Lhodrak Kharchu Goemba

Bhutan

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On the hill to the east of Jakar is this large Nyingma monastery, founded in the 1970s by Namkhai Nyingpo Rinpoche, with about 400 monks currently in residence. The tshokhang (assembly hall) has massive statues of Guru Rinpoche, Chenresig and Sakyamuni.

If you're here between 4.30pm and 6pm from April to November, check out the mass debating in the courtyard of the shedra, behind the main monastery, where monks reinforce their theological arguments with a stamp of the foot and a victorious slap. Don't disturb the debates with any photography.

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