Bonpo Monasteries

It is a Bon religion monastery with full name of “Rela Yungdrung Ling Monastery”

It is located in Rela Township of Nanmuling County which is about 90 km from Shigatse City, with an altitude of 3750 meters.

The monastery is surrounded by trees, with a pleasant climate and a quiet environment.

It is the largest and most influential Bon monastery in Tibet, which was built in the 7^th century AD during the reign of the Tubo king Songtsan Gampo and was destroyed in the 8^th century AD. Then after, the monastery was rebuilt in 1834 AD under the auspices of the Bon monk Jamgon Lawa Gyeltsen with the consent of the 10^th Dalai Lama, the 8^th Panchen Lama and Tibet Regent

It was listed as a national key protected temple in 1959. At that time, there were 1 assembly hall, 5 Lhakhang, 7 Kingstan, and more than 500 monks

The position of Yungdrung Ling Monastery in Bon religion is very significant, and the “Khenpo” (Abbot) of the Bon monasteries in Tibet and other Tibetan areas are all appointed by this monastery.

Thousands of men and women from all over the Tibetan region will gather here to learn scriptures as scheduled when the large-scale annual lectures and practice activities are held in this monastery.

Brief introduction

The monastery faces north, Yarlung Tsanpo River is near from its south, and the China-Nepal Highway is just across Yarlung Tsanpo River

Dazhuka Ferry is not far from the monastery, through which the road leading to northern Tibet and Qinghai (Admo) passes and extends to the north.

Looking across the river on the China-Nepal Highway, the red halls of Yungdrung Ling Monastery are vividly visible, which is very eye-catching. In the middle of the red halls, inlaid with yellow labrang (living Buddha palace) and white monk residence. The entire buildings are located on the mountain, and it is scattered in a well-ordered manner. From the appearance, it can not be told that it is different from monasteries of other sects of Tibetan Buddhism.

The north of the monastery is close to the Verajesang Mountain. “Verajesang” is one of the thirteen Dharma protectors. He is entrenched in this mountain to protect the Dharma, so the mountain is named after it. And there are several red mani piles and meditation caves dotted on the mountainside of Virajasan Mountain; There is a huge rock on the mountain wall near the monastery, which is also covered with red paint, because the monks and the people believe that the rock is the residence of the Dharma protector of Virajasang, they are dedicated to offering sacrifices every year.

Tradition of doing business

There has always been a tradition of monks going out to do business in Yungdrung Ling Monastery. There are two purposes: one is to raise funds for the temple to solve the source of life for some monks; Seek to survive and develop in the competition with many Tibetan Buddhism sects, and then inherit and carry forward the ancient religion of Bon.

The monks of Yungdrung Ling Monastery went to Gyantse, Shigatse, Lhasa, and northern Tibet to engage in trade, and even went to Sikkim and India to sell Tibetan agricultural and livestock products, and brought foreign industrial products back to Tibet. Therefore, although there are not many Bon believers in the local area, and the local people donate very little to this monastery, the economic strength of Yungdrung Ling Monastery is second only to the Tashilhunpo Monastery of Gelug Pa of Tibetan Buddhism.

Building structure and layout

With the Dukang Hall as the center, the monastery consists of seven “Kangtsan” (the grass-roots organization of the monastery, usually composed of forty or fifty monks), plus the surrounding halls, and gate porches. There are 118 large columns, all of which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and the existing buildings were gradually restored after 1982.

Dukang Hall is the main building and the main place for religious activities in Yungdrung Ling Monastery. It is a square hall with an original area of eight pillars each in length and width (one pillar is about 10 square meters), that is, sixty-four pillars. In addition to the scripture hall, Buddhist hall, Tibetan scripture hall, and instrument library around Dukang hall, the entire building covers an area of more than 800 square meters and is divided into upper and lower floors.

On the east and west sides of the Dukang Hall, there are two halls for Tibetan scriptures, which are “Ganggyu Lakang (Ganggyur Hall)” and “Tangyu Lakang (Tangyur Hall)”, respectively collecting “Ganggyur” and “Tangyur”.

The front of the Dukang Hall is the assembly hall. There is a Buddhist hall in front of the assembly hall. The original area of the Buddhist hall is 29 pillars (about 80 square meters).

The main Buddha statues enshrined in the Buddhist Hall are: the 8-meter-high Gelug pa Tara Qiangma (ie “Dolma”) in bronze and gilt, the Tantric deity Mahavira, and the 12-meter-high Bon ancestry Dunba·Shenrab Miwo (Victory Buddha) bronze gilt statue; Nyame·Sherab Gyaltsan, founder of Manri Gonpa; and Jamgon·Lawa Gyeltsen, founder of Yungdrung Ling Monastery.

There were originally a pair of pure gold lanterns weighing 2 kilograms each, as well as five spirit-pagoda made of gold, silver and copper, in which there are the dharma bodies of the renpoche the past dynasties of the monastery.

Starting from Dukang Hall, going up the stairs, there is a circular corridor. The east, south, west and north of the corridor are: the monk’s “practice room”, the “inner library” for preserving the instruments, and the “Buddha Hall” for worshipping Buddha statues. , The “Printing Room” for collecting scriptures.

On the east side of Yungdrung Ling Monastery is “Tongtro Lhakang” (“Tong” means “seeing”, “Tro” means “liberation”; “Tongtro” means “seeing can be liberated”), covering an area of 80 square meters. There were originally five spiritual pagodas in the hall, but unfortunately all of them were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in 20th century.
However, tThe largest one of the 5 pagodas, Jamgon·Lawa Gyeltsen Pagoda, has been restored. The copper pagoda is 5 meters high and inlaid with 2 kilograms of gold. There are also a pair of silver lamps and a mandala in the hall, each of them were made of 70 silver dollars. The hall has also newly painted murals on the walls. In the center of the murals is a portrait of Jamgon·Lawa Gyeltsen, surrounded by four portraits of the founder of Bon religion, Dunba·Shenrab Miwo. The relics of Jamgon·Lawa Gyeltsen are preserved in the newly restored Tongtro Lhakang and the Pagoda of Jamgon·Lawa Gyeltsen.

On the north side of Yungdrung Ling Monastery, there is a “La Rang (Labzhang)” where Khenpo lives, covering an area of 90 square meters. There are several thangkas of Dunba·Shenrab Miwo and Tantric deity hanging in the room, and there is also a special Khenpo (abbot) seat inside

On the northwest side of Yungdrung Ling Monastery, there is “Dzokang” (practicing hall), which covers an area of 40 square meters. In the hall, there is a statue of the Dharma protector, and also a small copper-plated gilded pagoda of Jamgon·Lawa Gyeltsen, in which it is said that the hands, feet of Jamgon·Lawa Gyeltsen and the instruments he used were treasured

The daily religious activities of Yungdrung Ling Monastery include offering sacrifices to Buddhas, deities, exorcising ghosts, meditation, and lecturing on scriptures, but the most important thing is the oral defense of teachings and academics of Bon religion

Every year in the Tibetan calendar from January 7^th to 15^th, April, May 29 and August, there are defense activities, and the “Dzong Rang ba” degree is obtained through the oral defense.

Its full name is “Tashi Manri Gonpa”, Located in Thobgyal Township, Nanmlin County. It is one of the ancestral monasteries of Bon religion, and also the largest Bon’s monastery in Shigatse

Manri Gonpa is 4,700 meters above sea level. Historically, it was divided into four sub-monasteries, upper, middle, lower and side, as well as several Kangzan

History

The Bon religion master from Jinchuan County Nyame·Sherab Gyaltsan(1356 AD – 1415 AD) came here in 1405 AD to rebuild Wensa Monaster and renamed it “Tashi Manri Gonpa”. So far, there have been 33 generations of Khenqen (meaning “Great Khenpo”, the abbot of the monastery).

It is a place for Bon believers to be ordained, and study.

According to the biography of “Master Nyame” that Master Nyame is the incarnation of Manjushri.

The main Buddha of Manri Gonpa is Master Nyame. At its peak, there were nearly 1,000 monks, and most of the religious people were in Tibet, and the eastern Tibet of Kham and Amdo

In 1834 AD, Lawa Gyeltsen, a monk who had studied at Meiri Temple, founded Yungdrung Ling Monastery nearby as a branch of Manri Gonpa, which later became one of the important monasteries of Bon religion.

During the Cultural Revolution of the 20th century, Manri Gonpa was destroyed, the monks disbanded and returned to their hometowns. The cultural relics in the monastery, including the famous “Nyame Pagoda”, were buried.

After the Cultural Revolution, the rebuilt of Manri Gonpa was begun from 1984, and the buried cultural relics were returned to the monastery, and the monks began to return

Teaching

There are four major colleges and twelve major Kangzans in Manri Gonpa. There are more than 500 monks living in this monastery, and most of the monks are from all over Tibetan Cultural Area (Amdo, Kham, and Tibet)

Their learning includes,
–The Exoteric Buddhism method represented by the five theories,
–The Tantric (Esoteric) method represented by the four theories,
–Dzogchen with semde, Longde and Menngagde as the main body.

In this sense: The monastery is fully equipped with the parallel practice of Exoteric Buddhism, Tantric, and Dzogchen, as well as the traditional culture of Tibetan people.

Learning to first understand the meanings of Sutra and Tantra through listening and contemplation, and then practise it by cultivating wisdom. After mastering the five theories of the Sutra, the four theories of Tantras, the three parts of Dzogchen, and the Five Science, the monks will get a “Geshe degree”

Tarde Monastery, also known as Tarde Ritro, is one of the ancient monasteries with a long history of the the Bon religion

It is located in a small village which is about 280 kilometers away from Gengqing town that is the capital town of Dege county in the western Kham

It is to be very ancient founded by the teacher and student “Bang·Riwa Namkha Tokduk” and “Drupchen·Trashi Gyeltsen“, whom established the Drukhang Bang Rim sometime about 100 AD;

During the “Phyi dar”, Master “Rje btsun khro tshang ‘brug lha”, who was born in 961, founded Trotsang monastery in 987 AD

It is 197 kilometers away from the county seat of Dege County, and is connected by roads with electricity supply

Mongya Monastery was built in 1030 AD and is one of the main temples of Bon religion in the eastern Tibet of Kham

Location

The monastery is located in Dege County, about 233 kilometers away from the county seat of Dege County. It is connected by roads and with electricity supply

Mongya Monastery is surrounded by rivers and towering trees with majestic buildings

Treasure

The handwritten scriptures written of gold and silver powder in the monastery are the only ones in Kham. In addition, there are ivory, platinum cymbals, gilded bronze Buddha with a height of more than ten meters

Brief

The building of Mongya Monastery is divided into Upper part and Lower part. The Upper part is believed to be created by the first living Buddha of Gongdzu. There are currently 90 monks in it

Mongya Lase Renpoche, the son of the sixth Kundro Renpoche, is an important living Buddha of Bon religion today. He organized and published the “Wachog Manuscript” of the Bon Tripitaka, and made important contributions to the preservation of these precious documents and the spread of Bon religion

Kundro Renpoche

Kundro·Jatson Nyingpo, a famous Bon religion schoold in the 18th century (1700-?).

In the second half of his life, he mainly settled in Mongya Monastery and became the master lama of the monastery.

His inheritance did not follow the hereditary inheritance of the Bon religion master, but accepted the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhism. His later generations are called “Kundro Renpoche”.

The full name of Tengchen Monastery is Dza·Tengchen Monastery, which belongs to Bon Religion and was built in 587 AD.

It is the center of Bon Religion in the eastern Tibet of Kham, and it is also the ancestral temple and the highest institution of Bonbo Religion in Kham

Tengchen Monastery is located in Dege County, Garze Prefecture, about 248 kilometers away from the county seat of Dege County.

Building scale

Tengchen Monastery is located on an open ground at the bottom of a valley surrounded by three mountains. The monastery complex includes the main hall, guardian hall, storage room, monk’s house, etc.

At present, the entire monastery covers an area of 13,300 square meters, and the actual construction area is 1966 square meters, of which the main hall is 751 square meters.

Due to the conflict between the monks of Tengchen Monasterye and the monks of Gelug Pa during the “Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Conflict Period”, most of the monastery’s building were destroyed. Now the scale of the building is not as grand and magnificent as before.

Introduction

As an ancient and primitive Buddhism in Tibetan areas, Bon religion has existed in Dege area as early as the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was still the only religion in Dege area until the 7^th century;

Until the 16^th century, Tengchen Monastery developed extremely prosperously, and belonged to the Beri Tusi (chieftain) of Garze, who exalted the Bon religion.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Qinghai Mongolian Heshuote tribe and the Dege chieftain formed a military alliance to wipe out the armed forces of the Garze Beri Tusi(chieftain)

Tengchen Monastery was merged and brought under the control of Dege Chieftain and His Holiness. Since then, the Dege chieftains of all dynasties have pursued a more flexible religious policy that gives support to all sects of different religion

Tengchen Monastery was preserved and developed. It accepted monks in accordance with the regulations of Dege Chieftain and participated in the local civil dispute judgments. At the same time, Tengchen Monastery also operated commerce and usury, and served the political and religious rule of Dege chieftain at the time in a religiously specific form.

In the Qing Dynasty, Tengchen Monastery and the Gelug Temple had a long-term disharmony. Due to the competition for the source of monks and the scope of the temple’s activities, they had armed battles with the Gengsha Monastery many times.

In the middle of the 19th century, Tengchen Monastery was jointly attacked by monk-soldiers from Gengsha and Dakye monasteries. Monks were driven to death and most of the Tengchen’s buildings were destroyed. It was not until many years later that religious activities gradually resumed.

Before the Qing Dynasty, it did not have living Buddhas. In the early Qing Dynasty, living Buddhas were set up in the same way as other sects of Tibetan Buddhism.

It claims to have the right to teach Bonpo lamas, and the power to confer the highest degree of local monks, “Dzong rab jo“. And it set up two Benpo schools, “Lodza” and “Hredza”, which accommodated Benpo monks from Sichuan, Qinghai, Tibet and other places. The degree assessment is held once a year

After 1950, Tengchen Monastery evolved into the largest and highest Bon religious power in Kham

In 1950, there were 300 monks in it, including 1 living Buddha, 1 Khenpo, 11 lamas, 50 Koba households, more than 300 acres of arable land, and nearly 1,000 livestock.

After 1983, Tengchen Monastery carried out normal religious activities under the leadership of the monastery management committee and gradually developed a self-supporting economy.

In 1988, there were 70 monks in it, including 1 living Buddha.

Additional

Among the Bon monasteries, there are two “Tengchen Monastery”. In addition to the Tengchen Monastery in Dege County, the other one is in Dengqen County of Chamdo City, Tibet.

In traditional terms, the Tengchen Monastery in Dege is called Dza·Tengchen Monastery

The one in Dengqen County is called “Kyungpo·Tengchen Monastery“, which “Kyungpo” is the traditional place name where the monastery is located.