Tengye Ling Monastery, one of Lhasa’s “Four Great Ling” monasteries, is a subsidiary of Samye Monastery and belongs to the Gelug pa of Tibetan Buddhism.
In 1757, the 6th Demo Rinpoche , Awang Jampel Delek Gyatso, began the construction of Tengye Ling Monastery.
Upon completion, the 6th Demo Rinpoche named it “Ganden Samdrup Ngagpai Ling,” and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty bestowed upon it the name “Guangfa Temple.” Its Tibetan abbreviation is “Tengye Ling,” thus it became commonly known as “Tengye Ling Monastery.”
The Tibetan term “Tengye” means “flourishing Buddhism.” After the monastery was built, the locals started calling the area “Tengye Ling.” The name of the current “Tengye Ling Community” is also derived from the monastery’s name.
Located in Tengye Ling Alley on Tibetan Medicine Hospital Road, the monastery can be found inside a two-story building behind an iron gate near the “Guang-ming Store” intersection. There are small stalls selling sang branches, khatas, and liquor at the gate. The place appears more like an ordinary residence than a monastery.
Introduction
In 1757, the 7th Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso, passed away at the Potala Palace. In April, Emperor Qianlong issued an imperial decree appointing the 6th Demo Rinpoche, Awang Jampel Delek Gyatso as the Regent of Tibet.
This practice of appointing a high-ranking lama from the three major monasteries as regent began after the Dalai Lama’s death, until a new reincarnation was found or until the young Dalai Lama reached the legal age of regency (18 years old). This became a standard procedure thereafter.
The construction of Tengye Ling Monastery began the same year and was completed the following year.
When visiting Tengye Ling Monastery, in addition to offering khatas and butter, one can also bring barley wine or liquor.
Due to its affiliation with Samye Monastery, many devotees who cannot travel the long distance to Samye Monastery choose to worship here.
The original site of the monastery was public housing for the Tibetan local government, called “Lama Khangsa.” Before that, it was known as “Qingu Nang.” “Qingu” means “Mongolian yurt,” and “Nang” means “inside,” thus the name means “inside the Mongolian yurt.”
Initially, this place was a grassy field where Mongolian soldiers set up yurts, hence the name. To this day, there is still an alley in the Tengye Ling community called Qingu Alley (formerly “Qingu Nang”).
Brief History
The main monastery of successive Demo Rinpoches is Demo Monastery, located in the Kongpo region. Tengye Ling Monastery served as the residence of the Demo Rinpoches in Lhasa.
Tengye Ling Monastery is the oldest and largest of the Four Great Ling monasteries in Lhasa.
In the past, almost all properties in the Tengye Ling area, except for a few owned by nobles, belonged to Tengye Ling Monastery. This included extensive temple buildings, the Demo Rinpoche’s palace, monk quarters, yak and horse stables, and more.
Historically, Tengye Ling Monastery was also a subsidiary of both Samye Monastery and Drepung Monastery, and it had close ties with Sakya Monastery.
The monastery once boasted grand architectural structures and housed a statue of Yamantaka, identical in size to the one in the Vajrayana College of Drepung Monastery.
After the 6th Demo Rinpoche, the 7th and 8th Demo Rinpoches also served as Regents of Tibet, leading to unprecedented development and prosperity of Tengye Ling’s Dratsang (monastic college) and Lakhang (chapel).
However, the monastery suffered two significant plunders due to complex power struggles in Tibet. The 9th Demo Rinpoche was implicated in the “demon shoe incident,” allegedly plotting against the 13th Dalai Lama, and the 10th Demo Rinpoche’s steward, Jangchub Jampel, allied with Sichuan soldiers against the Ganden Phodrang government. These events severely weakened Tengye Ling Monastery.
By the time of the democratic reforms in Tibet, Tengye Ling Monastery was essentially defunct.
The remaining three-story Tengye Ling Monastery was divided after it lost its influence. The ground floor was allocated to Drepung Monastery’s Lhozong Dratsang (the Demo Rinpoche’s residence at Drepung), while the second and third floors were given to Samye Monastery for management.
During the Cultural Revolution, Tengye Ling Monastery was looted and damaged.
In 1980, with the implementation of new religious policies, the reconstruction of Tengye Ling Monastery began.
Architecture
Tengye Ling Monastery faces south and covers an area of 1,270 square meters, with a width of 46 meters and a depth of over 27 meters.
The ground floor is the main part of the building, constructed with precise and rigorous standards.
The building is divided into east and west sections. The eastern section houses the assembly hall at the front, nearly square in shape, with an area of 240 square meters, comprising five bays in both width and depth.
Behind the assembly hall are three adjacent Lakangs (chapels). The central Lakhang is larger, with dimensions of 6.8 meters by 5.4 meters and four columns; the two side Lakangs are smaller, each with dimensions of 4 meters in width and two columns.
Each Lakhang opens to the assembly hall with double doors, separated by two walls with a 1.8-meter-wide corridor in between, a rare feature.
The entrance to the assembly hall has a foyer, measuring 3.6 meters by 2.3 meters, with two columns, reflecting late architectural features.
Since 1948, the eastern section has been managed by the Ganden Phodrang government and allocated to Drepung Monastery’s Ganden Khangtsen. During the Great Prayer Festival, monks from Ganden Khangtsen reside there. They also used to enshrine a guardian deity statue, which no longer exists.
The western section’s front part is the assembly hall, with an area of 250 square meters, comprising ten bays in width and four in depth. The rear part consists of irregularly arranged storage rooms. This section was once managed by Sakya Monastery and used as a printing house. Later, it was handed over to Samye Monastery, which annually sends six people to pray to the guardian deity.
The top floor of the western section houses a guardian deity shrine, measuring 10.1 meters in width and 15 meters in depth. The front part of the shrine serves as an assembly hall with four columns, connected by a central latticed door.
The walls of the Lakangs were originally covered with murals depicting religious themes, which were exceptionally exquisite.
Tsiu Marpo
Due to the connection between the First Demo Rinpoche and the protector Tsiu Marpo, this deity (the main protector of Samye Monastery) also became the main protector deity of Tengye Ling Monastery.
Today, the central hall of Tengye Ling Monastery enshrines Tsiu Marpo.
In the morning, there is always a long line of devotees in front of the Tsiu Marpo statue. Worshippers hand over offerings of alcohol to a monk in front of the Tsiu Marpo statue, who then makes the offering on their behalf.
On a long table set a bit further in front of the Tsiu Marpo statue, there are also vessels for offering alcohol, allowing devotees to make their own offerings.
Additionally, the hall of Tengye Ling Monastery houses statues of the Primordial Buddha with a blue body, Padmasambhava, Longchenpa, Jigme Lingpa, and Trisong Detsen, among others.
The statue of Samantabhadra in union, with its unique blue and white color scheme and modern design, is a must-see for all visitors.
Tsan and Tsankhang
The term “Tsankhang” refer to places where “Tsan” is worshipped.
“Tsan” refers to a fierce deity. In reality, most “Tsan” beings, like humans, are sentient beings in the cycle of samsara, with many originally being fierce ghosts who were later tamed or subdued by eminent Buddhist monks, becoming fierce worldly protectors of the Buddhism Dharma.
“Tsan” is not a Buddha, Bodhisattva, or transcendent protector like Palden Lhamo or Mahakala, therefore not objects of refuge for Buddhists.
Buddhists do not take refuge in or pay homage to worldly protectors; they only make appropriate offerings and pray for mundane wishes.
In the old city of Lhasa, there are numerous Tsankhangs, with the so-called “Four Great Tsankhangs” surrounding the Jokhang Temple, located in the east, west, south, and north directions respectively:
- Khama sha Tsankhang in the east (the residence of the One-eyed Tsan),
- Rabsal Tsankhang in the south,
- Tsiu Marpo Hall in Tengye Ling Monastery in the west,
- Darpoling Tsankhang in the north.
These four Tsankhang are all three-story buildings managed by Gelugpa-affiliated monasteries and have historical connections with the protector halls of Samye Monastery.
Leave a Reply