Like the great Boddhisattva Manjushri and Vairocana who lived for the welfare of all sentient beings, the highly accomplished master Drupthop Namgyal Lhundup , The First Padtselling Trulku went to Lhasa and to vow before Jow statue and started one billion recitations of Phagpa Zangpo Chodpai Monlam for the welfare of all sentient beings. At that time, the Jowo Statue spoke thus:

“Son! Don’t be very ambitious
Go instead to the south
East of Kurje Lhakhang in Bumthang is a place
Make it your monastic seat
You will fulfil your dreams
Name it Jangchub Pelri.”

East of Kurjue Lhakahng, this prophesied place is located atop a ridge and amidst forests where even tree branches bow as if to welcome all visitors. Wild flowers and medicinal herbs are common sight. One particular flower, Dongdola blossoms both in summer and winter and fill the whole area with sweet fragrance, like offerings to gods and goddesses. No wonder many birds including cuckoos make it their home and sing in praise of the monastery. The Monastery was built in 1769 with support from Trongsa Cjila and Jakar Dzongpon, Bhutan.

The monastery has two storeys: the top floor houses the statue of Buddha Amitaba (Yodpame) flanked to its right by Guru Rinpoche and by Vajrasattva (Dorsem) to its left. There is also a Jangchub Chorten, including a set of eight Buddha stupas, a set of Kagyur, a set of Nyingma Gyud Bum (The Hundred Thousand Tantras of the Nyingma School), a set of Dzod Dun (Seven Treasuries of Longchen Rabjam), and three thongdrol brought by the First Padtselling Trulku from Tibet. Gonkhang, to its right, houses the main treasure of the monastery, consisting of an assemblage of ritual daggers forming a Mandala. Any faithful person will be blessed with sight of a holy water dipping from them. Anybody seeing or touching them will be cleared of all obstacles in this life, and after death can avoid births in the lower realms. There is Mantra-Protectors Ekajati on the right and Dorji Drakmo on the left framed in by kathrabs of Gonpo Maning Sokdu on the right and Mantra-Protector Dorji Drakmo on the left, all of which ensure the destruction of the unfaithful while keeping a constant watch on the faithful lots like that of a mother on her children. There is yet another special artefact in the monastery is the Chinese thangka of Drolma Jigpa Geychob. As for masks, there are the masks of Mantra-Protector which spoke once in the past, dralha mask and others.

During the reign of the Second King (1926-1952), the dralha mask was sent to be framed into a kathrab of Wangdicholing Dzong, to which the Padtselling Trulku agreed. However, the Dzong shook even before the mask was brought down. The king sensed the danger and instructed that the mask be retained at the monastery. The Dzong stopped shaking the moment the king issued an order. This particular mask is considered as a very sacred object of the monastery, and it rests in the chamber on the left of which there is another chamber for making ritual arrangements.

Underneath the main structure and in the Lama Lhakhang are statues of both Kagyu and Nyingma spiritual masters including the statues made from Rigzin Jigme Lingpa’s bone relics and other treasures belonging to Drupthob Namgyal Lhundup, the founder of the monastery. To the right is the temple of Avalokiteshvara where human-size statue of Chenrezig stands, and the statues of the sixteen Arhats made from clay mixed with medicinal ingredients. The other treasures include a complete set of eight Buddha stupas. As for religious scriptures, there is Ratna Lingpa’s phurpa teachings sculpted in wood blocks including Drime Lingpa’s teachings. To the left there is a chamber for making ritual cakes while the front of the temple is partitioned as living rooms for the monks.

Next to the main monastery structure is a tshamkhang (meditation hut) of Pongwa Samten as it stood in his time. A little further away from tshamkhang there is a compound where relatives of those who serve the monastery in different ways live. Again, a little further towards the south-east direction is the living quarters of the nuns. However, after the construction of motor road, many of the living quarters of the monks have now been shifted nearer to the motor road and town. Only few persons live in quarters of the nuns and meditation huts, and they have deteriorated over time. There is a guest house and a common kitchen constructed on the outside of the monastery. Close by the guest house there are the living quarters of those associated with either the monastery or the gomdey. Thanks to the motor road, the monastery is developing continuously these days.

A golden pinnacle (sertog) could not be installed on a newly constructed Padtselling Gonpa. The secretary of Padtselling took the lead role in collecting donations from ex-gomchen Sonam Tshering and other devotees. With the donation, the work on making the pinnacle started to coincide with the celebrations of one hundred years of monarchy, the start of democracy and the enthronement of the Fifth King on the Golden Throne. The golden pinnacle on the temple and the victory banner on the roof of the living quarters of the monks including sun and moon on the stupa housing the sacred relics were finally installed on the auspicious saga dawa i.e., on the 15th Day of the Fourth Month of Earth Ox Year of the Bhutanese Year (7 June 2009). Also on this day, during the consecration ceremony, the secret relics consisting statues and other were donated by His Majesty the Fifth King, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck to be placed inside the golden pinnacle. This saw a good end to the tasks.

At about the same time, Ugyen Lhundup, a nephew of the Fifth Padtselling Trulku, financed the construction of a human-size statue of Rigzin Jigme Lingpa, the Root Lama of both the First and Second Padtselling trulkus and offered it to the monastery.

The Trulku himself saw the making and completion of complete vital treasure (lator) of Lama Palchen and perpetual ritual cake (tagtor) of Lama, Yidam, Khandro, Chokyong, Sungma, including zhidag of the gonkhang which had deteriorated over the years. They were installed complete with relic installation and consecration on 23rd Day of the Eighth Month of the Wood Dog Year (1994). Tendo dedicated to Mantra-Protectors Ekajati and Dorji Drakmo, the two of which were in bad shape after a passage of two hundred years, were restored with contributions of silken threads from Dechen Choden, the younger sister of the Fifth Trulku, and turquoise, coral, and pearls from his younger brother Dorji Thinlay. These were then finally installed and consecrated on the 23rd Day of the Eighth Month of the Earth Ox Year (11 September 2009).

Source: www.padtselling.com/padtselling-jangchub-pelri-monastery/