Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Temple

[cessna152towser]

Taking the hill road out of Hawick in the direction of Lockerbie and Dumfries brings me past Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Temple, near Eskdalemuir.

I often see the unbifurcated monks from Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre when they come into town here in Hawick, but today one of them welcomes me to visit the temple. The building in the background is the Butter lamp House. Buddhist tradition has it that offering lights to the Enlightened Ones benefits sentient beings and 108 are lit daily, and 1,008 on special days, dedicated to world peace and harmony.

Our monk introduces the work of Tibetan monastery and Buddhist centre.
Kilt is lightweight polycotton McKenzie with Freelander Sporran.

The magnificent temple was finally completed in 1988.

Another view of Kagyu Samye Ling Temple.

Having climbed the stairs and standing by the entrance to the temple. The building behind me contains the monks' living quarters on the upper floor and their refectory or dining hall on the ground floor.

As there was an hour to spare before the next prayer meeting I was allowed inside the Temple. I had to remove my boots before stepping inside.

The Green Tara Tibetan Herb Garden. Here herbs and vegetables are grown for food and medicinal purposes, for use within the monastery and for sale to raise funds. A number of monks were going about their gardening work in their maroon robes but appeared not to want to be photographed.
More to follow shortly.

[cessna152towser]

The Liberation Gate.
Decorated with symbols and mantras, Buddhist tradition has it that those who pass through will gain blessings and protection from obstacles.

The Victory Stupa.
Symbolising victory over negativity, which is transformed into positive energy.

The Stupa from another angle.

The Stupa from the footbridge in the Stupa Garden. Note the cloisters bordering the Stupa on three sides.

The clositers surrunding the Stupa, known as the Prayer Wheel House, are a place of quiet contemplation. Behind me are the prayer wheels, revolving scripted copper drums, whose electric drive motor hums quietly on the background, while on the other side of the cloisters are repositories for caskets containing the ashes of the deceased. The Prayer Wheel is said to hold many millions of prayers for the wellbeing of all. Buddhist belief has it that when a prayer wheel rotates it radiates love and compassion creating peace and harmony.

The statue of Nagarjuna, a second century Indian saint who brought together several strands of Buddhist philosophy which are today followed by the Kagyu tradition to which Samye Ling belongs.

A shrine on the island in the Stupa Garden.

In the pond next to the Stupa is the statue of Guru Rinpoche (also known as Padmasambhava) seated on a lotus flower. Revered as the founder of Buddhism in Tibet, he brought the Buddhist teachings from India to Tibet in the eighth century.
With thanks to Lama Yeshe Losal, the current abbot of Kagyu Samye Ling, for my visit.

[Archangel]

The things you see on a kilt site.

Cool, thanks.

[demobud]

Now I have to add ANOTHER thing to see!

Thanks for the enlightenment!

[BEEDEE]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

Brian

[McClef]

Great photos of an interesting place Alex!

[James MacMillan]

Nice photo spread - Thanks for sharing!

[gilmore]

In March there was a news story reported here that the abbot and others had designed two tartans for Samye Ling.

One is for lay people and has the five colors of the Tibetan spectrum



The other is for lining for the robes of the monks and nuns, and is in shades of red. It is here: http://www.tartans.scotland.net/tart...an_id=9001.htm

There was a thread here on X Marks about them.http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...437#post345437


Thanks for posting the photos.

[cessna152towser]

Thanks for the heads up on the Samye Sangha and Samye tartans, Gilmore. Somehow I missed the thread about them earlier in the year.

[andyfg]

Great pics Alex. Thanks! Magnificent place.