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Donyo Dorje
Donyo Dorje () (1463 – 23 March 1512) was the third and most powerful prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty that held power in much of Central Tibet from 1479 to 1512. Succession and religious patronate Donyo Dorje was the second son of the previous Rinpungpa prince Kunzang who was the dominant prince in Tsang (West Central Tibet). Although they reigned autonomously, the Rinpungpa still formally honoured the Phagmodrupa dynasty in Ü (East Central Tibet). Kunzang appears to have died by 1479, in which year Donyo Dorje established a preceptor-patron relationship with the Buddhist hierarch Chokyi Drakpa of the Shamarpa sect, and also kept a good relation with the hierarch of the Karmapa, Chödrak Gyatso. He furthermore had a monastery built in Yangpachen. Chödrak Gyatso asked Donyo Dorje to found a monastery at the outskirts of Lhasa, in an area that was heavily influenced by the Gelugpa sect. Gelugpa monks from Sera and Drepung took offence and ruined the construction. This incid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rinpungpa
Rinpungpa (; ) was a Tibetan dynastic regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and part of Ü-Tsang between 1435 and 1565. During one period around 1500 the Rinpungpa lords came close to assemble the Tibetan lands around the Yarlung Tsangpo River under one authority, but their powers receded after 1512. Rise to power The Rinpungpa belonged to the Ger () clan, which is traced back to the days of the Tibetan Empire. One of their line, Namkha Gyaltsen, served as ''nanglon'' (minister of internal affairs) under the Phagmodrupa ruler Jamyang Shakya Gyaltsen, who held power over Ü-Tsang. He was appointed ''dzongpon'' (governor) of the fief Rinpung in Rong, a region in Tsang in an unknown year before 1373. His political position was strengthened by the marriage with the Phagmodrupa princess Sönam Palmö. Their daughter in turn was given in marriage to Sangye Gyaltsen, a Phagmodrupa prince, and gave birth to the later ruler Drakpa Jungne (r. 1432–1445). The son of Namkha Gyalt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yarlung Valley
The Yarlung Valley is formed by Yarlung Chu, a tributary of the Tsangpo River in the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet region of China. It refers especially to the district where Yarlung Chu joins with the Chongye River, and broadens out into a large plain about 2 km wide, before it flows into the Tsangpo River. It is situated in Nedong District of the Shannan Prefecture and includes the capital of the prefecture, Tsetang, one of Tibet's largest cities, 183 km southeast of Lhasa. It was originally well-forested and suitable for agriculture. The Tsetang district is famous for its apples and pears. The Yarlung and the adjoining Chongye Valley formed the original seat of the Yarlung dynasty of Tibetan kings and controlled important ancient trade routes into India and Bhutan. The first Tibetan Emperor, Songtsen Gampo (605 or 617? - 649), moved the capital to Lhasa after greatly expanding his territories and power. Description The valley, often referred to as the "cradle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guge
Guge (; ) was an ancient dynastic kingdom in Western Tibet. The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. At various points in history after the 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast area including south-eastern Zanskar, Upper Kinnaur district, and Spiti Valley, either by conquest or as tributaries. The ruins of the former capital of the Guge kingdom are located at Tsaparang in the Sutlej valley, not far from Mount Kailash and westwards from Lhasa. History Founding Guge was founded in the 10th century. Its capitals were located at Tholing and Tsaparang. Kyide Nyimagon, a great-grandson of Langdarma, the last monarch of the Tibetan Empire, fled from the insecure conditions in Ü-Tsang in 910 to arrive in Ngari (West Tibet). He established a kingdom around 912, annexing Purang and Guge. He established his capital in Guge. Nyimagon later divided his lands into three parts. The king's eldest son Palgyigo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monlam
Monlam also known as The Great Prayer Festival, falls on 4th–11th day of the 1st Tibetan month in Tibetan Buddhism. History The event of Monlam in Tibet was established in 1409 by Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Geluk tradition. As the greatest religious festival in Tibet, thousands of monks (of the three main monasteries of Drepung, Sera and Ganden) gathered for chanting prayers and performing religious rituals at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. In 1517, Gedun Gyatso became the abbot of Drepung monastery and in the following year, he revived the Monlam Chenmo, the Great Prayer Festival and presided over the events with monks from Sera, Drepung and Ganden, the three great monastic universities of the Gelugpa Sect. "The main purpose of the Great Prayer Festival is to pray for the long life of all the holy Gurus of all traditions, for the survival and spreading of the Dharma in the minds of all sentient beings, and for world peace. The communal prayers, offered with strong fait ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potala
The Potala Palace is a ''dzong'' fortress in Lhasa, Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and a World Heritage Site since 1994. The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The 5th Dalai Lama started its construction in 1645Laird, Thomas. (2006). ''The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama'', pp. 175. Grove Press, New York. . after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (died 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa.Karmay, Samten C. (2005). "The Great Fifth", p. 1. Downloaded as a pdf file on 16 December 2007 from It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress called the White or Red Palace on the site, built by Songtsen Gampo in 637. The building measures east-west and north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging thick, and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taklung
Taklung is a village development committee in Gorkha District in the Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with Nepal's Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the main towns and villages of each ... it had a population of 4,835 and had 859 houses in the town. References Populated places in Gorkha District {{Gorkha-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drikung
Drikung Kagyü or Drigung Kagyü ( Wylie: 'bri-gung bka'-brgyud) is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyü lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa (1079-1153) while "minor" refers to all the lineages founded by disciples of Gampopa's main disciple, Phagmo Drupa (1110-1170). One of these disciples, Jigten Sumgön (1143-1217), is the founder of Drikung. History Like with all other Kagyu lineages, origins of Drikung Kagyü can be traced back to the Great Indian Master Tilopa who passed on his teachings to Mahasiddha Naropa who lived around 10th and 11th century. The founder of the Drikung Kagyü lineage was Jigten Sumgön (1143-1217) of the Kyura clan, who was the disciple of Phagmo Drupa. According to historical account from the time, Jigten Sumgön, Jigten Sumgön's teachings attracted more than 100,000 people at a time, with the highest number of attendance recorded at 130,000. Several su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chogyal
The Chogyal ("Dharma Kings", ) were the monarchs of the former Kingdom of Sikkim, which belonged to the Namgyal dynasty. The Chogyal was the absolute monarch of Sikkim from 1642 to 1975, when the monarchy was abolished and the Sikkimese people voted in a referendum to make Sikkim the 22nd state of India. History From 1642 to 1975, Sikkim was ruled by the Namgyal Monarchy (also called the Chogyal Monarchy), founded by Phuntsog Namgyal, the fifth-generation descendant of Guru Tashi, a prince of the Minyak House who came to Sikkim from the Kham province of Tibet. Chogyal means 'righteous ruler', and was the title conferred upon Sikkim's Buddhist kings during the reign of the Namgyal Monarchy. The reign of the Chogyal was foretold by the patron saint of Sikkim, Guru Rinpoche. The 8th-century saint had predicted the rule of the kings when he arrived in the state. In 1642, Phuntsog Namgyal was crowned as Sikkim's first Chogyal in Yuksom. The crowning of the king was a g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsokye Dorje
Tsokye Dorje (, 1450–1510) was a regent of Tibet who ruled in 1491–1499. He belonged to the Rinpungpa family and headed the central government in Nêdong during the minority of the heir of the Phagmodrupa Dynasty. Rinpungpa ascendency Tsokye Dorje was the fourth son of Norzang, who founded the fortunes of the Rinpungpa in 1435. From this time the family dominated political life in the Tsang region (West Central Tibet) at the expense of the Phagmodrupa kings who resided in Nêdong in Ü (East Central Tibet). When Norzang died in 1466, his second son Kunzang took over the leadership of the family, while Tsokye Dorje received the fief Khartog in the Yarlung Valley area. The direct influence of the Phagmodrupa was on the wane, and in 1481 one of their line was deposed by his ministers after a Rinpungpa attack. The next ruler Ngagi Wangpo had a short and turbulent reign, and when he died in 1491 his son Ngawang Tashi Drakpa was only a boy of three. It was then decided to appoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngawang Tashi Drakpa
Ngawang Tashi Drakpa (, 1488–1564) was a king of Tibet who ruled in 1499–1554 and 1556/57–1564. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which was the dominating regime in Tibet from 1354 to 1435 and maintained a degree of authority until the early 17th century. His rule is sometimes considered to be the last of importance in the history of the dynasty. Political background The earliest years of Ngawang Tashi Drakpa's life was also a time when the political authority of the Phagmodrupa regime was at its nadir. The dynasty originally wielded strong executive power over Central Tibet ( Ü and Tsang), but after 1435 the various fiefs gained an autonomous position. In particular the royal court in Nêdong was overshadowed by the Rinpungpa family, whose principal stronghold was Samdrubtse (Shigatse in Tsang, West Central Tibet). This family acted as patrons to the Karmapa lama, whose religious influence in Ü (East Central Tibet) was greatly enhanced when the Rinpungpa captured Lh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gyangtse
Gyantse, officially Gyangzê Town (also spelled Gyangtse; ; ), is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region (after Lhasa, and Shigatse), but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities. Location The town is strategically located in the Nyang Chu valley on the ancient trade routes from the Chumbi Valley, Yatung and Sikkim, which met here. From Gyantse, routes led to Shigatse downstream and also over the Kora La (Pass) to Central Tibet. The fortress (constructed in 1390) guarded the southern approaches to the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley and Lhasa. The town was surrounded by a wall 3 km long.Buckley, Michael and Strauss, Robert (1986), p. 158. Demographics In 1952, Gyantse had a population of perhaps 8,000 people, about the same as in 2008. It is 3,977 meters (13,050 ft) above sea level, and is located 254 km southwest of Lhasa in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngagi Wangpo
Ngagi Wangpo (, 1439 – 8 July 1491), also known as Chen-nga Tsenyepa (), was a King of central Tibet who reigned in 1481–1491. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which was the leading regime of central Tibet from 1354 to 1435 and maintained a certain political role until the early 17th century. Appointment Ngagi Wangpo was the only son of King Drakpa Jungne and a lady of the Kharpa family. Still a minor at his father's death in 1445, he was made abbot of Thel in 1454. Four years later his uncle, King Kunga Lekpa, himself acquired the abbot-ship of Thel, and Ngagi Wangpo had to stay in a succession of other places. The late 15th century was filled with internal disputes in Central Tibet, and the direct authority of the Phagmodru ruler was at best restricted to Ü (East Central Tibet). In Tsang (West Central Tibet) the Rinpungpa feudatories dominated. In 1481 Kunga Lekpa was deprived of the kingship by a council of ministers, after a series of invasions by Donyo Dorje of Ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
