Mindrolling Monastery - Dehradun

I visited the Mindrolling Monastery at Clement Town in Dehradun. It is certainly worth a visit and will take about 2 hours to go through. The campus of the Mindrolling monastery is well developed and located in the outskirts of Dehradun amidst sylvan settings. You go through a street that looks just like a street from Tibet and as you enter the monastery a huge statue of a golden Buddha appears to the left.

Buddha statue at the Mindrolling Monastery, Dehradun

We parked the vehicle and walked into the campus which houses the monastery, the school and college, grounds, a shopping arcade. Before entering the main area of the monastery you are required to take your footwear off which is collected in trays at a place.

Mindrolling monastery, Clement Town, Dehradun

The main temple is an impressive sight. As you enter you see a meditation hall and a series of colorful paintings and sculptures depicting probably the history of Buddhism and the lineage. There are an incredible number of these sculptures and they are placed in a certain way of course.

We walked all the way up from where one can get a great view of the campus and came down. A walk around the shopping arcade, around the campus and a visit to the golden Buddha and we were done. It was a serene place and there were many students or monks of all ages helping out visitors.

Interesting

Mindrolling is the apparently the largest among six main monasteries of the learning and practice of the Nyingma (or Old Translation school), believed to be the most powerful and direct teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet, Buddhism flourished since the beginning of the 8^th century due to the efforts of Mahaguru Padmasambhava. Four main schools of Buddhism developed, of which the Nyingma is the oldest. The other three Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug lineages are part of the New Translation school. Nyingma teachings are considered the most effective way to realize one’s full potential in today’s world.

Mindrolling campus

In Tibet the Mindrolling is considered as the practice of pure and profound Dharma of Vajrayana Buddhism. It has an unbroken lineage of masters. Since the 1959 invasion of Tibet by China, Mindrolling established its monastic seat in Dehradun. Mindrolling today is dedicated completely to Dharma activities and is the main centre for maintaining the precious secret of Vajrayana doctrine.

Certainly worth a visit if you are in Dehradun.