The decision to choose monks residing locally was not left to chance.
Several monks now reside and practice at the monastery full-time.
Today there are more than 200 monks residing at Dzongsar.
But for most of the year only the monk and a few caretakers reside at the shrine.
By the 1950s, more than a hundred monks resided in Katanga.
Prior to 1999, no monks resided permanently in the monastery.
The monks would have resided in the caves close to the stupa.
The only monk permanently residing in the monastery is the hegumen.
Currently there are 8 monks residing at the monastery.
In 1618 there were 40 monks residing in the skete.