The Land of Snows

Sera Monastery

Sera monastery was founded in 1419 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa named Sakya Yeshe. Before a monastery was built in Sera, Tsongkhapa had established hermitages in the cliffs above. Over the years, the monastery grew to have close to 6000 monks. Sera and Drepung monasteries became the largest Geluk sect monasteries in Tibet. Today Sera has around 600 monks.

Sera monastery is famous for its "monk debates" which take place nearly everyday of the week. The monks gather each afternoon to debate buddhist teachings and philosophy (pictured below). Though many monasteries across Tibet have debates, Sera is the best and most popular place to witness it.

Sera monastery is only 5km from downtown Lhasa. It can be easily reached by bus or taxi. Sera is a common place for tourists to go so you are going to have to buy an entrance ticket (only the most touristy monasteries charge an entrance fee). It is best to go in the afternoon in order to see the monk debates.

Drepung Monastery

Drepung Monastery is another of the six great Gelukpa monasteries of Tibet. It is located 5km west of Lhasa in the traditional Tibetan province of U. It was founded by Jamyang Chojey in 1416. Jamyang Chojey was a disciple of Tsongkhapa, who was the founder of the Gelukpa sect of Tibetan buddhism. The monastery quickly became popular and had a monk population of nearly 2000 within the first two years of its founding.

The first Dalai Lama, Gedun Drup, studied at Drepung monastery under Tsongkhapa. Gedun Drup later went on to found Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse. The second through the fifth Dalai Lama's each lived at Drepung and were the thrown holders of the monastery. The tombs of the second to fourth Dalai Lama's are found at Drepung. Starting from the fifth Dalai Lama, the home of Tibet's spiritual leader was moved to the Potala Palace.

Drepung was once the largest monastery in the world with a monk population of over 10,000. After the Chinese takeover of Tibet in the 1950's, the monk population fell to only a few hundred. During the Cultural Revolution it was closed, but was later reopened in the early 1980's. Today the monk population of Drepung is around 600.

Drepung has been one of the most politically influential monasteries in Tibet throughout its existence. Many of Tibet's most renowned leaders have studied there. Even in more recent times it continues to be influential. In the late 1980's, many monks from Drepung protested against the government by raising the Tibetan flag and marching around the Barkhor. The monks involved were later arrested.

During certain times of year (such as Losar), many pilgrims come to Drepung to walk the kora around the monastery. The kora goes around all of the major colleges and assembly halls and continues down to Nechung Monastery, which was home to the state oracle.

Getting to Drepung monastery from Lhasa is easy. Any taxi will take you there for around Y10 ($1.25) one way. There are also public buses going there all day from Jokhang Temple for Y3 ($0.36) per person. For more information on Lhasa and Drepung Monastery, send an email to [email protected]

Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo monastery, located in Shigatse, is another of the six great Gelukpa monasteries of Tibet. This monastery was founded in 1447 by Gyalwa Gendun Drup who was the nephew and a disciple of Tsongkhapa. Gyalwa Gendun Drup went on to become the first Dalai Lama. Later, the fourth Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen, added major additions to the monastery.

Tashilhunpo Monastery is famous throughout Tibet for being the home of the Panchen Lama. The Panchen Lama is the second highest ranking lama in Tibet after the Dalai Lama. The Panchen Lama is said to be the incarnation of Amitabha Buddha. Since the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang, the person occupying the seat of Dalai Lama has been involved in the final selection process of the new Panchen Lama. In turn, the person occupying the seat of Panchen Lama has been involved in the selection process of the new Dalai Lama.

The most famous Panchen Lama was the tenth, Chokyi Gyaltsen. The tenth Panchen Lama was born in 1938 in a small village in northeast Amdo province, Tibet (modern day Qinghai). He was officially recognized as the tenth Panchen Lama in June 1949. In 1968 he was sent to prison for criticizing the conditions of Tibet and in particular the conditions of the Tibetans of his home province of Amdo. In 1977 he was released from prison, but remained under house arrest in Beijing until 1982. After being released he was considered to be politically rehabilitated. He was soon given the office of Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress. Even though he was given this position, he continued to speak out and represent the Tibetan people. He died under mysterious circumstances in January 1989 shortly after arriving again in Shigatse.

Tashilhunpo is located in Shigatse, 265km / 166 miles west of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and is located on the Friendship Highway...a highway connecting Lhasa with Kathmandu, Nepal. In the 1950's Tashilhunpo had a monk population of around 4000. Today it is a fraction of that. Tashilhunpo was closed during the Cutural Revolution, but was hardly damaged compared to most monasteries across Tibet. It was reopened in the early 1980's and has since become a major tourist attraction among foreign and Chinese tourists.

Getting to Shigatse and Tashilhunpo Monastery is easy. There are multiple buses per day going between Lhasa and Shigatse. Most people stop in Shigatse for a night or two on the way to Mt. Everest or the Nepal border when booking a 4WD trip from Lhasa. For more information about Shigatse, please send an email to [email protected]

 

 

Ganden Monastery

Ganden monastery is another of the six great Gelukpa sect monasteries in Tibet. Ganden is located 47km / 29 miles east of the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa. Ganden was founded by Tsongkhapa, who was the Tibetan buddhism reformer who started the Gelukpa sect. Tsongkhapa had his disciples build the monastery and it was finished in 1409. Ganden was the first of many Gelukpa monasteries to be built in Tibet. Tsongkhapa spent most of his last years at the monastery. He died at Ganden in 1419 and his remains are still kept there today.

Contrary to popular belief, the Dalai Lama is not the head of the Gelukpa sect. The abbot (commonly called a "tripa" which means throne holder in Tibetan) of Ganden monastery has always been the leader of the sect. The tripa is not a reincarnation like the Dalai Lama. Instead he is appointed. Each tripa of Ganden monastery serves a 7 year term. The Ganden Tripa traditionally has been one of the highest political and religious leaders in Tibet. The current Ganden Tripa is Khensur Lungri Namgyel who was born in Kham (east Tibet) in 1927. He is the 101st Ganden Tripa.

Before 1950, Ganden had around 5000 monks. Today it has around 500 monks. During the Cultural Revolution the monastery was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt in the early 1980's. Ganden is well known for its kora. The kora (pilgrim trail around the monastery) gives you an awesome view of the Lhasa river valley from 4500m / 14,760 feet. During Tibetan New Year, thousands of pilgrims from across Tibet go to Ganden to walk the kora.

Getting to Ganden is easy. Buses leave from in front of the Barkhor in Lhasa every morning from 6:30am to 7:30am. A roundtrip ticket costs Y20 ($2.50USD). The trip takes about 70 minutes. The entrance ticket for the monastery costs Y45 ($5.75). Buses return to Lhasa at around 1pm. The kora around the monastery takes about an hour.

Kumbum Monastery

Kumbum Monastery is one of the six great Gelukpa sect monasteries in Tibet. The others are Ganden (70 minutes outside Lhasa), Sera (Lhasa), Drepung (Lhasa), Tashilhunpo (Shigatse) and Labrang (Xiahe). Kumbum monastery is located 26km / 16 miles from Xining (known as Silang in Tibetan) in northeast Amdo. Though it is now known as being one of the biggest Chinese tourist attractions in the area, Kumbum has been a very important monastery in Tibetan history.

Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa sect, was born in 1357 where Kumbum monastery now stands. Tsongkhapa was responsible for bringing a major reformation to Tibetan buddhism in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. The Gelukpa sect eventually gained political power in Tibet and rules Tibet (in exile) to this day. When Tsongkhapa was born, a drop of blood from his cut umbilical cord fell to the ground. From this drop of blood a huge sandalwood tree grew with 100,000 leaves. Each leaf supposedly had an image of buddha on it (Kumbum means "100,000 images" in Tibetan). In 1379, Tsongkhapa's mother built a small temple with a chorten (Sanskrit: stupa) around the tree. In 1481, local nomads from the area added other buildings to the temple. In 1577 Sonam Gyatso, the 3rd Dalai Lama, was invited to Mongolia by Altan Khan. Enroute to Mongolia, he stopped at the area where Tsongkhapa was born. He ordered that a large monastery be built and appointed a head lama. The monastery was finished in 1583.

Several other Dalai Lama's visited or lived at Kumbum. In 1603, the 4th Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso, stopped at Kumbum monastery on his way to Lhasa. The 7th Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso, was also taken to Kumbum before going to Lhasa. The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, visited the monastery several times during his reign. The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in the small village of Takster about 65km / 41 miles from Kumbum. When he was recognized as the Dalai Lama, he was taken to Kumbum where he lived for 18 months before moving to Lhasa. Pictures of the 14th Dalai Lama are found in several of the halls of Kumbum. His picture is illegal to have in Tibet, but many monasteries and families outside of the Lhasa-Shigatse area keep his picture up despite the law.

In the 1950's there were around 3500 monks at Kumbum. Today there are around 700. Kumbum is famous across Tibet for its yak butter sculptures. These elaborate creations are made by hand and are made completely of butter. Monk dancing (Tibetan: Cham) takes place on several occasions each year. The current abbot of Kumbum monastery is Arjia Lobsang Thubten Rinpoche. He was born to a Mongolian family in eastern Amdo. He fled Tibet in 1998 and lives in exile in California.

Kumbum monastery can be easily reached from Xining. On Kunlun Zhong Lu (near Xi Men) there are taxi's that will take you the 26km to the monastery for Y20. This price is per car and not per person. You can also take a bus to the town of Huangzhong (the small town where Kumbum is) for Y4 per person. The entrance fee to the monastery is Y80 (it was raised from Y35 to Y80 in 2006). The best time to go to the monastery is around Losar (Tibetan New Year). Many Tibetans from Amdo come to the monastery during this time. Try and avoid going to the monastery during the summer. Loads of Chinese tourists are there everyday.