Drepung Monastery in Lhasa
Chinese Name:哲蚌寺
English Name: Drepung Monastery
Location: Located in Lhasa Prefecture(拉萨市), Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Admission Fee: 45 RMB
Opening Hours: 09:00~14:00
About Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the “great three” Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is located on the Gambo Utse mountain, five kilometers from the western suburb of Lhasa. Freddie Spencer Chapman reported, after his 1936-37 trip to Tibet, that Drepung was at that time the largest monastery in the world, and housed 7,700 monks, “but sometimes as many as 10,000 monks.”
History and Development of Drepung Monastery
Since the 1950s, Drepung Monastery, along with its peers Ganden and Sera, have lost much of their independence and spiritual credibility in the eyes of Tibetans since they operate under the close watch of the Chinese security services. All three were reestablished in exile in the 1950s in Karnataka state in south India. Drepung and Ganden are in Mundgod and Sera is in Bylakuppe.
It was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge Tashi Palden (1397–1449), one of Tsongkhapa’s main disciples, and it was named after the sacred abode in South India of Shridhanyakataka.[5] Drepung was the principal seat of the Gelugpa school and it retained the premier place amongst the four great Gelugpa monasteries.The Ganden Phodrang (dga´ ldan pho brang) in Drepung was the residence of the Dalai Lamas until the Great Fifth Dalai Lama constructed the Potala. Drepung was known for the high standards of its academic study, and was called the Nalanda of Tibet, a reference to the great Buddhist monastic university of India.
Old records show that there were two centres of power in Drepung: the so-called lower chamber (Zimkhang ‘og ma) associated with the Dalai Lamas-to-be, and the upper chamber (Zimkhang gong ma) associated with the descendants of Sonam Drakpa, an illustrious teacher who died in 1554.[8] The estate of the Dalai Lamas at Drepung Monastery, called Ganden Phodrang, had been constructed in 1518 by Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo (1476–1541), retrospectively named and counted as 2nd Dalai Lama. The name of the Tibetan government established by the 5th Dalai Lama came from the name of this estate.
Penchen Sönam Drakpa (1478-1554 AD) in 1535 succeeded Gendün Gyatso (1476–1541) on the Throne of Drepung, both of them being major figures in the history of the Geluk tradition. By the time Sönam Drakpa was appointed to the Throne of Drepung (Drepung Tri), he was already a famous Geluk master. He had already occupied the Throne of Ganden (Ganden Tri) and was considered the most prolific and important Geluk thinker of his time. His successor was none other than Sönam Gyatso (1543-1588 AD), the lama who would receive the official title of the Third Dalai Lama (Talé Lama Kutreng Sumpa).
Before his death in 1554, Sönam Drakpa established his own estate, the Upper Chamber (Zimkhang Gongma), which was named because of its location at the top of Drepung, just below the Ngakpa debating courtyard “Ngagpa Dratshang”.
Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center attributes the following Name variants to Penchen Sönam Drakpa: “bsod nams grags pa, paN chen bsod nams grags pa, khri 15 bsod nams grags pa, rtses thang paN chen bsod nams grags pa, gzims khang gong ma 01 bsod nams grags pa, this last one referring to the Seat of the Upper Chamber established in 1554. According to TBRC his successors referring to the estate of the Zimkhang Gongma were Sonam Yeshe Wangpo (1556–92),Sonam Gelek Palzang (1594–1615) and Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen (1619–1656) – closely connected to the famous story of Dorje Shugden. (Some say[citation needed] that Drakpa Gyeltsen was Sönam Drakpa’s second reincarnation, but usually he is considered to be the 4th incarnation of Panchen Sonam Dragpa). It seems to be commonly accepted that Dragpa Gyaltsen was the fourth holder of the gzims khang gong ma incarnation line. According to Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center gzims khang gong ma 04 grags pa rgyal mtshan has been his “primaryTitle”. Since the search for his reincarnation has been banned, he has been the last one.
Chapman reported that in the late 1930s Drepung was divided into four colleges, each housing monks from a different locality: “one being favoured by Khampas, another by Mongolians, and so on.” Each college was presided over by an abbot who had been appointed by the late 13th Dalai Lama.
Drepung is now divided into what are known as the seven great colleges: Gomang (sGo-mang), Loseling (Blo-gsal gling), Deyang (bDe-dbyangs), Shagkor (Shag-skor), Gyelwa (rGyal-ba) or Tosamling (Thos-bsam gling), Dulwa (‘Dul-ba), and Ngagpa (sNgags-pa). It can be a somewhat useful analogy to think of Drepung as a university along the lines of Oxford or the Sorbonne in the Middle Ages, the various colleges having different emphases, teaching lineages, or traditional geographical affiliations.
According to local sources[citation needed], today the population at the monastery in Lhasa is about 300 monks, due to population capping enforced by the Chinese government. However, the institution has continued its tradition in exile with campuses in South India on land in Karnataka given to the Tibetan community in exile by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The monastery in India today houses over 5,000 celibate monks, with around 3,000 at Drepung Loseling and some 2,000 at Drepung Gomang. Hundreds of new monks are admitted each year, many of them refugees from Tibet.
The Ganden-Phodrang-Palace situated at Drepung Monastery was constructed by the 2nd Dalai Lama in 1518 and declared his chief residence/governmental palace until the inauguration of Potala Palace by the 5th Dalai Lama. About 40% of the old monastic town was destroyed after the Chinese arrived in Lhasa in 1951, though luckily the chief buildings including the four colleges, the Tsokchen and the Dalai Lamas’ residence were preserved.
Main Attractions- Drepung Monastery
Drepung monastery was shut by Chinese authorities on 14 March 2008, after monk-led protests against Chinese rule turned violent and businesses, shops and vehicles were looted and torched. The People’s Republic of China claims that 22 people were killed in the riots but Tibetan sources put the figure much higher. The International Herald Tribune reported that the monastery reopened 2013 after being shut for five years.
Attraction Transportation
Train
Daily or weekly trains run from the 7 gateway cities to Lhasa, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Lanzhou and Xining. Tourists can also take a train at the stationson the the midway, such as Nanjing, Xian, Taiyuan, etc. The train tickets are in short supply and sold out very quickly, especially during summer and holidays, even though there are 7 train routes to Tibet. It is strongly suggested to take a Soft Sleeper because you have to spend two nights on the train if you depart from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, etc. However, the Soft Sleeper is extremely hard to book because each train has only 76 sleepers in total. So you’d better book the train ticket as soon as possible. According to the policy at present, one person can book the ticket up to 30 days in advance.
‣ Air
There are five airports in Tibet, Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Nyingchi Mainling Airport, Shigatse Peace Airport, Qamdo Bangda Airport and Ngari Gunsa Airport. Among these airports, Lhasa Gonggar Airport is the most popular and significant one that connects the major cities in China, such as Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Shangri-La, etc. The flights for some prefectures in Tibet is also available, such as Nyingchi, Ngari and Qamdo.
Making an early reservation for the flights seems wise and reasonable, especially druing the peak season.
• Airport Shuttle Bus
Service Time: 6:30~19:30
Running Time: 1 hour
Ticket: 25 yuan
‣ Long-distance Bus
There are four main bus stations in Lhasa that runs buses to different destinations in Tibet.
Attraction Travel Tips
1. Traveling Hours: 2~3 hours
2. Traveling Seasons: All year
3. High Altitude Sickness Avoiding: Bring enough water and some thick clothes, eating more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and so on.
4. Pay attention to respect the local customers.
