Photo Alchi Choskhor, Jaroslav Poncar 1982.

Alchi, Ladakh's Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary

This publication on the Alchi Choskhor in Lower Ladakh is now also available Open Access. The publication builds on and includes Roger Goepper's seminal book on the Sumtsek and relies on the early documentation by Jaroslav Poncar.

• Alchi, Ladakh's Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary by Christian Luczanits, Jaroslav Poncar & Serindia Publications is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Tibetan Monastery Collections and Museums

The publication Tibetan Monastery Collections and Museums: Traditional Practices and Contemporary Issues edited by Louise Tythacott and myself is now available as part of the Vajra Academic series. The publications collects contributions on the curation of Tibetan art collections in monasteries of Ladakh and Mustang as well as in the West. The publication is the product of an international workshop on this topic which took place at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, from 8th-10th November 2018, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of a wider research project on Tibetan Buddhist Monastery Collections Today (2016-20).

Tabo's Secret Main Mandala

The identification of the goddesses represented between the clay sculptures of the Vajradhātu mandala assembly in the Tabo Main Temple led to the identification of the Dharmadhātu mandala as the secret main topic of the Tabo Main Temple. It’s full assembly is spread throughout the monument and explains much of its content, including the high number of pan-Indian deities in the Entry Hall and the two groups of sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Fortunate Aeon (bhadrakalpa) in the Ambulatory.

• Dharmadhātu Mandala Assembly
• Tabo Assembly Hall

Two Illuminated Text Collections of Namgyal Monastery, Mustang

Among the various sacred objects of Namgyal Monastery, two collections of Buddhist canonical literature stand out for their age and complex illumination programmes. A new book publication by Markus Viehbeck and myself presents the visual and textual contents of these two sets of Buddhist manuscripts and analyses them from the perspectives of manuscript studies, art history, and textual analysis. The book—including all preserved illuminations and the complete catalogue of texts contained—is the first volume of a new peer reviewed publication series dedicated to the Himalayas called Vajra Academic and published with Vajra Books, Kathmandu, Nepal. For further information on this series see the Vajra Books website.

• An Open Access version of the book can be downloaded here.

Ancient Temples in Lo Manthang

It has been many years and several attempts in the making, now image galleries documenting the Jampa Lhakhang and Tupchen Lhakhang in Lo Manthang are online. These images have generously been provided by Philip and Marsha Lieberman (1993, 1994), who also published a selection of their documentation online (Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of Mustang, Nepal), and Jaroslav Poncar (1998). Today, this documentation is invaluable due to the recent restorations of these temples, which are also partially documented through comparisons I took in 2013. I have already expressed my opinion about these restorations in two articles, now everyone can see what has been lost through them.

• Gallery of the temples of Lo Manthang (the banner above is from a photograph by Philip Lieberman)

A New Book on Alchi

Finally, my publication on the Alchi Choskhor together with Jaroslav Poncar and Serindia is approaching the finishing line. Building on and including an updated version of the Sumtsek volume published by Roger Goepper it covers all early remains of the Alchi Choskhor. Through a detailed analysis of the architecture, murals and sculptures in their context, and their interrelationship to each other and to Tibetan textual sources likely known at the time, the publication offers a new understanding of the monuments historical and religious environment. Holger Neuwirth and Carmen Auer contribute on the architecture and their plans, and Rob Linrothe and Nils Martin contribute new studies on the lineage and foundation inscription of the Sumtsek respectively. See also:

• The Tibetan text of the "Pearl Garland Composition", the foundation inscription of the Palden Drepung Chörten (formerly Great Stūpa) at Alchi
• A review of Peter van Ham's book "Alchi: Treasure of the Himalayas. Ladakh’s Buddhist Masterpiece"

The Interior Decoration of Wanla

In 2015 Holger Neuwirth & Carmen Auer published a book on The Three Storied Temple of Wanla with their University (Technische Universität Graz). By that time I had worked for years on a full description of the temple's iconography, but could not get it finished in time for the publication. In the meantime, I shared this draft with a number of people, but I think even in its draft state the rich material assembled in the 180 page document may be of broader interest. I have thus made it available through this website.

Mustang Monastery Collections

Since 2012 I am documenting monastery collections in Mustang. The collection of sculptures and books at Namgyal monastery turned out to be extremely exciting, each visit resulting in new discoveries. A first glimpse on this collection is offered in a two part contribution to Orientations (March and June 2016). The 14th century Prajñāpāramitā and Sūtra sections of the Kanjur are now fully documented and their catalogue and a study of its illuminations are in process. The Lamdré sculpture sets are being studied in detail as well.

• Here is a summary of the work in Mustang presented in February 2020 at the British Library.

Cave of Great Adepts

In 2007 the rediscovery of a painted cave hidden in the barren mountain landscape of Upper Mustang, Nepal, hit the international headlines. Years passed without further information on the cave, the published mural and its context, save for an article providing only an initial assessment published in 2010. This website contains the full documentation of the cave's murals, accompanying an article written for the June 2014 issue of Orientations which offers a more precise reading and context for the cave.

• Images of Könchokling