The gTam zhing lHun grub chos gling monastery is situated in the Chos 'khor valley in the Bum thang region of Central Bhutan. It was founded by the famous gter ston « treasurediscoverer » Padma gling pa (1450-1521) at the very beginning of the sixteenth century. Since 1959, it became the residence of the two lineages of reincarnation of Padma gling pa tradition : the Pad gling gsung sprul, reincarnation of Padma gling pa, and the Pad gling thugs sras, that of Zia ba rgyal mtshan (1499-?), son of the gter ston. Thus it is an important centre of teachings of Padma gling pa tradition of the rNying ma pa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Moreover, this small monastery presents a particular interest in the general history of Tibetan art. In fact some paintings of the ground floor date from the very foundation of the monastery and miraculously escaped from being retouched or repainted. There is a certain similarity of style between them and those of gTsang in Tibet, particularly those of rGyal rtse which are chronologically and geographically very close. One can admire for the first time the hitherto little studied iconography which is peculiar to the great « treasure-discoverer » of Bhutanese origin.
