Rato Dratsang

Rato Dratsang
Rato monks in front of the temple at Rato Monastery, January 2015.
Religion
Affiliation	Tibetan Buddhism
Sect	Gelug
Location
Location	Currently in the Tibetan Settlement, Mundgod, Karnataka, India, (originally in Central Tibet)
Country	India
Shown within Karnataka Show map of Karnataka Rato Dratsang (India) Show map of India
Geographic coordinates	15°01′57″N 75°00′00″E / 15.0326°N 75.00°E / 15.0326; 75.00
Architecture
Founder	Tak Pa Zang Bo
Date established	14th century

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Tibetan Buddhism
Schools Nyingma Kadam Sakya Bodong Kagyu Jonang Gelug Rimé
Key personalities First dissemination Padmasambhāva Śāntarakṣita Kamalaśīla Songtsen Gampo Trisong Detsen Ralpacan Second dissemination Atiśa Talika Abhayakirti Niguma Sukhasiddhi Milarepa Nyingma Yeshe Tsogyal Longchenpa Jigme Lingpa Patrul Rinpoche Dudjom Lingpa Mipham Kagyu Marpa Rangjung Dorje Jonang Dolpopa Taranatha Sakya Sakya Pandita Gorampa Bodongpa Samding Dorje Phagmo Gelugpa Je Tsongkhapa 5th Dalai Lama 13th Dalai Lama 14th Dalai Lama 10th Panchen Lama
Teachings General Buddhist Three marks of existence Skandha Cosmology Saṃsāra Rebirth Bodhisattva Dharma Dependent origination Karma Tibetan Four Tenets system Rangtong-Shentong Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction Nyingma Dzogchen Pointing-out instruction
Practices and attainment Lamrim Pāramitās Bodhicitta Avalokiteśvara Meditation Laity Vajrayana Tantra techniques Deity yoga Guru yoga Dream yoga Buddhahood
Major monasteries Tradruk Drepung Dzogchen Ganden Jokhang Kumbum Labrang Mindrolling Namgyal Narthang Nechung Pabonka Palcho Ralung Ramoche Rato Sakya Sanga Sera Shalu Tashi Lhunpo Tsurphu Yerpa
Institutional roles Dalai Lama Panchen Lama Lama Karmapa Rinpoche Geshe Tertön Tulku Western tulku
Festivals Chotrul Duchen Dajyur Galdan Namchot Losar Dosmoche Monlam Sho Dun Losoong
Texts Kangyur Tengyur Tibetan Buddhist canon Mahayana sutras Nyingma Gyubum
Art Sand mandala Thangka Wall paintings Ashtamangala Tree of physiology Festival thangka Mani stone
History and overview History Timeline Outline Culture Index of articles
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Rato Dratsang (Dratsang in Tibetan means 'school' or 'university'), also known as Rato Monastery (sometimes spelled Ratö Monastery), Rato Dratsang is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" order. For many centuries, Rato Dratsang was an important monastic center of Buddhist studies in Central Tibet.

The 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), referred to Rato Dratsang as Taktsang, or Tiger Nest, because of its fine scholars and debaters. The monastery served as a center for the study of Buddhist philosophy and logic; monks from many other monasteries came to Jang, under Rato’s authority, every year to intensively study and rigorously debate logic.

After 1959, Rato Dratsang was reestablished in a Tibetan Refugee Settlement in Mundgod, Karnataka State, in southern India. The original Rato Dratsang exists in Tibet.

In 1985, the Rato Dratsang Foundation, was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to help the monastery flourish and grow.

In 2012, the Dalai Lama appointed a westerner monk, the Nicholas Vreeland, to be Rato Dratsang’s new Abbot. ^{[1][2][3][4][5]}