Tashilhunpo Monastery

introduce

Tashilhunpo Monastery means "Auspicious Sumeru Mountain" in Tibetan, and it is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug Sect (the other five are: Gandan Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Kumbum Monastery, and Labrang Monastery) ), it is also a relatively large-scale monastery of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in the Houzang area. It was founded in 1447 by Gendun Zhuba, a disciple of Master Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect, and it took 12 years to complete. Since the fourth Panchen Lama, Tashilhunpo Monastery has been the residence of successive Panchen Lamas.

Tsochin Hall is the main hall of Tashilhunpo Monastery, and the building in front of the gate of the monastery is this hall. Outside the gate of the hall is a courtyard surrounded by corridors, which is the lecture hall of the temple. In the past, the Panchen Lama often preached to the monks in the temple here, and it was also a place for lamas to hold religious defenses. In the front of the main hall is the Great Sutra Hall. In the center of the Sutra Hall is the throne of the Panchen Lama. Behind the Sutra Hall are three Buddhist halls. The Sakyamuni Hall is in the middle, the Maitreya Hall is on the west, and the Tara Hall is on the east.

The magnificent building in the temple is the Great Maitreya Hall, which is called "Qiangbakang" in Tibetan. The Buddha Hall is divided into five floors, and there are two corridors below it. The hall is 30 meters high, all of which are built of stone, with dense joints, solemn and solemn. The entire Buddhist hall is in the shape of steps, which are gathered and raised layer by layer. There is a lion lying on the top corner of each floor, and the hall is decorated with copper pillars and golden roofs, which is majestic and magnificent. In the middle is enshrined the gilt-bronze Jampa Buddha cast under the presidency of the Ninth Panchen Lama Quji Nyima in 1914, that is, the seated statue of Maitreya Buddha. The Buddha statue is 26.2 meters high, squatting on a 3.8-meter-high lotus base, majestic and majestic. There are more than 1,400 gemstones inlaid between the eyebrows of the Buddha statue, including large and small diamonds, pearls, amber, coral, and turquoise. The body of the Buddha consumes 6,700 taels of gold and more than 230,000 catties of brass.

In the east of the temple, there are 7 pagoda halls, in which there are stupas of Panchen Lamas of all dynasties. The most famous one is the Jueganxia Hall. The pagoda of the fourth Panchen Lama was built in 1662. The pagoda is 11 meters high. bone. The pagoda hall where the 5th to 9th Panchen Lamas were buried together is called "Tashi Nanjie". The remains of the 5th to 9th Panchen Lamas were packed in five sandalwood boxes and placed in the vases of the pagoda. In the center of the stupa is a bronze statue of the Ninth Panchen Lama Quji Nyima. The height of the pagoda is 11.52 meters. The body of the pagoda is gold-plated, wrapped in silver skin, inlaid with jewels, beautifully carved, and solemn in shape.

There are also a variety of precious cultural relics in the temple, among which the portrait of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty hanging in "Gana Lakang" and various cultural relics collected here are the most valuable. There are precious porcelains such as Yingqing, blue and white, and Longquan from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, scroll paintings of Buddha statues made of silk or cotton, handicrafts such as jade and crystal, and bronze Buddhas of the Ming Dynasty, all of which are precious cultural relics handed down from generation to generation.

The Buddha Exhibition Platform is located in the northeast of Tashilhunpo Monastery. It was built by Gendun Zhuba to commemorate the birth, Buddhahood and Nirvana of Sakyamuni, and was later rebuilt by the fourth Panchen Lama, Luosang Quji. Every year, three days before and after May 15th in the Tibetan calendar, a grand exhibition of Buddhas will be held, and the three embroidered Buddha statues of the past Buddha (Infinite Light Buddha), the present Buddha (Sakyamuni Buddha), and the future Buddha (Jamba Buddha) will be displayed. Hanging on the 32-meter-high Buddha Exhibition Platform, monks and believers pay homage and offer Hada.

opening hours

09:00-19:30 all year round

Service Facilities

must see tips