In 1894 Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch claimed Hemis as the origin of an otherwise unknown gospel, the Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men, in which Jesus is said to have travelled to India during his 'lost years'. According to Notovitch, the work had been preserved in the Hemis library and was shown to him by the monks there while he was recuperating from a broken leg.[1] But once his story had been re-examined by historians, it is claimed that Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence.[2][3] Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman states that "Today there is not a single recognized scholar on the planet who has any doubts about the matter. The entire story was invented by Notovitch, who earned a good deal of money and a substantial amount of notoriety for his hoax".[4]
The Indian PanditSwami Abhedananda also claims to have read the same manuscript and published his account of viewing it after his visit to Hemis in 1921.[5] Abhedananda claims on the book jacket that it was translated for him with the help of a "local Lama interpreter." After Abhedananda's death, one of his disciples admitted that when he went to the monastery to ask about the documents, he was told that they had disappeared.[6] (In the same vein, Notovich did not initially translate the manuscript but said that his Sherpa guide did, as he could not read the original text.)[7] Notovich's version of the manuscript was translated from Tibetan to Russian to French to English. According to Swami Abhedananda's account, his Lama's translation was equivalent to the one published by Notovich. The Gutenberg Project has published Notovich's manuscript as a free ebook.[8]
Paintings of Mahasiddhasedit
Court yard with paintings of Mahasiddhas
In the courtyard of the Monastery there is a gallery with paintings of Mahasiddhas Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas. These are 17th century paintings made with ground mineral pigments.
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 1 to 14
Paintings of Mahasiddhas 1Paintings of Mahasiddhas 2Paintings of Mahasiddhas 3Paintings of Mahasiddhas 4Paintings of Mahasiddhas 5Paintings of Mahasiddhas 6Paintings of Mahasiddhas 7Paintings of Mahasiddhas 8Paintings of Mahasiddhas 9Paintings of Mahasiddhas 10Paintings of Mahasiddhas 11Paintings of Mahasiddhas 12Paintings of Mahasiddhas 13Paintings of mahasiddhas 14
Hemis Festivaledit
The Hemis Festival is dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) venerated as the Dance Performance at Hemis Monastery representative reincarnate of Buddha. He is believed to have been born on the 10th day of the fifth month (non or jyestha) of the Monkey year of Tibetan calendar as predicted by the Buddha Shakyamuni. It is also believed that his life mission is was, and remains, to improve the spiritual condition of all living beings. And so on this day, which comes once in a cycle of 12 years, Hemis observes a major extravaganza in his memory. The observance of these sacred rituals is believed to give spiritual strength and good health. The Hemis festival takes place in the rectangular courtyard in front of the main door of the monastery. The space is wide and open save two raised square platforms, three feet high with a sacred pole in the center. A raised dais with a richly cushioned seat with a finely painted small Tibetan table is placed with the ceremonial items – cups full of holy water, uncooked rice, tormas made of dough and butter and incense sticks. A number of musicians play the traditional music with four pairs of cymbals, large-pan drums, small trumpets and large size wind instruments. Next to them, a small space is assigned for the lamas to sit.
The ceremonies begin with an early morning ritual atop the gompa where, to the beat of drums and the resounding clash of cymbals and the spiritual wail of pipes, the portrait of "Dadmokarpo" or "Rygyalsras Rinpoche" is then ceremoniously put on display for all to admire and worship.
The most esoteric of festivities are the mystic mask dances. The mask dances of Ladakh are referred collectively as chams performance. Chams performance is essentially a part of Tantric tradition, performed only in those gompas which follow the Tantric Vajrayana teachings and the monks perform tantric worship.
^Nicolas Notovitch (1907). The Unknown Life Of Jesus Christ, Chikago: Progressive Thinker Pub. House
^ New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings by Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R. Mcl. Wilson (1 December 1990) ISBN066422721X page 84 "a particular book by Nicolas Notovich (Di Lucke im Leben Jesus 1894) ... shortly after the publication of the book, the reports of travel experiences were already unmasked as lies. The fantasies about Jesus in India were also soon recognized as invention... down to today, nobody has had a glimpse of the manuscripts with the alleged narratives about Jesus"
^ Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism by Douglas T. McGetchin (1 January 2010) Fairleigh Dickinson University Press ISBN083864208X page 133 "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich confessed to fabricating his evidence."
^Ehrman, Bart D. (February 2011). . Forged: Writing in the Name of God—Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are (First Edition. EPub ed.). New York: HarperCollins e-books. pp. 282–283. ISBN978-0-06-207863-6. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^Hooper, Richard (1 May 2012). Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, and Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings. Newburyport, Massachusetts: Hampton Roads Publishing. p. 176. ISBN978-1571746801.
^"The original scrolls brought from India to Nepal, and from Nepaul to Thibet, relating to the life of Issa, are written in the Pali language and are actually in Lhassa; but a copy in our language—I mean the Thibetan—is in this convent." https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29288/29288-h/29288-h.htm
^The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, by Nicolas Notovitch, Translated by J. H. Connelly and L. Landsberg.
Referencesedit
Francke, A. H. (1914, 1926). Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hemis Monastery.
October 28, 2023
hemis, monastery, himalayan, buddhist, monastery, gompa, drukpa, lineage, hemis, bank, indus, river, ladakh, india, situated, from, established, 1672, ladakhi, king, sengge, namgyal, annual, hemis, festival, honouring, padmasambhava, held, there, early, june, . Hemis Monastery is a Himalayan Buddhist monastery gompa of the Drukpa Lineage in Hemis 9n the bank of Indus river Ladakh India Situated 45 km from Leh it was re established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal The annual Hemis festival honouring Padmasambhava is held there in early June Hemis MonasteryHemis MonasteryReligionAffiliationTibetan BuddhismSectDrukpaLeadershipThe Twelfth Gyalwang DrukpaLocationLocationLadakh IndiaCountryIndiaLocation within Ladakh IndiaGeographic coordinates33 54 44 91 N 77 42 10 2 E 33 9124750 N 77 702833 E 33 9124750 77 702833ArchitectureStyleTibetan ArchitectureFounderSengge NamgyalStatue of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava and pilgrims at HemisHemis Monastery a Buddhist Monastery of Drukpa Order Hemis village is located 40 km southeast of Leh on Leh Manali Highway and under construction Bhanupli Leh line Contents 1 History 2 Paintings of Mahasiddhas 3 Hemis Festival 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 External linksHistory editHemis Monastery existed before the 11th century In 1894 Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch claimed Hemis as the origin of an otherwise unknown gospel the Life of Saint Issa Best of the Sons of Men in which Jesus is said to have travelled to India during his lost years According to Notovitch the work had been preserved in the Hemis library and was shown to him by the monks there while he was recuperating from a broken leg 1 But once his story had been re examined by historians it is claimed that Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence 2 3 Bible scholar Bart D Ehrman states that Today there is not a single recognized scholar on the planet who has any doubts about the matter The entire story was invented by Notovitch who earned a good deal of money and a substantial amount of notoriety for his hoax 4 The Indian Pandit Swami Abhedananda also claims to have read the same manuscript and published his account of viewing it after his visit to Hemis in 1921 5 Abhedananda claims on the book jacket that it was translated for him with the help of a local Lama interpreter After Abhedananda s death one of his disciples admitted that when he went to the monastery to ask about the documents he was told that they had disappeared 6 In the same vein Notovich did not initially translate the manuscript but said that his Sherpa guide did as he could not read the original text 7 Notovich s version of the manuscript was translated from Tibetan to Russian to French to English According to Swami Abhedananda s account his Lama s translation was equivalent to the one published by Notovich The Gutenberg Project has published Notovich s manuscript as a free ebook 8 Paintings of Mahasiddhas edit nbsp Court yard with paintings of MahasiddhasIn the courtyard of the Monastery there is a gallery with paintings of Mahasiddhas Eighty Four Mahasiddhas These are 17th century paintings made with ground mineral pigments Paintings of Mahasiddhas 1 to 14 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 1 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 2 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 3 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 4 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 5 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 6 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 7 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 8 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 9 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 10 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 11 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 12 nbsp Paintings of Mahasiddhas 13 nbsp Paintings of mahasiddhas 14Hemis Festival editThe Hemis Festival is dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava Guru Rinpoche venerated as the Dance Performance at Hemis Monastery representative reincarnate of Buddha He is believed to have been born on the 10th day of the fifth month non or jyestha of the Monkey year of Tibetan calendar as predicted by the Buddha Shakyamuni It is also believed that his life mission is was and remains to improve the spiritual condition of all living beings And so on this day which comes once in a cycle of 12 years Hemis observes a major extravaganza in his memory The observance of these sacred rituals is believed to give spiritual strength and good health The Hemis festival takes place in the rectangular courtyard in front of the main door of the monastery The space is wide and open save two raised square platforms three feet high with a sacred pole in the center A raised dais with a richly cushioned seat with a finely painted small Tibetan table is placed with the ceremonial items cups full of holy water uncooked rice tormas made of dough and butter and incense sticks A number of musicians play the traditional music with four pairs of cymbals large pan drums small trumpets and large size wind instruments Next to them a small space is assigned for the lamas to sit The ceremonies begin with an early morning ritual atop the gompa where to the beat of drums and the resounding clash of cymbals and the spiritual wail of pipes the portrait of Dadmokarpo or Rygyalsras Rinpoche is then ceremoniously put on display for all to admire and worship The most esoteric of festivities are the mystic mask dances The mask dances of Ladakh are referred collectively as chams performance Chams performance is essentially a part of Tantric tradition performed only in those gompas which follow the Tantric Vajrayana teachings and the monks perform tantric worship Gallery edit nbsp Chortens at Hemis gompa nbsp Mani wall along driveway to Hemis Monastery nbsp View from Hemis Monastery 2010 nbsp Hemis Monastery in Ladakh by Vasily Vereshchagin 1875 nbsp The entrance to Hemis monastery nbsp Inside the Hemis monastery nbsp Mural painting in the Hemis monastery nbsp Traditional monk dance at Hemis Festival nbsp Traditional Ladakhi women at Hemis monasterySee also editList of buddhist monasteries in Ladakh Tourism in LadakhFootnotes edit Nicolas Notovitch 1907 The Unknown Life Of Jesus Christ Chikago Progressive Thinker Pub House New Testament Apocrypha Vol 1 Gospels and Related Writings by Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R Mcl Wilson 1 December 1990 ISBN 066422721X page 84 a particular book by Nicolas Notovich Di Lucke im Leben Jesus 1894 shortly after the publication of the book the reports of travel experiences were already unmasked as lies The fantasies about Jesus in India were also soon recognized as invention down to today nobody has had a glimpse of the manuscripts with the alleged narratives about Jesus Indology Indomania and Orientalism by Douglas T McGetchin 1 January 2010 Fairleigh Dickinson University Press ISBN 083864208X page 133 Faced with this cross examination Notovich confessed to fabricating his evidence Ehrman Bart D February 2011 8 Forgeries Lies Deceptions and the Writings of the New Testament Modern Forgeries Lies and Deceptions Forged Writing in the Name of God Why the Bible s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are First Edition EPub ed New York HarperCollins e books pp 282 283 ISBN 978 0 06 207863 6 Archived from the original on 15 February 2012 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Swami Abhedananda s Journey into Kashmir and Tibet rendered into English by Ansupati Dasgupta and Kunja Bihari Kundu http www exoticindiaart com book details swami abhedananda s journey into kashmir and tibet IDJ093 Hooper Richard 1 May 2012 Jesus Buddha Krishna and Lao Tzu The Parallel Sayings Newburyport Massachusetts Hampton Roads Publishing p 176 ISBN 978 1571746801 The original scrolls brought from India to Nepal and from Nepaul to Thibet relating to the life of Issa are written in the Pali language and are actually in Lhassa but a copy in our language I mean the Thibetan is in this convent https www gutenberg org files 29288 29288 h 29288 h htm The Project Gutenberg eBook The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ by Nicolas Notovitch Translated by J H Connelly and L Landsberg References editFrancke A H 1914 1926 Antiquities of Indian Tibet Two Volumes Calcutta 1972 reprint S Chand New Delhi External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hemis Monastery Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hemis Monastery amp oldid 1167197219, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
