Darjeeling
India
3 pilgrimage sites
Cooch Behar House (now Elgin Hotel)
Darjeeling, India · October 1962
The white-walled palace where Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche presided over the intimate ceremony in which he empowered Sangharakshita to practise the sadhanas of four bodhisattvas. Now the Elgin Hotel.
Tamyang Monastery
Darjeeling, India · c. 1950 – 1955
The Nyingma pagoda-temple in the heart of Darjeeling where Sangharakshita first encountered the figure of Padmasambhava — a moment he described as the spiritual climax of his entire visit.
Yiga Choeling Monastery (Ghoom)
Darjeeling, India · c. 1952 – 1964
The famous Ghoom Monastery where Sangharakshita visited with Lama Govinda and Li Gotami, moving through the dimly lit chamber past a colossal golden Maitreya. Dhardo Rimpoche later became abbot here.