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Tsi Nesar (rTsis gnas.gsar, also called rTsis lha.khang) [1] is a geomantic ('district controlling' or 'border taming') 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. [2] [3] It is located in a valley 25 km from Gyantse [4] and 6 km north of Drongtse Monastery. [2] [5]
Songtsen Gampo, also Songzan Ganbu(Chinese: 松赞干布 Sōngzàn Gānbù), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali and Chinese queens, as well as being the unifier of what were previously several Tibetan kingdoms. He is also regarded as responsible for the creation of the Tibetan alphabet and therefore the establishment of Classical Tibetan, the language spoken in his region at the time, as the literary language of Tibet.
Trisong Detsen or Trisong Detsän was the son of Me Agtsom, the 38th emperor of Tibet. He ruled from AD 755 until 797 or 804. Trisong Detsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and the establishment of the Nyingma or "Ancient" school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of (Transcendent) Wisdom" in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Prajñāpāramitā refers to this perfected way of seeing the nature of reality, as well as to a particular body of sutras and to the personification of the concept in the Bodhisattva known as the "Great Mother". The word Prajñāpāramitā combines the Sanskrit words prajñā "wisdom" with pāramitā "perfection". Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and is generally associated with the doctrine of emptiness (Shunyata) or 'lack of Svabhava' (essence) and the works of Nagarjuna. Its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of the Bodhisattva path.
There were two small ancient temples, the Runo Tsuklakang (Ru-gnon gtsung lag.khang or 'dgon-khang') was built by Songsten Gampo. It consisted of three chapels dedicated to rNam.par snang.mdzad, (Vairocana) mGon.po (Mahākāla) and sPyan.ras.gzigs (Chenresig = Avalokiteshvara). The Yumchen lhakang, apparently founded during the reign of Trisong Detsen, contained a statue of Yumchenmo or Prajnaparamita surrounded by the Buddhas of the Four Directions, as well as an image of mGon.po said to have been made from blood drawn from the nose of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). The third temple, traditionally attributed to the reign of Emperor Ralpacan (although Vitali dates its foundation to about 1057), was called rGya-phibs, which, from its name, must have been surmounted by a pagoda roof at one time. The "stiff, medallioned robes" dressing the bodhisattvas at Tsi Nesar show Central Asian and Indian (Pala) influences and probably date to the 11th century. [6]
Vairocana is a celestial buddha who is often interpreted, in texts like the Avatamsaka Sutra, as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of Śūnyatā. In the conception of the Five Tathagatas of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is at the centre and is considered a Primordial Buddha.
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.
The site is one of the twenty-five main terne, or 'power-places with treasure-troves', of Central Tibet mentioned in the biographies of Padmasambhava. Tsi Nesar is said to contain 'exoteric terma'. [3]
Exoteric refers to knowledge that is outside, and independent from, a person's experience and can be ascertained by anyone. The word is derived from the comparative form of Greek ἔξω eksô, "from, out of, outside". It signifies anything which is public, without limits, or universal. It is distinguished from internal esoteric knowledge. "Exoteric" relates to external reality as opposed to a person's thoughts or feelings. It is knowledge that is public as opposed to secret or cabalistic. It is not required that exoteric knowledge come easily or automatically, but it should be referenceable or reproducible.
Terma are various forms of hidden teachings that are key to Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhist and Bon religious traditions. The belief is that these teachings were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and dakini such as Yeshe Tsogyal (consorts) during the 8th century, for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, who are known as tertöns. As such, terma represent a tradition of continuous revelation in Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism. Termas are a part of tantric literature.
