| Ladakh
 It
lies in the eastern half of Jammu & Kashmir State in the far
noth of India. It shares its north-western border with Pakistan
and to the north lies the Chinese province and to the east, Tibet
(China). Ladakh is divided into several geographic regions :
* Central Ladakh, Nubra, The Rupshu, Zanskar and Western Ladakh.
Religion
: Tibetan Buddhism is wide spread in Ladakh and they practice
branch of Mahayana Buddhism which some times also called lamaism.
Lamas
: It is usual for most families to have at least one son
who is a lama (monk). At an early age he will be sent to the gompa
(monastery) to which his village is attached where he will be educated
in the religious teachings. Monks are highly respected in the community
and spend a lot of their time away from the gompa performing religious
ceremonies in the villages.
The
lamas of Tibetan Buddhism are divided into four main sects. The
oldest is the Nyingmapa (the Ancient Order or red hat sect) founded
by Padmasambhava in the 8 century. The next is Sakyapa sect and
the third is Kagyupa. The fourth and the recent order is the Gelukpa,
more commonly known as the Yellow Hat sect. All of these sects are
represented in Ladakh, but most common are the Kagyupa and Gelukpa.
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