaning resting place thus the name Darjeeling was given to the ‘Queen of the Hills’ meaning place of thunderbolt.

The monastery houses a well stocked library containing Buddhist texts dating back to the ancient period. The presence of this monastery in Darjeeling proves the stronghold of Buddhism in this beautiful Himalayan region.    

  

History:

Initially placed on the Observatory Hill, the current Bhutia Busty Monastery originally a branch of the Nyingma sect’s Phodang Monastery of Sikkim but was transferred to Darjeeling in the year 1879. Destroyed by the Gorkha takeover in the 19^th century, the aged old monastery was replaced in Bhutia Busty where again it was destroyed in 1934 by an earthquake. With the aid of Late Chogyal of Sikkim (Dharmaraja of Sikkim) the monastery was rebuilt to its present form. 

Architecture and Interior Decorations:

The monastery is constructed according to the conventional Tibetan architecture along with a strong Sikkim influence owing to which the monastery is worth a visit. The main entrance gate of the monastery is constructed in an arch shape with intricate design.

The main prayer room of the monastery is decorated with a model of Buddha in a glass case along with photographs of Dalai Lama. On one side of the room large murals depicting the life of Buddha has been installed whereas the other corner is festooned with Lakshmiswari which is a large image of goddess with thousand hands and thousand eyes along with the image of Tara Devi which has been installed recently. 

The murals depicting Buddha’s life are original artwork made with powdered stones with each of them reflecting varied colours as they were made of different stones. The ornaments and the decorative items of the murals are made using the real gold powder.

Outside the prayer room, a large hollow cylindrical with prayers written on it is set up which you can rotate. You can see two golden colours imprinted representing the sun and the moon in between the main door and the prayer room.   

Note: Photography is not allowed in the interior section of the monastery.

Opening Time and Prayer Time: The monastery opens early in the morning and gets closed at 7:00 pm. The Morning Prayer starts here at 4:30 am to 6:00 am while the evening prayer starts at 5:00 pm and ends at 6:30 pm. 

How to Reach: Once you reach Darjeeling, either you can hire a local taxi or walk a distance of about 2 km from the main town of Darjeeling (Chowrasta) to reach the monastery.