Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo Monastery is located in Shigatse, the 2^nd largest city of Tibet. Its full name in Tibetan means “all fortune and happiness gathered here” or “heap of glory”. It was built in 1447 AD by the 1^st Dalai Lama, and was once inhabited by over 4,000 monks.

Brief

The monastery is the traditional seat of successive Panchen Lamas, who is repected as the 2^ndsecond highest ranking Tulku lineage in the Gelug Pa of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tashilhunpo Monastery was seized by the invasion army of Gorkha Kingdom in 1791 AD, soon they were driven back to Kathmandu by a joint army-force of Tibetan and Chinese, and Gorkha Kingdom bow to accept that to keep peace in the future, paying tribute every five years, and return what they had plundered from Tashilhunpo monastery.

Today, 600 monks still live and study there. The Grand Hall contains the tomb, which was built with more than 85 kilograms gold and many jewels, of the 4^th Panchen Lama. There is also a 27 meter high statue of the Maitreya Buddha there.

4 Great & 6 Great Monasteries

It is called One of the 4 Great Gelug Pa Monastery togehter with Ganden monastery, Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery; all of the above 4 monasteries together with Labrang monastery currently in Gansu province and Kumbum Monastery currently in Qinghai province are called “The 6 Great Gelug Pa Monastery”

How to get to there

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Tashilhunpo Monastery is located in the west of Shigatse City, it can be reached by foot or by taxi, and it could be fun to take local Rickshaw to get there, which could cost RMB 30 to get to monastery

The Four Major Sects of Tibetan Buddhism

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