Thrangu Monastery Destroyed. The reports I have heard from Yushu say that Thrangu Monastery has been almost completely destroyed and many of the monks are missing.
A wonderful Evening
We spent a wonderful evening at Thrangu Gompa where the residents monks showed us around the monasatery’s halls; pointing out the fantastic murals and wall paintings that adorned the prayer rooms of the Monastery. These paintings were not only exquisite, but they were also the work of the master painters from Tongren, the famous thangka painting monastery town also in Qinghai Province.
The monks were so enthusiastic and proud of their monastery. We can only hope that they and the paintings have survived.
This is the report of the disaster in Wikipedia . It confirms our worst fears.
Thrangu Monastery and the surrounding areas, including nearby Jyekundo or Gyêgu town, the regional capital, were severely damaged in the 2010 Yushu earthquake. Many monks and thousands of laypeople died. A report filed on 16 April 2010 stated:”Khenpo drove to Thrangu monastery yesterday, after I spoke to him on the phone, because he heard that the damage was so severe there. He said that there were a lot of people digging in the ruins there but the monastery is in very bad shape. None of the monks’ housing there is still standing.
The Mahakala shrine building collapsed. The main lhakang [Assembly Hall] is still standing but is heavily damaged and will have to be rebuilt. He asked people there how many monks had died and was told that no one knows yet. One monk told him sixty to seventy monks had died and another told him at least thirty. There are also two villages very close to Thrangu monastery and he said that they are completely destroyed without a single house still standing so a lot of people must have died there as well. He said that Aten Rinpoche has two cousins who were killed at Thrangu monastery.
