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About 25 miles to
the east of Lhasa lie the remains of
what was once one of the most
important monasteries in Tibet.
Ganden, " the Pure Land of Tushita,"
where Maitreya the Future Buddha
resides, was founded by the great
14th-century reformer Tsongkhapa (
or Je Rinpoche), who is generally
depicted wearing monk's robes and a
yellow hat. The main hall of the
monastery was not consecrated until
1417, and its founder died here also
the head of the Gelukpa order. By
1959 there were 5,000 monks.
Spectacularly located on the slopes
of Mt. Drokri, the monastery is
being painstakingly reconstructed.
Among the most interesting buildings
are Tsongkhapa's Golden Tomb and the
Amdo Khantsen. A path leads behind
the hill, offering breathtaking
views.
Amongst the great expanse of ruins a
number of buildings have been
reconstructed. There is a guest room
with dormitory beds in the first
building on the right for those who
want to absorb monastery life for a
day r two. Few facilities for guests
exist so take provisions. The
courtyard of a teahouse is used as a
workshop by crasftmen repairing
statuary rescued from the rubble.
The second building on the right is
Ngam Cho Khang, a small temple
containing statues of Tsong Khapa
and his two chief disciples, and a
protectors' chapel ( closed to
women) with images of Pelden Lhamo,
Mahakala, Dharmaraja and Yamantaka.
Below the next building ( monks'
quarters) is the Debating Courtyard,
where this essential training method
practiced most mornings. The path
continues uphill, past a large
chorten ( stupa), to a large
building wit red- painted walls.
This is Serdhung, or Tsong Khapa's
Golden Tomb. You enter an open inner
courtyard, and opposite is a
protectors' chapel containing a
large image of Dharnaraja ( also
closed to women),. Stairs lead up to
a chamber called the Yangchen Khang,
containing the great silver and gold
chorten, which holds the few
fragments of Tsong Khapa's remains
left after the original chorten and
building were destroyed by Red
Guards.
Higher up to the left among the
buildings is the Amdo Khangtsen,
containing chapel and accommodation
for monks. This building was
traditionally used by visiting monks
from Amdo ( now Qinghai) who came
here for training. In the same area
is Dreu Khangtsen, another
residence. The kora circuit starts
just beyond this building and
crosses the ridge to the west side.
To the right of Ser Dung is a tall,
narrow building with red-painted
Walls called Ser Tri Khang, or the
Golden Throne Room. A steep climb up
some steps leads to the chapel,
which holds a throne reserved only
for the dalai lama and the head of
the Gelugpa Sect, the Ganden tripa.
Ganden Tri Rinpoche lives in exile
in India.
The next building, Tri Thok Khang,
is the residence of the Ganden tripa.
It has a number of interesting rooms
and chapels. The basement contains
four shrine rooms, including the
room where Tsong Khapa died and the
room where the dalai lama stayed
during visits. Upstairs is a chapel
which holds a complete set of the
Kanjur, books containing teachings
attributed to the Buddha.
Two more residential buildings,
Nyare Khangtsen and Ngari Khangtsen,
complete the list of major
buildings. These are downhill from
Tri Dok Khang.
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