IMPORTANCE AS A PILGRIMAGE SITE

The supreme sacred place known as Namo Buddha is located in the mountains about 2 ½ hours from Kathmandu. It is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal and one of the holiest in the world. It is known as the place where the Buddha, in a previous life as a prince, gave his body to a starving tigress and her cubs. There is a very old temple in the village of Namo Buddha, located below Thrangu Rinpoche’s land, which sits on the top of the mountain. Several lamas have determined that the actual site where the Buddha gave his body is actually on Thrangu Rinpoche’s property near the retreat center. There is a cave with statues of the prince, the tigress and the cubs on this site. Namo Buddha is otherwise known by Tibetans and people of the Himalayan regions as “Takmo Lu Jin”, which is literally “Tigress Body Generosity”.