Looking around the interior of Sani monastery.
This is a continuation of the blog Journeys in Zanskar - Kanika Chorten at Sani Monastery.
Sani is in the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. Continuing our look around Sani monastery we find statues of Maitreya, Padmasambhava and his two consorts Queen Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal who are either side of a 1000armed Avalokiteshvara. In the second pair of photographs Queen Mandarava is on the left and Yeshe Tsogyal on the right.
It is Yeshe Tsogyal who is credited with the life story of Padmasambhava as written in the Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava. She meditated with Padmasambhava at Taktsang monastery in Bhutan, also known as Tiger's Nest. You can see the spectacular Tiger's Nest in this photo we took in October 2024.
Sani is in the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. Continuing our look around Sani monastery we find statues of Maitreya, Padmasambhava and his two consorts Queen Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal who are either side of a 1000armed Avalokiteshvara. In the second pair of photographs Queen Mandarava is on the left and Yeshe Tsogyal on the right.
It is Yeshe Tsogyal who is credited with the life story of Padmasambhava as written in the Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava. She meditated with Padmasambhava at Taktsang monastery in Bhutan, also known as Tiger's Nest. You can see the spectacular Tiger's Nest in this photo we took in October 2024.
I have a memory of there being a statue of Naropa set off in a corridor to one side and there is also a small dark side chapel to Naropa where he is said to have meditated in the 11th Century. This next image is of the 1000armed Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion known locally as Chenresig. The name Avalokiteshvara means He Who Looks Down (on the suffering of the world).
On the other side of the road that runs through the village of Sani is a lake with a large statue of Padmasambhava. There are ancient caves on on the cliffs behind where Padmasambhava is said to have meditated. These caves are still used today and you can see more about the Padmasambhava statue, the lake and caves in this blog Padmasambhava in Zanskar.