Tabo Monastery, can’t we make it a UNESCO World Heritage site?

Sept 6th, Tabo Village, the Spiti adventure continues…

Tabo Village, where Tabo Monastery is nestled in Spiti Valley unlike other Buddhist monasteries that were built as fortress-like compounds on hilltops

Well, here we are in Tabo! The famed Tabo Monastery is known as the oldest continually functioning Tibetan Buddhist monastery, the art of which the Dalai Lama said “delightfully expresses the vigor of the transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet and the dynamic mingling of cultures.” Established in 996 C.E. by the Buddhist king of Guge in Western Tibet, Yeshe O’d, and the The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo, it flourished in a golden epoch of Indo-Tibetan collaboration in spreading Buddhist culture.

Tabo Monastery complex behind stone walls in Tabo Village, Spiti Valley, India

Tabo’s existing sacred artwork and architecture have unique historical significance, not only for the aesthetic evidence of such cultural exchange, but also for its rarity. Due to the enormous destruction during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, where over 6000 monasteries and their artworks were destroyed between 1959-61, practically none of the early examples of Buddhist culture have survived in Tibet. Consequently, the monasteries of the Western Himalayan border areas of Spiti, Lahaul, and Ladakh, once part of Tibet, is of great importance for its legacy of early Tibetan Buddhist culture, and in particular, its connection with India.

Street view of entrance to Tabo Choskhor,Spiti, with the museum and library in building on right

Upon entering Tabo Monastery complex, the first building one sees is Tsug Lhakhang, the grand main assembly hall

The Tsug Lhakhang, Tabo Monastery, Spiti

Of the monasteries I’ll visit, Tabo, Alchi, Mangyu, Lamayuru, and Lhalung (already posted here) strike me as being of special importance. These have exceptional murals, unusual in cross-cultural style and depiction, executed in astounding refinement, with ornate clay sculptures that are cantilevered off the walls in Vajradhatu mandala arrangement of sacred space (more on this in the next post!) This type of work is specific to the area and is not found in any other Buddhist temples in the world. These monasteries also date back to that fertile period of Buddhist philosophical exchange and revitalization from India to Tibet beginning in the 10^th century during The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo’s time.

Documenting the extant artwork and architecture of these sites is essential because they are remarkable, and extreme Himalayan winters and potential earthquakes, such as the one that occurred in 1975, continue to threaten their survival. Proper conservation and restoration is critical for art history and posterity. Of immediate concern is the effects of climate change and increased rainfall in the normally more arid Spiti that has damaged Tabo’s murals and architecture. This 2010 article entitled “A Monastery’s Fading Colours,” published in The Indian Express, is about the woeful circumstances facing the monastery’s care under the maintenance of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).  The Times of India recently questioned the national organization’s general efficacy in its article, “92 ASI-protected Monuments Missing.”

Rear view of Tsug Lhakhang with workers currently repairing the mud exterior. Its back walls are as thick as 2.5 meters!

Workers currently repairing the mud exterior of Tabo Monastery, Spiti

I find myself wishing these monasteries were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as the early Buddhist Ajanta Caves are in India, or considered World Monuments. Perhaps this would bring more international attention, expertise, help ASI to hasten their appropriate preservation, and stem the ravages of time, climate change, negligence, and mishandling.

Fortunately, I was able to arrive in Tabo with all my equipment fully charged because the electrical power was mostly on during my previous night in Kaza, Spiti. But unfortunately, I was unable to photograph due to administrative details still to iron out. Perhaps by tomorrow, after the special 6:00 a.m. morning prayers for the recently deceased and venerated abbot of Tabo which will be performed as part the traditional 49 days’ observance. Despite not being able to photograph, the monk in charge of the monastery kindly showed me most of the temples in the complex.

What is so immediately striking is the contrast between the simple exterior architecture of mud brick and the resplendent interiors. Wow, the ornate interiors leave you speechless, what treasures of Indo-Tibetan art, history, and philosophy! Especially the dramatic, dark, moody, pensive main assembly hall (Tsug Lha-khang); the older Dromton Temple (Brom-ston Lha-khang), founded by the main disciple of the great teacher and adept Atisha; Initiation Temple (dKyil-kHor-khang), where monks are initiated; Bodhisattva Maitreya Temple (Byams-Pa Chen-po Lha-khang), with a 20 foot high painted mural of the future Buddha Maitreya; and the Golden Temple (gSer-khang).

View of Tabo Monastery complex showing Dromton Temple on far right and Bodhisattva Maitreya Temple left of it, Spiti, India

Oh, news flash! For incredible floor plans of these temples, including elevations, sections, models, photo montages, including–yes, really!–animated 3D views of Tabo, see this excellent website of an Austrian research team at Graz University.

And did I mention caves? Yes, caves on a steep cliff above Tabo Monastery and village where, according to archeological evidence, monks had lived and practiced meditation since the 11th century. Now it is an ASI protected site. Most caves are open spaces showing evidence of ancient occupation–sooty interior walls and carved out niches, etc., as well as perhaps picnic use by modern visitors. But while exploring with my flashlight, I peered into an opening of a small closed door of a dark cave only to find a blanched seated figure looking back at me! Startled and flustered, realizing this was a real person and not a phantom, I muttered a quick, deepest apology, and left in a hurry! Well, I guess today there are still some practitioners who retreat to these caves. Whether this was a tourist trying it out, or a yogi, I have no idea.

Path to numerous caves above Tabo Monastery and village, Spiti, India

One of numerous caves carved into the cliffs above Tabo Monastery, used by monks from the 11th century on, Spiti

View of Tabo Monastery from inside a cave, Spiti

View of the inside of the above Tabo cave, Spiti

View of Tabo caves located on a steep cliffside above Tabo Monastery, Spiti

View of Tabo Village from cave sites, Spiti, India

Ok, I hope I have a headache-less night’s sleep tonight.  Day four at high altitude and I’m still adjusting, but Tabo is at about 10,000 feet high, 2000 feet lower than Kaza, so it should be better.  Need to get up early to make it to 6am puja!

All photos © 2013, Eva Lee.