In 2003, following the prophecy of Khandro Mebar Tashi Kheudren, Dorje Phagmo Rinpoche visited Bjang Aring in Kikhar in Zhemgang District. Mebar Tashi Kheudren was the daughter of King Sindhu Raja, who invited Guru Padmasambhava to Bumthang in the eighth century.
In Bjang Aring, the descendants of Bjang Ponpo offered the old ancestral manor and temple to Dorje Phagmo. The temple, known as Mebar Tokchoed Lhakhang was built at the same time as the famous Samye Monastery in Tibet in the Eighth Century. Legend has it that when the Tibetan King Trisong Detsen was building Samye in Lhasa, he was unable to make much progress because of malevolent forces that kept destroying it. A temple in Monyul Bjang, (present Kikhar) was suggested as one of the dokthab (antidotes) to clear the obstacles in Tibet. According to the locals, this is the origin of the establishment of Mebar Tokchoed Lhakhang.
The temple was one of the main seats of Khandro Mebar Trashi Kheudren and hence named as Mebar Tokchoed Lhakhang (Tokchoed literally means “highest realization in spiritualism”).
Mebar Tashi Kheudren foretold that the temple would be destroyed by fire after she was gone and that no one would be able to renovate it. However, she also went on to say that an “accomplished woman” from western part of Mon, who has attained the realization, will be able to return the temple to its former glory. The prophecy also mentions that a monastic school would eventually be established.
Dorje Phagmo accepted the temple and the old manor and immediately began developing the place, building a new temple between 2004 and 2005. The people of Kikhar pointed out that several attempts were made before to rebuild and restore the temple. However, it could never be restored for unknown reasons. The locals believed that it was waiting for the right time and the right person in Dorje Phagmo Rinpoche to do carry out the renovations.
Alongside the renovation work, Dorje Phagmo has also initiated a monastic institute as per the prophecy. This school has been named Ngajur Pema Chopheling Dratshang and today, there are about 50 nuns and monks under Dorje Phagmo’s care.
Besides the young nuns and monks, the monastery is also home to many elderly, physically disabled, terminally ill, abandoned, and orphaned people. No one has been turned away and anyone seeking the Dharma or simply a shelter to live the rest of their lives in prayers has been welcomed. As for ongoing projects at the Monastery, besides personally taking care as both supervisor and labor, Dorje Phagmo personally engages herself in doing all kinds of household works such as washing, cooking, and serving her disciples, workers, and volunteers.
