The Scottish Tibetan monastery where David Bowie almost became a monk
dailyrecord.co.ukIt may surprise you to learn that tucked away in the Scottish countryside is a large Tibetan Buddhist complex.Located near the small village of Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway is the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre.
Founded in 1967, it is based in a tranquil valley on the banks of the river Esk.The complex originally consisted of a single 19th-century building called Johnstone House, which was previously a hunting lodge.
In 1965, the Johnstone House Trust was created with the aim of providing facilities to the public for study and meditation based on Buddhist and other religious teachings that focus on mental and spiritual wellbeing.Two years later, Johnstone House invited "spiritual masters" Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Akong Rinpoche to take over the running of the centre.
They named it Samye Ling, after the first successful Buddhist establishment in Tibet, and it officially became the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre in the West.The pair were soon joined by master-artist Sherapalden Beru and the monk Samten.
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