Ganden Monastery

Ganden Monastery’s full name is Ganden Namgyeling Monastery which is translated as, “Continent of Completely Victorious Happiness.” It was traditionally considered the seat of Gelug pa administrative and political power. It used to house about more than 2,000 monks, and now there are about 200-300 monks

Brief

Ganden Monastery was founded in 1409 AD by Tsongkhapa – the founder of the Gelug pa. After Tsongkhapa died there in 1419 AD. His preserved body was entombed at Ganden by his disciples in a silver and gold encrusted tomb.

Location

Ganden monastery is about 57 km East of Lhasa along the road that follows the south bank of the Kyi Chu river. The road turn-off is at road marker “4591” where a small village is at the road junction. From here a curved road leads onto the mountain for approximately 15-17 km. The monastery is near the top of Wangbu Ri on the mountain ridge of Gokpo Ri . Its altitude is 4,750 meters. It is one of the ‘Great Three’ Gelug pa monasteries in the central Tibet. The other two are Drepung monastery and Sera monastery. It denotes the Paradise of Tushita and the abode of Jampa, which is the future buddha.

Buildings

Ganden contained more than 18 major chapels, each is with large Buddha statues. Among of which, the four main chapels are

• Serdung Lhakhang, the chapel contains The Gold Tomb of Tsongkhapa
• Ser Tri Khang, the chapel of Tsongkhapa’s Gold Throne. It also contains one Kagyu Library
• Ngam Cho Khang, the chapel where Tsongkhapa taught
• Amdo Khangtsen, the chapel used by monks coming from Amdo. This chapel contains wall paintings of 35 Buddhas of confession and the 16 Arhats, and the protector of Amdo which is called “Anima Ja”

How to get to there

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There are 4 buses to Ganden monastery daily departured from Lhasa East Bus Station,
The 1^st departure: 06:30 am
The last return bus: 15:00-16:00 pm
Ticket Rates: RMB 10 per person – one way | Round trip – RMB 20 per person

Or, you surely can choose to rent a taxi to this monastery, the price for renting a vehicle is about RMB 200-300 round trip, private transportation

The Four Major Sects of Tibetan Buddhism

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