GuruGyum Bon Monastery in Tibet

The Gurugyam Monastery is located in western Tibet near the Sutlej River. The monastic complex is one of the largest and most important Bönpo monasteries left in Tibet, due in part to its remote western location. Here you can see some of the main buildings, as well as the cliff side meditation areas and hermitages. It is believed that this area was once an important ritual center during the height of the Zhangzhung empire, which predated the rise of the modern Tibetan state, and controlled much of western Tibet, India and Nepal in the 6th century.

Our research team visited the monastery in the summer of 2016, at which point there was significant reconstruction going on inside the main temple complex. This included renovations and reconstruction to several buildings, as well as a major mural installation project which covered all four inner walls of the main monastery hall from floor to ceiling. 

Artists inside Gurugyam Monastery working on the murals. (2016)

The murals were first drawn by hand on the walls, with notations in Tibetan as to the figures. These were then slowly painted, transforming into the form you see above. Here is an example of the early rough sketches of these murals from inside the monastery, with text details about the figures.

It was truly a fascinating experience to see firsthand these murals coming to life, especially since we had seen so many old, faded murals in some monasteries in Nepal. Seeing the fresh murals gave one a sense of what some of the other main altar rooms in these older gompas must have been like several hundred years ago!