WRITTEN BY
Taylor Nam

LOCATION
Arunachal Pradesh, India.

The famous Tawang Monastery of Arunachal Pradesh is the largest of its kind in India and the second largest in the world. The monks and students who live at Tawang preserve its authenticity as a place to learn about oneself and one’s place in the spiritual world. Tawang exists as an entire world, unto itself, surviving one harsh winter after another and balancing on the edge of its very own mountain. The monks’ social circle is each other. Their neighbors are descendants of friends and relatives that stretch back nearly four hundred years. Their routine is to wake up, learn, pray, eat, stay warm, and sleep. Tawang remains, for the men and boys who, every day, fulfill what they believe to be their duty, their devotion and their greatest calling as Buddhist monks. Simply put: Tawang is home, a community for those all seeking enlightenment.