Lo Drowolung Monastery is located on the southern slope of Se Village, Se Township, Lhozhag County, Shannan City, Tibet Autonomous Region, right at the border between China and Bhutan.
It was founded in the early 11th century (around 1041 AD) by the great master Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. It is considered the birthplace of the Kagyu tradition, the very first monastery of the lineage, with a history of nearly one thousand years. It is also the sacred place where Jetsun Milarepa studied, sought teachings, and practiced under Marpa.
The name Lo Drowolung carries symbolic meaning: “Lo” means “south,” “Drowo” means “the beginning of auspiciousness,” and “Lung” means “prophecy or blessing.” Thus, this is regarded as the place foretold in the guru’s prophetic blessings.
Architecture
Lo Drowolung Monastery is composed of the White Hall, the Red Hall, the Marpa Stupa, the Naropa Retreat Center, the Sky Burial Site, the Auspicious Field (Shun Yuan Tian), and a Mid-mountain Retreat Center, among other structures.
At the foot of the monastery, on a flat slope encircled by prayer stones, lies the Auspicious Field, the very place where Milarepa and Marpa first met.
At the entrance of the monastery, there is a massive sculpture said to depict a vision from Marpa the Great Translator’s dream. At the center stands Mount Kailash, surrounded by representations of the four rivers — the Lion Spring, Elephant Spring, Horse Spring, and Peacock Spring — alongside the sun and moon, corresponding to the Buddhist cosmological view.
Beyond the grand main halls of the monastery, a vast retreat ground stretches across the mountainside. The buildings there are characterized by circular stupa-like rooftops — an architectural style rarely seen in other traditions.
The Marpa Stupa
The stupa consists of five levels:
- First Level: Originally used for welcoming lamas and preparing daily meals. Today, it enshrines a gilt-bronze statue of Marpa’s wife, Lady Dakmema.
- Second Level: The meditation chamber of Jetsun Milarepa. It now houses a gilt-bronze statue of him, with murals vividly depicting his legendary life.
- Third Level: Once the retreat place of Marpa’s eldest son, Dharma Dode. It enshrines his gilt-bronze statue in commemoration.
- Fourth Level: The meditation retreat of Marpa himself. A gilt-bronze statue of Marpa at the age of twenty-nine is enshrined here, surrounded by numerous other sacred images.
- Fifth Level: The main image here is Vajrapāṇi (Vajra Empowerment). The statue, also gilt-bronze, is modeled after the life-sized image of the 12-year-old Śākyamuni Buddha in Jokhang Temple — identical in form except for slight differences in scale.
Historical Ups and Downs
During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, the main hall, relic stupa, and golden urn of Lo Drowolung Monastery were completely destroyed. Remarkably, the relic stupa itself remained entirely undamaged, preserved as the only surviving sacred relic of the ancient monastery.
The magnificent monastery we see today is the result of two reconstructions and three expansions since 1992, rebuilt from ruins.
In 1992, a yogi from Kham, together with a few monks, came here with nothing but their great vow to restore Lo Drowolung and an unshakable determination to overcome hardships.
For over a decade, they poured immense effort into reconstruction. At that time, since there was no road leading up the mountain, every brick and timber had to be carried up from Se Township by hand. Monks, young and old, toiled tirelessly year after year. Their devotion to the Dharma was reflected in their selfless labor. Despite financial shortages and harsh natural conditions, after five years of hardship, by 1997 they completed the first rebuilding of the White and Red Halls, the Marpa Stupa, and the Naropa Retreat Center.
In 1999, a dirt road from Se Township to the monastery was finally built, allowing materials to be transported without relying solely on manpower.
By 2000, however, the earlier structures were deteriorating. Recognizing the monastery’s vital historical role in Tibetan Buddhism, and with approval from the local government, they undertook a second full reconstruction.
This time, every building was demolished and rebuilt from the foundations, following the exact specifications of traditional Tibetan monastery architecture. With the growing support of devotees, the main halls, retreat centers, Marpa Stupa, and sacred images were restored to near perfection within a few years.
Life of Marpa
The founder of Lo Drowolung Monastery — the great translator Marpa Lotsāwa — was born in 1012 AD in Zholung Village, Chujé, Lhodrak (south of present-day Yamdrok Lake, southern Tibet). Exceptionally gifted from a young age, before the age of thirteen he studied Sanskrit and Buddhist teachings under the master Dromi.
Later, upon hearing of the great attainments of the Indian master Naropa, he developed deep faith. From the age of thirteen to fifty-two, he endured countless hardships and life-threatening dangers, traveling three times to India and four times to Nepal in pursuit of the Dharma. Over a span of forty years of study, he attained supreme realization, becoming a great spiritual master of Tibet during the later dissemination of Buddhism.
Because Marpa translated, revised, and systematized a vast collection of Buddhist scriptures and ritual texts from Sanskrit, he is also honored as one of the Seven Great Translators of Ancient Tibet, playing a vital role in the revival of Tibetan Buddhism in the later propagation period.
When Marpa first traveled to India for Dharma studies, he remained there for twelve years. Upon his return, his teacher Naropa gave him a prophecy:
“When you return to the snowy land of Tibet, your Dharma seat will be a sacred place — the sacred land of Hevajra. The right mountain resembles an elephant, its ridge extending all the way to India, symbolizing the unbroken lineage of the Dharma. The valley to the left resembles a fierce serpent descending, also linking to India, symbolizing the subduing of non-Buddhist paths. The mountain behind coils like a khata scarf, symbolizing the flourishing of the Dharma. The mountains opposite flow with streams of merit-water, symbolizing virtue, and the foundation of the monastery will resemble a lion’s throne.”
Following Naropa’s prophecy, upon his first return to Tibet, Marpa founded Lo Drowolung Monastery in his homeland of Lhodrak. There he gathered innumerable disciples, among whom four became known as his “Four Great Pillars”: Ngok, Metön, Tsurtön, and Milarepa.
Among them, the Northern Pillar Milarepa is the most widely revered, legendary yogi of Tibet — his life of ascetic practice and his “One Hundred Thousand Songs of Realization” became one of the most influential spiritual legacies of Tibet, translated into many languages worldwide. Milarepa’s foremost disciple, Gampopa, integrated both sutra and tantra into the Kagyu lineage and greatly expanded its influence, leading to the formation of the historically renowned “Four Great and Eight Lesser Kagyu Lineages.”
According to historical records, at that time over five hundred practitioners were simultaneously meditating in caves or under trees at Lo Drowolung Monastery. Countless monks studied debate beneath the trees. From this flourishing tradition, the Kagyu lineage was born — showing that, even a thousand years ago, the monastery’s culture of teaching and practice was already thriving.
Lineage
In the 11th century, Marpa the Translator, after his three journeys to India, established Lo Drowolung Monastery in Lhodrak. There he accepted disciples such as Milarepa, who, as a renowned spiritual practitioner, contributed immensely to the spread and formation of the Kagyu School.
His great disciple Dakpo Laje (Gampopa) integrated the Kadam teachings with Milarepa’s tantric practices, emphasizing the transmission of Mahāmudrā (the Great Seal), and founded the famous Dakpo Kagyu lineage. From Dakpo Kagyu branched out the “Four Great and Eight Lesser Kagyu Lineages.”
Among these, the most prominent is the Karma Kagyu lineage, founded by the First Karmapa, Düsum Khyenpa, who initiated the Tibetan tulku (reincarnate lama) tradition. Meanwhile, the scholastic and meditative lineage of Marpa was inherited by his other three great disciples (Ngok, Metön, Tsurtön). Their transmission remains active, and in Tibet, the traditional expositions of the Guhyasamāja Tantra and Hevajra Tantra still largely derive from Marpa’s scholastic lineage.
Legends and Incense
It is said that after completing three years, three months, and three days of retreat here, Marpa the Translator cut a lock of his hair and gave it to a disciple, instructing him to scatter it at the site and make aspirations for trees to grow. The disciple did so, praying:
“Even if sandalwood and cypress do not grow, may many other trees and plants flourish here.”
Indeed, more than a hundred tree species grew, along with 1,028 medicinal herbs capable of curing 424 kinds of illnesses. These herbs were believed to offer fearless protection against 21,000 kinds of misfortunes. From the Naropa Retreat Center also flows a stream known as the Eight Qualities Water, said to relieve heat, thirst, and exhaustion for all who see or drink it. Around the stream, fragrant plants such as incense herbs and cypress trees grow abundantly, purifying negativity, refreshing the mind, and invigorating the body.
Naropa himself once praised this place, prophesying:
“Lo Drowolung Monastery is the sacred land where holy grasses and medicines grow, and where sacred trees flourish…”
The incense crafted here follows ancient methods dating back to Guru Padmasambhava. For centuries, this sacred incense has blessed and benefited countless beings.
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