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| Alchi monastery and the Three-Storey Temple |
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In a small valley surrounded by steep mountains, made inaccessible by the curse of the Indus, since more than eight centuries miraculously survive one of the most fascinating Buddhist monuments in the Himalayas the monastic complex (chos-'khor) referred as the 'Alchi monastery'. Unlike other monasteries built on high paces the Alchi complex sits on a flat ground among the houses of a small village and old ruined chortens. The temples of the chos-'khor, fragile buildings made of wood and mud, hide a real treasure made of beautiful and refine paintings. Although no historical background is certain, they testify the craftsmanship of unknown artists that can be paralleled to the more famous ones of Dunhuang and Ajanta.
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Alchi monastery
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As soon as we enter the complex, passed by decorated gateway chörten with a passageway in their base (kakani chörten), a type unique to Alchi, and other chortens with small turrets on the four angles, we soon reach the unsurpassed and enchanting Three-Storey Temple or Sumtseg (Sumtsek).
Around an enclosed garden we find the other temples of the sacred area: the Main Temple (Assembly Hall or Dukhang), flanked by two tower-like structures, the Mañjushri lhakang, the Translator's Temple (Lotsawa Lhakang), and the so-called New Temple (Somar lhakang) of minor interest.
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The dukhang (main assembly hall) is the earliest temple in Alchi, the entrance is through a courtyard with an open veranda. In the niche at the back of the inner room, flanked by four goddesses and offering deities is a clay representation of a four-headed Vairocana, the Resplendent Buddha. Today the niche is closed off behind a glass. The main hall is painted with six beautiful mandalas of the Vajradhatu cycles, among them Vajrasandhi, depicted as part of the Vajradhatu mandala, He is one of the 16 great Bodhisattvas that represent various levels of spiritual achievement. He symbolises the intense concentration of body, speech and mind that are essential to gain enlightenment.
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Alchi monastery
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The Sumtsek, a classic Kashmiri structure, with a carved wooden façade consisting of pillars, carved brackets and capitals, can be dated to ca. 1200, it encloses the only surviving representations of the art and architecture of ancient indo-Kashmir culture. Since the viii century, when the great Padmasambhava from Kashmir established Vajrayana Buddhism across Ladakh and the trans-Himalayan mountain belt, Vajrayana Buddhism and Kashmir Shaivism evolved to great heights producing some of the most sophisticated and finest art.
Later in the xi century, during the second great diffusion of Buddhism, craftsmen and artists from Kashmir constructed and painted the legendary 108 monasteries, leaving rich kashmiri influences in the symbolic universe of the Tibetan tantric Buddhism.
Sculptures and paintings of Alchi are the best preserved examples of this influence, with miniatures of kashmiri style representing exquisite scene of the life of the regal court from the time of the great Akbar, whose influence reached Ladakh in the xi century.
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Inside on the ground floor, around the great central chorten, in niches in the walls, there are three colossal clay sculpture, more than four metres high, representing, from left to right, Avalokiteshvara (south) the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Maitreya (west) the future Buddha and Manjushri (north), the embodiment of wisdom. The worshipper stands close to these grand statues, while the light penetrating from the roof down to each of the three levels of the temple. Each of the Bodhisattvas is dressed in a beautifully decorated dhoti. The dhoti of Avalokiteshvara is decorated with holy places of Kashmir, like a shrine dedicated to Tara or a temple dedicated to Naga deities. Four armed Maitreya, painted in red and gilded face, has its dhoti decorated with scenes of the life of Buddha. Manjushri garments are painted with images of the 84 Mahasiddha, Masters of the Tantra.
The pictorial language of the Sumtsek is in accordance with the canonical Buddhist spatial hierarchy, like the 'trikaîya' (the three bodies of Buddha), the 'trailokya' (the three worlds) and 'triguhya' (body, speech, mind). Avalokitesvara the purified speech, Maitreya the purified mind, Manjushri the purified body. The temple walls are completely covered with figures, in the east wall, the entrance of the temple, there are paintings of protector deities like Mahaîkaîla and Yamaîntaka.
The two upper levels of the temple, that unfortunately can not be accessed, are also covered with paintings.
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Alchi monastery
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The Manjushri Temple (or Jampe Lhakhang or Jannpal-Yang) - the entrance has a nice wooden carving representing Maitreya. Inside the walls have few traces of paintings, in the centre a large plaster statue of the four-fold Manjushri. The four images of Mañjushri are seated back to back on a common platform in an elaborate frame crowded with animals, gods and symbols and topped by decorative scrolls deriving from the tails of the makaras. The four images, that have been completely repainted in recent times, are Golden Manjushri, White Manjushri, Red Manjushri and Blue Manjushri.
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