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Built
in 1447, the Tashilhungpo (meaning auspicious Sumeru)
Monastery is located on the southern slope of the Nyima
Mountain to the west of the Xigaze city. It is one of
the four monasteries of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
According to historical documents, the monastery was built
under the supervision of the first Dalai Lama Genden Zhuba,
a disciple of Zongkapa, the founder of the Yellow Sect.
When the fourth Panchen Lobsan Qoigyi became the abbot,
it was expanded to a large scale. Since then, the monastery
has become the residence of Panchen Lama. Listed as a
key relic under state protection by the State Council
on March 4, 1961, the monastery occupies 150,000 square
meters. Facing south, the complex is built symmetrically
against the Nyima Mountain. Its wall, over 3,000 meters
long and built according to the topography of the mountain,
surrounds 57 buildings, or more than 3,600 rooms.
The
earliest building in the monastery is the Coqen Hall (Large
Scripture Hall), whose construction lasted 12 years. Inside
are 48 red pillars, which support the ceiling. In the
center of the hall is the throne of the Panchen. To the
left of the hall is the Great Buddha Hall, built in 1461
with financial support from Jorwo Zhabung, king of Guge
Kingdom in Ngari. Inside stands the 11-meter-tall, benevolent-looking
Maitreya. To the right of the hall is the Tara Hall, which
houses a two-meter-tall bronze statue of White Tara and
two clay statues of Green Tara. The interior is decorated
with schist collected at the foot of the Himalayas and
radiates a peaceful aura. In front of the hall is a 600-square-meter
area where the Panchen gives Buddhist lectures and lamas
discuss Buddhist scriptures. On the surrounding stone
walls are engravings of the images of the Buddhism founder,
the four Heavenly Kings, the 18 arhats and 1,000 statues
of Buddha with different facial expressions. In the middle
of the northern wall are engraved images of sages such
as Zongkapa, the founder of the Yellow Sect, 80 senior
monks and variously styled flying apsaras and Bodhisattva.
Gyinalhakang,
the Han Chinese Buddhist Temple, houses many gifts to
the Panchen from the Chinese emperors of past dynasties,
such as ancient porcelain wares, gold and silver goblets,
tea sets, bowls and plates, jade containers and refined
fabrics. The earliest objects, the nine bronze Buddha
statues, are said to have been brought to Tibet by Princess
Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). A red Tara
bronze statue is believed to have been made in the Yuan
Dynasty (1206-1368). A 16.5-jin gold seal, inscribed with
the three languages of Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan,
is a gift from an emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911).
There are also Buddhist beads made of precious stone,
imperial mandates and Buddhist scriptures. Inside the
hall hangs a huge picture of a Qing-dynasty emperor in
kasaya holding a Dharma wheel. Before the picture is a
tablet inscribed with Long live Emperor Daoguang (reigning
1821-1851). When the emperor issued a decree, the Panchen
would kowtow to express his gratitude before the tablet
after receiving it. The side hall of the Han Chinese Buddhist
Temple is the meeting room where the Qing-dynasty grand
minister resident of Tibet and the Panchen used to meet.
West
of the Tashilhungpo Monastery is the Qamba Buddha Hall,
which was built in 1914 under the supervision of the ninth
Panchen Qoigyi Nyima. The hall is 30 meters high and covers
862 square meters. In the hall, the bronze statue of Qamba
Buddha is the highest of its kind in the world. It took
110 workers four years to finish casting it. The statue
used 6,700 taels of gold and 115,000-odd kilograms of
copper. The statue sits on a 3.8-meter-high lotus seat.
It is 26.2 meters high, his shoulder 11.5 meters wide,
his foot 4.2 meters long, his hand 3.2 meters long, his
middle finger 1.2 meters long and his ear 2.8 meters long.
Between his eyes are inlaid a total of 1,400 pieces of
diamond of various sizes, pearls, amber, coral and other
precious stones.
In
1985, the State Council allocated special funds to renovate
the divine pagoda of the fifth to ninth Panchen Lamas,
which had been destroyed during the 1966-1976 cultural
revolution. Under the personal supervision of the 10th
Panchen, the sacrificial hall built to the memory of past
Panchen Lamas was named Tashinamgyi (Auspicious Heaven),
which opened on January 22, 1989. The whole project lasted
three years and eight months. Covering a floor space of
1,933 square meters, the hall is 33.17 meters high, inside
which the divine pagoda is 11.52 meters high. The gilded
pagoda is covered with a layer of silver and inlaid with
precious stones. Its decorative patterns look grand and
solemn. The remains of the Panchen Lamas in five sandalwood
boxes are placed inside. In its center is the bronze statue
of the ninth Panchen Qoigyi Nyima, while the walls of
the hall present murals depicting the contributions of
famous lamas of different sects.
The
10th Panchen Erdeni Qoigyi Gyaincain passed away on an
inspection tour to Xigaze on January 20, 1989. Three days
later, the State Council issued a decision to build a
sacrificial hall to enshrine the body of the 10th Panchen
Lama for people to pay their respects and to remember
his love for the country and his devotion to Tibetan Buddhism.
On an inspection tour to Tibet in 1990, President Jiang
Zemin paid a special visit to the Tashilhungpo Monastery
to the memory of the 10th Panchen Lama and inquired about
the construction of the hall. With careful choosing of
the design, the construction started on September 20,
1990. The state allocated 64.24 million yuan of special
funds, and 614 kilograms of gold and 275 kilograms of
silver to be used in building the hall. The project lasted
three years. A grand inaugural ceremony was held on September
4, 1993 and the hall was named Shesongnamgyi, meaning
sacrificial hall for the three sages of Paradise, Human
World and Nether World. The naming itself was a serious
matter. Four names were submitted, and each was wrapped
inside a zanba in the shape of a ball. The four balls
were put in a bottle before the body of the Panchen Lama.
After three days of sutra chanting, a ball jumped out
of the bottle when it was being shaken. Peeling off the
zanba, the name appeared: Shesongnamgyi. The 35.25-meter-high
sacrificial hall covers a floor space of 1,933 square
meters, and its wall is 1.83 meters thick. The style of
the building is at once traditional and modern, displaying
both ethnic and religious features.
The
11.55-meter-high pagoda covers 253 square meters, its
exterior covered with a layer of gold and inlaid with
pearls and precious stones. On the pagoda are 818 bags,
which hold 24 different kinds of stones, altogether 6,794
pieces. Strictly in accord with religious rituals, the
interior of the pagoda is composed of three storeys. The
first storey holds barley, wheat, rice, tea leaves, salt,
various kinds of dried fruits and candies, sandalwood,
various medical herbs, silk and satin, elaborately carved
saddles, pilose antlers, rhinoceros horns, silver, pearls,
stones, kasaya and Tibetan costumes. The second storey
holds Tripitaka, classical works by the three founders
of the Gelug Sect, works by all the Panchen Lamas in history
and Buddhist scriptures written with gold powder ink.
The top storey has Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues.
On August 30, 1993, the body of the 10th Panchen Lama
was moved into the pagoda. The body was first put in a
sandalwood bier, which was then put into a specially made
safety cabinet and finally moved into the Precious Bottle
in the pagoda. At the entrance is a life-size statue of
the 10th Panchen Lama. Around the body are a variety of
religious articles, such as kasaya, tangka painting scrolls,
Buddha statues and scriptures.
Deqen
Galsang Phodrang is the summer palace of the Panchen Lama.
The summer palace of the Panchen Lama was originally built
in Gongjor Lingka; thus, it is also called Gongjor Ling
Palace. In 1954, the Nyang Qu River flooded due to snow
avalanche and the rare floods destroyed the Gongjor Ling
Palace. Because of the concern of the late Premier Zhou
Enlai, the state allocated funds to build Deqen Galsang
Phodrang, which was called New Palace. Located east of
Xigaze city, the palace comprises the living quarters
for the Panchen Lama, his office and five sacrificial
rooms enshrining more than 100 Buddhist statues. The building
complex looks classical and elegant, with verdant trees
and lush grass and flowers. The 10th Panchen Lama died
there and, four months later, his body was moved to the
Tashilhungpo Monastery where he was buried and worshipped.
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