Date of Constructionchorten 13th c ? Present structure unknown
CategoryHeritage sites – Temple
Geographical LocationUra valley, Bumthang district
Description
The temple resembles a large two storey stone house in the middle of the village.
History
A chorten is said to have been built by Demchok alias Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje (1179-1265), a son of Gyelwa Lhanangpa (1164-1224) according to the local tradition.
Gyelwa Lhanangpa was a member of the powerful Tibetan clan of Nyoe, had been a disciple of the Drigungpa master Jigten Gonpo and started the Lhapa school which was the first Kagyu school in Western Bhutan. Demchok alias Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje established Sombrang in Ura folloing a prophecy by Gyelwa Lhanangpa. One of his descendent would be the great religious figure Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), a proponent of the Nyingma lineage.
Another oral tradition that while Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje was constructing Sombrang temple, the walls that was build during the day were always dismantled at night by demons. He had a dream that he should first construct a small temple in the south east direction of Sombrang. Thus, he built the temple or a chorten at Shinyer.
Therefore, Shinyer is linked to Sumbrang lhakhang. The date of the temple construction is not known.
Architectural style / school and related art works
The one storey temple is similar to a large house and has been restored in the 2000s
Social cultural function
Community temple looked after by a lay practitioner (gomchens) caretaker.
The festival of Meto Choepa closes the Ura valley yearly calendar of festivals and takes place from 16th to 19th Day of the 11th Bhutanese month and celebrates the “miraculous” flowering of two trees called ‘Thrang liwa meto’ ( a kind of pear tree) from the 15th day of the 11th month. These two trees are believed to have grown from the walking stick of Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje
This lama had a vision in which he was told to built a small chorten, the size of a drey (traditional measuring container) at some directions from his construction site to complete building the lhakhang. He decided to construct the chorten at the present site of Shinyer lhakhang where he left his walking stick fixed on the ground with prayers (Thuk Moen).
On the last day of the festival, people in groups visit the village houses asking for alcohol, (Changkor ) and they carry the relics of the temple in the house which sponsors the festival. Households take turns to sponsor the festival.
Villagers said that the flower lasts for several months in the absence of snowfall and believe that trampling on the flowers would bring ill luck to the community
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Shinyer Lhakhang
Description
The temple resembles a large two storey stone house in the middle of the village.
History
A chorten is said to have been built by Demchok alias Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje (1179-1265), a son of Gyelwa Lhanangpa (1164-1224) according to the local tradition.
Gyelwa Lhanangpa was a member of the powerful Tibetan clan of Nyoe, had been a disciple of the Drigungpa master Jigten Gonpo and started the Lhapa school which was the first Kagyu school in Western Bhutan. Demchok alias Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje established Sombrang in Ura folloing a prophecy by Gyelwa Lhanangpa. One of his descendent would be the great religious figure Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), a proponent of the Nyingma lineage.
Another oral tradition that while Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje was constructing Sombrang temple, the walls that was build during the day were always dismantled at night by demons. He had a dream that he should first construct a small temple in the south east direction of Sombrang. Thus, he built the temple or a chorten at Shinyer.
Therefore, Shinyer is linked to Sumbrang lhakhang. The date of the temple construction is not known.
Architectural style / school and related art works
The one storey temple is similar to a large house and has been restored in the 2000s
Social cultural function
Community temple looked after by a lay practitioner (gomchens) caretaker.
The festival of Meto Choepa closes the Ura valley yearly calendar of festivals and takes place from 16th to 19th Day of the 11th Bhutanese month and celebrates the “miraculous” flowering of two trees called ‘Thrang liwa meto’ ( a kind of pear tree) from the 15th day of the 11th month. These two trees are believed to have grown from the walking stick of Nyoetoen Trulshig Choeje
This lama had a vision in which he was told to built a small chorten, the size of a drey (traditional measuring container) at some directions from his construction site to complete building the lhakhang. He decided to construct the chorten at the present site of Shinyer lhakhang where he left his walking stick fixed on the ground with prayers (Thuk Moen).
On the last day of the festival, people in groups visit the village houses asking for alcohol, (Changkor ) and they carry the relics of the temple in the house which sponsors the festival. Households take turns to sponsor the festival.
Villagers said that the flower lasts for several months in the absence of snowfall and believe that trampling on the flowers would bring ill luck to the community