Zayeba Temple - China Travel

introduce

Zayeba Temple is a Nyingma (Red Sect) monastery and one of the four major hermitages. It was built in the 7th century AD and has a history of 1500 years. It is one of the practice temples built by Tubo Zanpu Songtsan Gampo for his concubine Princess Mansa Chizun. Later, it was expanded several times to form Zayeba Temple, which is tightly embedded in the crevice of the cliff. One of its major features is the integration of cave temples and cave temples. Different from the surrounding peaks with only a shallow layer of turf on the surface, Zayeba is full of natural aura. The pines and cypresses on the mountain are tall and straight, dense and green, and the clear springs and streams are flowing under the mountain. In spring and summer, the mountain flowers are in full bloom and a hundred birds sing together. The Zayeba Temple is hidden among the cliffs, which is not a beautiful scenery. There are more than a dozen existing caves. Among them, Songtsan Gampo Xiufa Cave was built earlier and is located on the cliff in the middle of the mountain. In the original cave, there were Buddhist niches, ancient murals and statues of Songtsan Gampo. Temples were built around the cave, and after many repairs and expansions, a famous temple was formed.

In the middle of the 8th century, Zanpu Chisong Dezan advocated Buddhism and invited people from India to promote Buddhism. Not far from the Xiufa Cave, there was originally a bell room with a copper bell hanging inside, and the bell inscription circled twice. Judging from the style of writing, it should be a cultural relic of the Tubo period. The whereabouts of the bell are unknown today. In the 11th century, Atisha, an ancient Indian eminent monk, wrote books and gave lectures here. There is his former residence and practice cave here.