Drala Luphu Monastery, also known as “zhala lupu si” or “Luphu Rock Monastery,” is built in a rock-cave style and represents an early form of chaitya caves. This is a Gelug pa monastery of Tibetan Buddhism
Chaitya
“Chaitya” means “stupa.” Chaitya caves feature a stupa at the center, hence they are also called stupa temples. These caves typically have a narrow, horseshoe-shaped floor plan with carved columns along the walls, divided into two sections: the front “hall” and a rear circular skylight area known as the dome or coffered ceiling.
The cave is located over 20 meters above ground, facing east, directly opposite Jokhang Temple in a distance of nearly 1.2 kilometers.
Legend has it that the cliff above the cave was a place where Princess Wencheng used to pray while longing for her homeland.
Overview
The mountain opposite Potala Palace is Yaowang Mountain, and Drala Luphu Monastery is situated at the base of this mountain, near the Potala Palace side.
From the large white stupa between Beijing East Road, Potala Palace, and Yaowang Mountain, there is a small path. Following this path for about 200 meters leads to the monastery. Along the way, you will pass by the Tangtong Gyelpo Temple and a workshop where artisans carve Buddha statues and mani stones.
“Luphu” means “Cave of the Dragon Clan.” “Drala Luphu” can also be translated as “Lupu Rock Monastery” or “Dragon Rock Monastery.”
Despite enduring over a thousand years of changes and multiple restorations, this unique rock-cave monastery in Lhasa remains well-preserved.
The monastery was one of the five temples built in the 7th century by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo for his five consorts (Drala Luphu was built for his Moya consort; the other four temples are Jokhang Temple, Ramoche Monastery, Pabongka Ritro, and Drak Yerpa (Zhayeba) Monastery). It is located within a rock cave and is also said to be a place where Songtsen Gampo and his Chinese and Nepalese princess consorts meditated in seclusion.
Structure
There are two temple buildings here: one yellow and one white. The traditional practice is to first visit the yellow building and then the white one, following the clockwise circumambulation.
These “temples” are essentially walls covering the entrances to mountain caves. Upon entering, you are immediately inside the caves.
The yellow building houses a stone cave with a statue of the Nepalese princess. There is a fissure in the stone wall that connects to the adjacent white building.
Legend has it that when Songtsen Gampo was meditating in the white cave, he would summon his attendants by knocking on the stone, and the sound would travel through the fissure to the yellow building where his attendants would hear and respond. Adjacent to the cave and below the building are halls containing statues of lineage masters and Buddhas made in the early 21st century.
The white building also features a small stone cave. Originally, there was only a stone wall with a naturally occurring Buddha statue partially visible. Songtsen Gampo exchanged an equal amount of salt to hire workers to carve a passage behind the natural statue, creating the current layout with a central pillar surrounded by a passage. The stone walls are adorned with numerous relief carvings of Buddha statues dating from the Tibetan Empire to the Qing Dynasty.
The central pillar features the primary deity, the half-exposed Shakyamuni Buddha statue. Surrounding it are statues of Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya on the outer sides, and the Buddha’s disciples Shariputra and Maudgalyayana on the inner sides.
According to many elderly monks, this Shakyamuni statue emerges further from the stone wall each year.
It is said that during the “degenerate age,” when beings lack the merit to see the life-sized Buddha statue in Jokhang Temple, this natural stone Buddha in Dragla Luphu will replace it, allowing future generations to still accumulate merit by seeing and venerating the sacred image.
The Age of Degenerate Dharma
The Buddha taught that Buddhism would go through three periods: the Age of True Dharma, the Age of Semblance Dharma, and the Age of Degenerate Dharma. The first 500 years after Buddha’s passing is the Age of True Dharma; the next 1,000 years is the Age of Semblance Dharma; and the following 10,000 years is the Age of Degenerate Dharma. We are currently in the Age of Degenerate Dharma, where true practice and realization become scarce.
The day the stone Buddha statue fully emerges will coincide with the sinking of the life-sized Buddha statue in Jokhang Temple.
Khejok Rinpoche, who lived in Lhasa as a child, noted that the stone Buddha’s ears were not fully exposed at that time. When he revisited in 1997, he observed that the statue had indeed emerged more than before.
In addition to offering prostrations, khatas, and donations, visitors can also have prayer papers inscribed with golden ink.
There is a lamp house under the entrance stairs for lighting butter lamps.
The Stone Cave
Facing east, the cave is opposite the west-facing Jokhang Temple. It was excavated during the reign of Songtsen Gampo in the early Tang Dynasty, initiated by his consort Queen Muya.
It is said that craftsmen were paid with scarce salt for their work, receiving one measure of salt for each measure of rock removed.
The cave is carved into the mountain, with an irregular rectangular floor plan. The entrance is 2.56 meters high, 4.45-5.45 meters wide, and 5.5 meters deep, covering about 27 square meters.
Inside, there is a central pillar with a narrow circumambulatory path around it, measuring 0.75-1.3 meters wide, allowing only one person to pass at a time.
The cave contains 71 statues, mostly stone carvings except for two clay statues, distributed on the four sides of the central pillar and the north, south, and west walls of the cave.
The statues depict two main themes: Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddhas of the three times, disciples, bodhisattvas, and wrathful deities; and significant figures in Tibetan history.
The sculptures are in the “Great Indian” style, finely carved with vivid and lifelike features, well-preserved decorations, and clear, flowing lines of clothing.
The north wall features statues of Songtsen Gampo, Princess Wencheng, Princess Bhrikuti, and prominent ministers Thonmi Sambhota and Gar Tongtsen.
The cave is dimly lit, relying on butter lamps for illumination.
Although small and containing only 71 statues, the cave’s unique iconography and style distinguish it from other Chinese cave temples, showcasing strong regional and ethnic characteristics.
For example, the eighth and ninth statues on the north wall are unique to this cave. The eighth statue depicts Princess Wencheng, who is deified as an incarnation of Tara by Tibetans. Positioned to the right of Songtsen Gampo, the 0.55-meter-tall statue features a high chignon, earrings, and bracelets, wearing a narrow-sleeved blouse and a long skirt, with her left hand resting on her chest and her right hand lowered, leaning against Songtsen Gampo’s right knee.
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