| Drongtse Monastery | |
|---|---|
Tibetan transcription(s) Tibetan: འབྲོང་རྩེ་དགོན Wylie transliteration: vbrong rtse dgon Chinese transcription(s) Traditional: 重孜寺 Simplified: 重孜寺 | |
 Sand Mandala, Drongste, 1993. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Tibetan Buddhism |
| Sect | Gelug |
| Location | |
| Location | Tsang, Tibet, China |
  Location within Tibet | |
| Geographic coordinates | 29°01′08″N89°27′04″E / 29.019°N 89.451°E Coordinates: 29°01′08″N89°27′04″E / 29.019°N 89.451°E |
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Drongtse Monastery ('Brong rtse; Pinyin: Zhongze) is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery was formerly one of the most important Gelug monasteries in Tsang, Tibet. There was also a chorten there. [1]
Tibetan Buddhism is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet where it is the dominant religion. It is also found in the regions surrounding the Himalayas, much of Chinese Central Asia, the Southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, as well as Mongolia.
The Gelug is the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader. The first monastery he established was named Ganden, and to this day the Ganden Tripa is the nominal head of the school, though its most influential figure is the Dalai Lama. Allying themselves with the Mongols as a powerful patron, the Gelug emerged as the pre-eminent Buddhist school in Tibet and Mongolia since the end of the 16th century.
Ü-Tsang or Tsang-Ü is one of the four traditional provinces of Tibet, the other being Amdo in the north-east, the Kham in the east and the Ngari in the north-west. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the south-central of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Brahmaputra River watershed. The western districts surrounding and extending past Mount Kailash are included in Ngari, and much of the vast Changtang plateau to the north. The Himalayas defined Ü-Tsang's southern border. The present Tibet Autonomous Region corresponds approximately to what was ancient Ü-Tsang and western Kham.
Drongtse Monastery, is 19 km northwest of Gyantse and 14 km north of Tsechen Monastery, on the "Southern Friendship Highway" to Shigatse, [2] and just 6 km south of the site of the early Tsi Nesar temples. It was almost totally destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but has been partially restored since, and the Assembly Hall was rebuilt in the 1980s, though many of the main buildings remain in ruins. [3]
Gyantse, officially Gyangzê Town, is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region, but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities.
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê, is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, with an area of 182,000 km2 (70,271 sq mi). It is located within the historical Tsang province of Tibet.
Tsi Nesar is a geomantic temple attributed to Emperor Songtsen Gampo who lived in the 7th century CE. However, the original buildings, their precious murals and paintings said to date back to the 12th century, and the nearby temple constructed by Emperor Trisong Detsen in the 8th century to house a famous image of Prajnaparamita, consecrated by Padmasambhava, which survived until the Cultural Revolution, have all been destroyed. A "country-style" temple has been built in recent years incorporating some of the revered ancient timbers from the original temples. It is located in a valley 25 km from Gyantse and 6 km north of Drongtse Monastery.
The original four-storied monastery was on a "rocky eminence" about 300 ft (91 m) above the village. The wall was already partly ruined when Sarat Chandra Das visited in 1881. The du-khang or congregation hall, which could seat about eighty monks, contained some very old gilt images including one of Jowo Shakyamuni said to be a copy by an Indian artist of the famous and much-revered image housed at the Jokhang in Lhasa. It also contained a picture of Lozang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama (note: Das wrongly refers to him as the 1st Dalai Lama), being given political power over Tibet by the Mongol conqueror, Güshi Khan, after the king of Tsang was deposed in 1642. [4]
Sarat Chandra Das (1849–1917) was an Indian scholar of Tibetan language and culture most noted for his two journeys to Tibet in 1879 and in 1881–1882.
The Jokhang, also known as the Qoikang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery and Zuglagkang, is a Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. Tibetans, in general, consider this temple as the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. The temple is currently maintained by the Gelug school, but they accept worshipers from all sects of Buddhism. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Tibetan and Nepalese design.
Güshi Khan was a Khoshut prince and leader of the Khoshut Khanate, who supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan as the main benefactor of the Dalai Lama and the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1637, Güshi Khan defeated a rival Mongol prince Choghtu Khong Tayiji, a Kagyu follower, near Qinghai Lake and established his khanate in Tibet over the next years. His military assistance to the Gelug school enabled the 5th Dalai Lama to establish political control over Tibet.
The monastery was, according to some, founded by Lhatsun Chenpo (Je Lha-tsun), and was the birthplace of Lobsang Palden Chophel or the Sengchen ('Lion') Lama. [5]
Other sources attribute the founding in the same year to the yogin and ascetic, Rinchen Gyatso, fulfilling a prophecy of Tsongkhapa. Later on, it was adopted as a branch monastery of Tashilhunpo. [6] There is a small chapel behind the monastery with rock-carved images of Padmasambhava, Tara, Amitayus and other deities. [7]
Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, was an 8th-century Buddhist master from the Indian subcontinent. Although there was a historical Padmasambhava, little is known of him apart from helping the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye, at the behest of Trisong Detsen, and shortly thereafter leaving Tibet due to court intrigues.
Tara, Ārya Tārā, or Shayama Tara, also known as Jetsun Dölma in Tibetan Buddhism, is an important figure in Buddhism. She appears as a female bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism, and as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements. She is known as Tara Bosatsu (多羅菩薩) in Japan, and occasionally as Duōluó Púsà (多羅菩薩) in Chinese Buddhism.
The Thirty-Second Ganden Tripa, Tsultrim Chopel (1561-1623) received his monastic education at Drongtse Monastery as a young boy. [8] Lobzang Tsultrim (1745 - 1800) began his training at Drongtse at age 10. [9]
