Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh has a culture centered
around its ancient Lamaist Buddhist monasteries. Mane, Dhankar, Tabo,
Gungri, Mud, Lidang, Rangrik, Losar and Hikkim have the best of them.
The most important of them is the Key Monastery, a centuries-old Tibetan
Buddhist shrine, in Lahaul and Spiti district. It is located on top
of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres above sea level, close to the
Spiti River.
The largest monastery in Spiti, it is the abode of
Lochen Tulku, the 24th Lotsawa Rimpoche (reincarnation of Rinchen Zangpo,
the great translator).
A reincarnate spiritual institution for Lamas, Key
Monastery is considered to be a very old seat of Buddhist learning.
It reportedly had 100 monks in 1855.
The monasteries in Spiti represent three different
sects of Lamaism. Key belongs to the Go-Ing-Pa sect. Key monastery has
extensive buildings on high ground, away from the villages. In the centre
are the public room, temples, refectories and store rooms. Around them
are clustered the separate cells in which the monks live. In the store
rooms are kept, besides public property, the dresses, weapons and masks,
drums, cymbals, robes and hair dresses used by monks in religious plays,
dances and other ceremonies.
The monastery was probably built early in the eleventh
century. The monastery has been attacked many times by Mongol and other
armies and was also ravaged by earthquakes. During the Dogra invasion
of 1834, the monastery suffered heavily from fire. The movables were
saved by the timely flight of the monks who carried them to the interior
hills.
The three-storeyed structure looks like a fort, with
temples built on top of one another. The walls of the monastery are
covered with paintings and murals. An outstanding example of the 14th
century monastic architecture, the upper buildings, house five gompas
and a large kitchen beside other rooms. At the ground floor, consists
of storage rooms and a beautifully decorated assembly hall and cells,
while the middle floor houses the dukhang which contains wall paintings.
The gompas are the focal points of the monastery. Each
of them is dominated by a statue of the Buddha and idols in the position
of Dhyana. On either side of the statue, there are rows of wooden pigeon
holes where Tibetan scriptures and commentaries are kept. Walls and
books are half covered by Thanka (scroll paintings). These paintings
are the oldest and the most beautiful of all Key's relic. These thankas,
saved from the devastating raids of the Dogras and the Sikhs in the
19th century.
In the central hall, there are 2 stucco idols, one
of Yum-Chenmo (goddess Thara) and the other of Shyan rasgzeings (Avalokiteshvara).
There are several other statues in the library opposite the temple.
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