Dzongsar Monastery

Dzongsar Monastery is loacated in Dege County in the Kanze (or Garze, Ganze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, approximately 10 – 11hrs trekking east to Pelpung monastery.

Brief

It was founded in 746 AD and was rebuilt in 1983. It now only has six large and small temples. The main temples cover 48,200 square meters. There are more than 200 monks residing at Dzongsar.

Featuring

Dzongsar runs a school teaching Tibetan traditions, it is noted for its openness to most of the teaching sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is also known for its incense and sells it commercially as Dzongsar Tibetan Incense Powder and Dzongsar Tibetan Incense Sticks. The incense is made from precious, natural herbal materials from the highlands of Eastern Tibet and is said to have healing effects for the mind and soul, and have the ability to prevent infectious diseases.

“Rime Movement”

Dzongsar monastery is one of the sources of “Rime Movement” which is the Sect Undifferentiated Movement, also known as the Non-Sect Movement. It is an important spiritual revival movement of modern Tibetan Buddhism that originated in the pre-Tibet area in the 19^th century. Most of the initial promoters came from the Nyingma and Sakya Sects.

They hope to unify the differences between different sects of Tibetan Buddhism, and to have equal respect for the teachings and inheritance of different sects, so as to return to the original teachings of the Buddha and preserve the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

How to get to there

---

There are two ways to enter the valley that this Sakya Pa monastery is located

• From Pelyul county, it takes about 3-4 hours by rented vehicle to cover the distance
• From Derge, which has one bus to the Da Ma village, 2 buses a week

The best way to get in this valley is to rent local vehicle, which costs usually RMB 300 – 400 one way from Pelyul, or RMB 400 – 500 from Derge; The rental cost for a round trip in one day will be cheaper than to rent it one way or round trip in two or more days