Kyichu monastery, (near) Paro, Paro Dzongkhag, BT

Raw data

"The Kichu Lhakhang can be reached from Paro town after a ten minute drive. It is located in the Lango Geog (county).
[…]
The temple is undoubtedly one of the oldest temples to have been built in Bhutan. It is one of the 108 temples built by the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century AD. The King is said to have built 108 temples in a day throughout the Himalayan regions. Of which Kichu Lhakhang in Paro and Jampa Lhakhang in Bumthang are two of them. Of the remaining temples most can be seen in Tibet.
Kichu Lhakhang was originally a small structure at the time of its establishment. Because of Jowo (Buddha) as the main statue the temple was also known as Jowo Lhakhang. Over the years the temple was visited and blessed by many famous Buddhist saints including Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century, one of the Lam Kha Nga – saints from five different schools that had their establishment in western Bhutan and the forerunner of the Drukpa Kagyu School in Bhutan, Lama Phajo Dugom Zhigpo also paid visit to the temple. It is said that, the temple was under the control of one of the five groups of lamas and it is likely that it was under the Barawa School. Later Lama Phajo is said to have stayed in the temple and took care of it as well. […] Je Sherub Gyeltshen […] lived in the 18th century. He extended the Jowo Lhakhang and added many new statues."
http://www.bhutan2008.bt/en/node/409

"Kyichu Lhakhang - It is one of the oldest and most sacred shrines of the Kingdom dating back to 7th century (the other is Jambey Lhakahng in Bumthang). The lhakhang complex is composed of two temples. The first temple was built by Tibetan King, Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century and in 1968, H.M. Ashi Kesang, the Queen Mother of Bhutan, built the second temple in original pattern."
http://www.visitbhutan.com/places_tovisit_paro.html

"A few kilometers north of Paro, we pay our respects at Kyichu Lhakhang one of the oldest temples in Bhutan with its magic orange tree which bears fruit all year round."
http://www.bhutantravel.com.hk/umapkg.html

Input by: tmciolek, Sep 19, 2012

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 16 Mar 2013

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Kyichu monastery, BT.

General location of the Kyichu monastery, BT.
Lat 27.44109 Long 89.37549
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2012.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=27.44109+89.37549+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Kyichu%20monastery,%20BT)&ll=27.44109,89.37549&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name


2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Buthan: Paro Dzongkhag

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx., Lat 27.44109 Long 89.37549 - based on visual identification of the site in satellite imagery, maps.google.com - tmciolek, 19 Sep 2012.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names


8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Vajrayana

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • MBM chrono-tag 0633-66c - tmciolek 16 Mar 2013
  • 0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c 1200=> dated-el

12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • MBM chrono-tag 1200=> - tmciolek 16 Mar 2013

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Architecture, oral tradition

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

18. Available Printed Literature

  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 1]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 2]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]

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