Tashi Menri Monastery

Tashi Menri Ling

Tashi Menri Ling is the principal monastic seat of the White Hat Yungdrung Bön tradition in Tibet and remains one of the most important centers of Bön learning, practice, and preservation in the world. Among all monastic centers of the Tibetan ancestral Bön tradition, Menri stands as the great seat of scholarship, monastic discipline, ritual practice, and spiritual realization.

The Founder — Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen

The founder of Tashi Menri Ling was the great master Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen (1356–1415), one of the most important figures in the history of Yungdrung Bön. He was born in eastern Tibet in the region of Gyalrong during the Male Fire Monkey year of 1356.

From an early age, Sherab Gyaltsen displayed extraordinary wisdom, compassion, and spiritual qualities. Without formal instruction, he naturally learned the thirty letters of the Tibetan alphabet and demonstrated remarkable intelligence and purity of mind.

At the age of ten, he developed deep renunciation and took novice vows before the great master Cha Lama Yungdrung Gyaltsen. He carefully maintained the monastic vows and became highly skilled in ritual arts, including:

  • Torma making
  • Prayer melodies
  • Sacred dance
  • Mandala construction
  • Ritual music and cymbal practice

Study and Training

Sherab Gyaltsen later traveled to the great dialectic school of Yeru Lhundrub Wensakha, one of the foremost centers of Bön philosophy and debate. There he became renowned for his mastery of logic and philosophical reasoning.

At Yeru, he met the celebrated abbot Khaydrub Rinchen Lotrö and received profound teachings from him. He also studied:

  • Valid cognition and logic
  • Stages of the path
  • Philosophical systems
  • Vinaya (monastic discipline)
  • Abhidharma
  • Madhyamaka (Middle Way)
  • Prajnaparamita
  • Tantra and Dzogchen teachings

Through years of disciplined study and practice, he mastered the outer, inner, and secret teachings of Bön.

At the age of thirty-one, Sherab Gyaltsen received full monastic vows from Abbot Tshultrim Yeshe and became a leading teacher and eventually head lama of Lhundrub Wensakha.

The Founding of Tashi Menri Ling

While traveling back toward his homeland, Sherab Gyaltsen learned that the great monastery of Lhundrub Wensakha had been destroyed by a devastating flood. During this difficult time, he received a prophecy from the great protector Sidpa Gyalmo that the Bön teachings would flourish in the region of Tsang.

Following this prophecy, in the Wood Bird year of 1405, at the age of fifty, he established the great monastery of Tashi Menri Ling at the base of the sacred Mount Menri.

According to traditional accounts, the monastery arose through miraculous circumstances. It is said that where Sherab Gyaltsen placed great stone altars, monastic buildings and monk residences naturally appeared. Twelve monastic divisions and sixty monk quarters were established, creating a fully developed monastic center.

Soon, monks and students from all regions gathered at Menri, attracted by Sherab Gyaltsen’s wisdom, scholarship, and reputation in debate and philosophy.

Monastic Discipline and Traditions

Menri Monastery was organized into four major divisions:

  • Palden Ling Todpa
  • Palden Ling Kedpa
  • Palden Ling Zurpa
  • Palden Ling Medpa

Strict monastic discipline was maintained according to the teachings of Tönpa Shenrab. Within the monastery:

  • Only ordained practitioners could reside or sit within certain sacred areas
  • Monks were seated according to seniority, not family or social status
  • Teaching and study occurred during the waxing moon
  • Intensive retreat practice occurred during the waning moon

All monks were expected to master both the words and meaning of the teachings.

The Five Great Treatises

Among Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen’s greatest contributions were his famous philosophical works known as the Five Great Treatises of the Magic Lamps. These texts became foundational works for Bön philosophical study and debate.

They include:

  • Magic Lamp of the Thorough Analysis of Valid Cognition
  • Magic Lamp of the Thorough Analysis of the Stages and Paths
  • Magic Lamp of the Thorough Analysis of Abhidharma Commentary
  • Magic Lamp of the Thorough Analysis of Vinaya
  • Magic Lamp of the Thorough Analysis of the Secret Meaning

These works remain central texts within Bön monastic education and dialectical study.

The Menri Trizin Tradition

Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen also established the tradition for selecting the Menri Trizin, the throne holder of Menri Monastery.

To qualify, a candidate must:

  • Belong to the Bön tradition
  • Master Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen
  • Earn the title of Geshe

Candidates’ names are placed into a golden vase while rituals and prayers are performed continuously for seven days. Selection is based not on family lineage or tulku status, but on spiritual signs, qualifications, and the blessings of the protector deities.

Menri in Exile

During the political upheaval in Tibet and the Chinese occupation, the monastic community worked to protect the 32nd Menri Trizin, Kudun Sherab Lotro Rinpoche. He was secretly escorted into exile in India, though he passed away soon after arriving.

In 1969, through the unbroken enlightened activity of Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen, the Golden Throne of Menri was assumed by the 33rd Menri Trizin, Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche.

The exiled Bön community re-established Menri Monastery in Dolanji, Himachal Pradesh, India, where the authentic traditions of Yungdrung Bön could continue without interruption.

Palshenten Menri Ling

In 1970, Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche and Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche established Palshenten Menri Ling in Dolanji.

Later, in 1977, the Bön Dialectic School was formally established, becoming one of the most important centers for advanced study of:

  • Sutra
  • Tantra
  • Dzogchen
  • Logic and philosophy
  • The Five Sciences

For decades, teachings and debates have continued there without interruption. Through rigorous study, examination, retreat, and practice, many students have earned the Geshe degree and have gone on to teach throughout the world.

Today, the teachings of exposition and realization continue to spread internationally through the efforts of Menri-trained Geshes and practitioners, preserving the living lineage of Yungdrung Bön for future generations.