Hemis Monastery

Hemis Monastery is a Himalayan Buddhist monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Lineage, in Hemis on the bank of the Indus River, Ladakh, India. Situated 45 km from Leh, it was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. The annual Hemis festival honouring Padmasambhava is held there in early June. Hemis village is located 40 km southeast of Leh on Leh-Manali Highway and under-construction Bhanupli–Leh line. == History == Hemis Monastery existed before the 11th century. In 1894 Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch claimed Hemis as the origin of an otherwise unknown gospel, the Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men, in which Jesus is said to have travelled to India during his 'lost years'. According to Notovitch, the work had been preserved in the Hemis library and was shown to him by the monks there while he was recuperating from a broken leg, and his Sherpa guide translated it for him. Notovich's version of the manuscript was translated from Tibetan to Russian to French to English. However, historians view Notovitch as having fabricated the evidence, which he allegedly admitted himself. Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman states that "Today there is not a single recognized scholar on the planet who has any doubts about the matter.