[ Prem Chetry ]
BOMDILA, 20 Nov: The 19th Drub Chhod Chenmo, also known as Bomdila Torgya, a four-day monastic event, culminated with spiritual fervour at the Gontse Gaden Rabgye Ling monastery here in West Kameng district on Thursday.
Attending the occasion, Kalaktang MLA Tseten Chombay said, “We are truly blessed to be attending this auspicious spiritual festival. This festival, accompanied by several monastic rituals, is dedicated to the wellbeing of the people, averting natural calamities, and overcoming our ignorance.”
Earlier, Geshi Thupten Kunphen, former abbot of the monastery, highlighted the spiritual and cultural significance of the festival, describing it as a weeklong process of overcoming self-ignorance, sanctification of the region, and prayers for universal peace and the wellbeing of all sentient beings.
Torgya, an annual monastic event, comprising a series of rituals, prayers, and offerings, seeks the wellbeing of all sentient beings and prevention of natural calamities and epidemics. Through various monastic mask dances, known as chams, it portrays several significant events associated with the advent and establishment of Buddhism.
On the occasion, meritorious students and social workers of West Kameng and Tawang districts were conferred the Tsonawa Excellence Award.
Among the awardees was Lobsang Wangdu, lovingly known as Gen Phuntso La, who was honoured for his traditional healing system and community service.
In the afternoon, sand mandala art was displayed for the public. Mandala, a sacred symbolic artwork made from coloured sand, represents the universe, enlightened beings, and the path to enlightenment. Its intricate designs and sacred rituals depict the palace of a Buddha or deity – especially the palace of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. At the same time, it also symbolises impermanence, interconnectedness, and the cosmic order.
