Bhutia Busty Monastery, located in the eponymous area of Darjeeling, is one of the oldest of its kind in the state of West Bengal.

 

The monastery displays traditional Tibetan-style architecture with Sikkimese influences. It now belongs to the Red Sect of Buddhists. The interiors showcase fine murals that portray the life of Lord Buddha. You will also see images of the Dalai Lama, Tara Devi and Lakshmiswari, the goddess with a thousand hands and eyes.

 

You can also visit the library, where thousands of books on Tibetan scripts, culture, and traditions etc., are stocked. The main attraction is the original copy of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, preserved in mint condition. Photography is completely prohibited inside the monastery. The monastery was built in 1761 by Lama Dorje Rinzing, and was originally a part of Sikkim's Phodang Monastery under the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, associated with the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism. It was eventually moved to Darjeeling in 1879

 

In its prime, it stood tall where the Observatory Hill is now found, but was destroyed during the Gorkha invasion in the 19th century. Even the new building was almost entirely ravaged by an earthquake in 1934, until the Chogyal of Sikkim stepped forward to rebuild it.

Other Attractions in Darjeeling