About Us
Segyu Gaden Phodrang Monastery , Nepal
Segyud Gaden Phodrang Kathmandu branch, is an established Tibetan Tantric College with rich history of learned masters since its founding in 1432, Tibet. Since 1986, our Kathamandu branch has been established at Tinchuli, near Boudhanath. For those who are interested to find out more about a deeper meaning of life through the more profound Buddhist philosophy, or just curious to have a taste a little flavour of ancient Tibetan culture during one’s stay in beautiful Nepal, welcome to our humble abode.
May you have an enriching and memorable stay here.
Tashi Delek.
Our History
Today, this monastery is one of the most sacred and historic Buddhist monasteries. Ever since its’ establishment, the monastery carries on the legacy of the Great Je Tsongkapas’ original teachings and the pure tantric practices. Likewise, it has also provided a strong foundation for Vajrayana teachings, such as the Guhyasamaja, Heruka, and Yamantaka.
As the monastery flourished over the years, Jestun Sherab Sengge left for central Tibet and established Lower Tantric College. This way both Upper and Lower Tantric colleges originated from Sed Gyued Gaden Phodrang.
After the 1959 exodus from Tibet, only 40 monks from the original Segyu Monastery seeking asylum succeeded in fleeing to Kalmpong, India through Gantok. They received assistance as refugees and faced many obstacles. Some of them were sent to road construction crews as ordered by the newly formed Tibetan Government in Exile. The remainder stayed to perform religious rites for the locals.
In 1986, in Nepal, some faithful sponsors offered the monks a little land and it was here that we constructed some rooms and a simple prayer hall. This was to become a branch of the monastery originally established in Kalimpong. In 1997, there arose some obstacles due to local politics. Thus it was decided to become independent from the monastery in Kalimpong, and we have remained so ever since. During this time, there were very few rooms for the monks and the prayer hall was in very poor condition. However, this did not deter us from continuing with our sacred religious traditions. We have since upheld the three principal Pratimoksha precepts and have honored the special traditional rituals of Segyu Monastery during the summer retreat in the same manner as the original monastery in Tibet during earlier times.
During this one and a half month retreat, preparations are made according to the text named Tsering Jong, an ancient ritual of Guhyasamaja, Heruka, Yamantaka etc. thus fulfilling the wishes of the great Lamas and deities of this rare lineage.
