Trode Khangsar

Trode Khangsar is a Gelug Pa monastery of Tibetan Buddhism located on Barkhor Street in Lhasa, south of Jokhang Temple.

This monastery is an important protector chapel dedicated to Dorje Shugden and serves as his residence and the site for invoking his presence.

Around 1670 AD, Trode Khangsar was constructed under the auspices of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617 AD – 1682 AD).

The regent of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Desri·Samgye Gyatso, entrusted the management of the monastery to Riwo Chöling Monastery in Shannan City. Consequently, Riwo Chöling Monastery was responsible for dispatching monks and a resident oracle to Trode Khangsar.

Dorje Shugden is regarded as an emanation of Manjushri. Although he is recommended as a protector deity of the Gelug Pa, however, he always equally protects all sincere practitioners.

Introduction

A work describing the origins of Trode Khangsar comes from a travel guide written by a Tibetan author, which suggests that the Fifth Dalai Lama established Trode Khangsar as the sacred residence of Dorje Shugden.

Trinley Kalsang states: “Located in the center of Lhasa, Trode Khangsar shows how the protector deity Dorje Shugden was formally established in Tibet.”

In the 17th century, the Fifth Dalai Lama designated Trode Khangsar as the Tsankhang (protector chapel) of Dorje Shugden.

In the mid-19th century, the 4th Zhabdrung Rinpoche (1831-1861, Jikme Norbu) specified that Dorje Shugden could only be invoked from three special locations in Lhasa during his practice of the deity’s rituals.

After the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Trode Khangsar was severely damaged.

In the 1980s, with the implementation of new religious policies, Trode Khangsar received support from Riwo Chöling Monastery and was rebuilt and restored.

In 2008, after renovations, it was listed as a China National Level Tibetan Buddhist Cultural Heritage site.

Now, Trode Khangsar is open to visitors and pilgrims. The temple operates as usual, with resident monks continuing their traditional daily offerings and rituals.

Architecture

Trode Khangsar was originally a three-story building with a front entrance leading directly to the main hall.

The first floor was built lower than the ground level, with the actual altar located on the second floor. The second floor of the building is connected to the main entrance by stairs.

The third floor of the monastery, used for religious ceremonies, had walls painted black and adorned with various depictions of wrathful protector deities. Originally, a statue of Dorje Shugden was enshrined here, but it was removed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s.

The main hall connects to a chapel in the north for religious ceremonies and several monks’ quarters located on the east and west sides.

In the northern chapel, there is a triad of statues featuring Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug sect, flanked by his two disciples, Khedrup Je and Gyaltsap Je.

The third floor, or the top floor, of the protector chapel, was dismantled during the Cultural Revolution. It used to be the residence of the Trode Khangsar oracle.

The basement of the building is still used for religious purposes today.

Murals

As in many Buddhist monasteries, the four walls of the main hall are adorned with exquisite murals. Among them is a large mural depicting the lineage of Dorje Shugden incarnations, though the exact date of the mural remains uncertain.

These murals include the reincarnation lineage of Dorje Shugden (lives of several past incarnations), featuring Manjushri, Virupa, Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen, Buton Rinchen Drub, Panchen Sonam Dragpa, Ngawang Sonam Gelek, Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, and Nechung Oracle.

Additionally, there are murals of the Eight Auspicious Symbols, and deities such as Indra and Brahma.

A significant focus of these murals is the past life of Dorje Shugden, Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, and the Nechung Oracle.

One mural shows the Nechung Oracle urging Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen to fulfill his promise and rise as a protector deity of Buddhism.

One of the murals depicts the Nechung Oracle riding a snow lion, holding a bow and arrow, arriving at the site where Tsongkhapa was teaching.

At that time, Tsongkhapa was seated on a throne surrounded by other monks.

The Nechung Oracle appeared as a young boy and interrupted Tsongkhapa’s teachings three times.

On the third interruption, one of Tsongkhapa’s principal disciples, Vinaya Holder Dragpa Gyaltsen, informed the Nechung Oracle that interrupting the teachings was inappropriate and asked him to stop causing disturbances.

The next mural depicts Vinaya Holder Dragpa Gyaltsen standing up and promising the Nechung Oracle to protect Tsongkhapa’s teachings in the future.

The subsequent mural shows Tsongkhapa joyfully offering a skull cup filled with nectar to Vinaya Holder Dragpa Gyaltsen.

Other notable murals include:

• Manjushri during the time of Shakyamuni Buddha.
• Virupa, one of India’s great Mahasiddhas.
• Panchen Sakya Sri, a scholar from Kashmir who traveled to Tibet and brought many important teachings and practices.
• Sakya Pandita and Buton Rinchen Drub, who were translators and scholars in the early period of Tibetan Buddhism.

Construction of Trode Khangsar

Dorje Shugden is an “uncommon protector” in Tibetan Buddhism. Generally, he protects all the Buddha’s teachings, but specifically, he safeguards the “Madhyamaka” teachings of Nāgārjuna as expounded by Tsongkhapa.

Practitioners of Dorje Shugden regard him as the reincarnation of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, who lived during the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen was a great scholar, meditator, and teacher. After he was murdered, he manifested as a protector deity to benefit sentient beings.

The killing of Dorje Shugden (Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen) was believed to have caused severe negative karma, leading to natural disasters such as earthquakes.

Local high lamas believed that Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen had become an evil spirit, so the Fifth Dalai Lama, along with Mindroling Monastery’s Lama and other senior masters, conducted extensive rituals, including fire offerings (jhapita), to resolve the issue.

However, these powerful rituals, renowned for subduing evil spirits, were unable to eliminate Dorje Shugden.

During the fire offering ceremony, Mindroling Monastery monks tried to summon Dorje Shugden’s consciousness into a spoon and then flip it into the fire to destroy him. But every time they attempted this, they saw Yamantaka seated on the spoon.

After multiple failures, the masters from Mindroling Monastery realized that they were actually trying to harm Manjushri. They immediately ceased the ritual.

Following this event, the Fifth Dalai Lama realized that Dorje Shugden had not become an evil spirit but had manifested as an enlightened protector.

The Fifth Dalai Lama deeply regretted the misunderstanding and the attempt to destroy Dorje Shugden. He composed a praise text for Dorje Shugden, personally crafted a statue of him, and acknowledged him as a protector of Tibetan Buddhism.

Subsequently, the Fifth Dalai Lama constructed the Trode Khangsar protector chapel at the site where Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen was cremated (jhapita).

The Legend of Dorje Shugden

At Trode Khangsar, there is a story that demonstrates Dorje Shugden’s enlightened power and supernatural abilities.

During the regency of the 11^th Dalai Lama, Khedrup Gyatso, a high-ranking Chinese Qing Dynasty official named Che Trungtang (phonetically translated) had some significant matters to inquire about from Dorje Shugden on behalf of Emperor Daoguang of Qing dynasty.

He presented an important question in Chinese, burned it in front of Dorje Shugden’s statue at the monastery, and requested the protector to provide a clear answer during the next day’s oracle ceremony.

The following day, Dorje Shugden manifested at the monastery and provided a precise and clear answer to the question, even maintaining the correct sequence.

The Qing official was highly satisfied and reported this event to Emperor Daoguang, who then bestowed upon Dorje Shugden a pandita hat and conferred upon him the title of Great Protector of Tibetan Buddhism.

The grand ceremony for this conferral took place in the front courtyard of Trode Khangsar. The pandita hat gifted by the emperor was hung above the main hall’s door, and many high-ranking officials and dignitaries attended the event. These included the 11th Dalai Lama, the Qing Dynasty official, Reting Rinpoche, the Dorje Shugden oracle, and many monks and local people.