"The gorge where Pema Lingpa dived holding a burning lamp and surfaced with hidden treasures, the flame still lit"
Mebar tsho (Burning Lake)
Bezur_Kuenzangdrag, Bumthang District, Bhutan
Mebar Tsho — the Burning Lake — is a pool in a gorge in Bumthang's Tang Valley where the treasure revealer Pema Lingpa dived into the water holding a lit butter lamp in the fifteenth century and emerged with sacred texts and objects, the flame unextinguished. The pool is not a lake but a widening of the Tang Chhu River, and its significance is not geological but devotional — a place where hidden teachings were drawn from the depths, confirming that the world conceals wisdom for those prepared to receive it.
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Quick Facts
Location
Bezur_Kuenzangdrag, Bumthang District, Bhutan
Coordinates
27.5394, 90.8115
Last Updated
Mar 9, 2026
Learn More
Site of Pema Lingpa's fifteenth-century terma discovery, where he proved the authenticity of his vision by diving into the pool with a lit butter lamp and emerging with sacred treasures.
Origin Story
Guru Rinpoche hid sacred teachings in this pool in the eighth century, intending them for future discovery. In the fifteenth century, Pema Lingpa — regarded as a reincarnation of Padmasambhava — had a vision of the hidden treasures. When skeptics challenged him, he took a lit butter lamp, plunged into the water, and surfaced with a chest containing a self-spoken Guru statue, a sacred scroll, and a ritual skull. The flame was still burning. The pool was named Mebar Tsho — the Burning Lake — in commemoration.
Key Figures
Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava)
Hid terma (sacred teachings) in the pool in the eighth century
Pema Lingpa
Treasure revealer who discovered the terma by diving into the pool with a burning lamp
Spiritual Lineage
Nyingmapa tradition, specifically the Pema Lingpa lineage. The terma tradition — the practice of hiding and later discovering sacred texts — is central to Nyingmapa Buddhism, and Pema Lingpa is one of its five great treasure revealers.
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