Yarchen Gar

Yarchen Gar: The land of Tibetan Nuns

Yachen Gar, officially called Yachen Orgyen Samtenling, is a monastic encampment located in Palyul County of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It lies above 4,000m above sea level, and the remoteness of this region has kept the encampment isolated from the outside world for a long time.

Yachen Gar is associated with the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and was built in 1985 by Achuk Rinpoche. It is reported to house 10,000 monks and nuns, making it possibly the largest nunnery in the world by population. While Larung Gar is even larger, it is considered a mixed monastic encampment rather than a predominantly female institution. Most of Yachen Gar’s inhabitants are nuns.

Achuk Rinpoche, who passed away in 2011, was an incarnation of the great Terton Longsal Nyingpo (1625-1682) of Katok Monastery, who according to his traditional biography was an incarnation of Amitabha Buddha. He served as a leading figure of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism in China. Born in 1927 in Eastern Tibet, Lama Achuk Rinpoche spent 43 years in retreat with his master, Tulku Arik Rinpoche. As a realized Buddhist master, Achuk Rinpoche was regarded as one of the world’s great living exponents of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) teachings.

Thousands of tiny meditation cells made of thin boards or plastic siding dot the southern side of the hill, each wide enough to allow only one person to sit in meditation. Some cells have glass windows overlooking the riverside enclave, while others are completely dark with no windows at all.

The Gar (monastic encampment) has two main sections divided by a large river. The east side of the river houses the nunnery section, while the west side contains the monastery section for monks. A towering golden statue of Padmasambhava stands at the top of a hill near the river. Also known as Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava was the Indian Buddhist master who introduced Tantric Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century.