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Gonggar Dzong
The Gonggar Dzong (, ), also known as Gongkar Dzong, is located in Gonggar County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet, China. It is close to the Gongkar town, the Gonggar Choide Monastery and the Gonggar Airport, from the town. The Dzong is also known by names such as Kung-k’o, Chi-hsiung, K'ung-ka-tsung, Konka Dzong, K’ung-ka-tsung, Gongkar, Kung-k'o, Kung-ka, Gongkar Dzong, Kong-ka-dsong, Kongka Dzong and Gonggar. The Dzong, which was built on the pattern of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, is mostly in ruins. It is on the road to Chusul, near to Sundruling Monastery. Geography The fortress of Gonggar Dzong (''gong dkar rdzong'') is near the confluence of the Tsangpo and Kyichu Rivers. Located at an elevation of , the Dzong is known by several names such as Kung-k’o, Chi-hsiung, K'ung-ka-tsung, Konka Dzong, K’ung-ka-tsung, Gongkar, Kung-k'o, Kung-ka, Gongkar Dzong, Kong-ka-dsong, Kongka Dzong and Gonggar. The Gongkar Dzong on the Gyido Xoi (''skyid do shod'') hill has settle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gonggar County
Gonggar County, also Gongkar (; ), is a county of Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region, one of the 12 counties of the prefecture. It has under its jurisdiction five towns, three townships, 43 administrative villages (neighbourhood committees) and 168 village development committees and contains notable landmarks such as the Gonggar Choide Monastery, the Zhug Dêqên Qoikor Monastery, Gangdoi Town, the Gonggar Dzong at Xoi, the Lhasa Gonggar Airport at Gyazhugling, the Tubdain Ramai Monastery and the county seat of Gyixung. Legend The fable narrated about this county is that the "first Tibetan was born to the fairy girl, Ruosa and her monkey lover". History History of the county came into limelight with the establishment of the Sakyapa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Among the many dzongs and monasteries established in the 14th century the best known are the Gonngar Dzong and the Gonggar Choede Monastery. In recent history of the county, during the Cultural Revolution of the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dzongs In Tibet
Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery ( dz, རྫོང, , ) architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of courtyards, temples, administrative offices, and monks' accommodation. Characteristics Distinctive features include: * High inward sloping walls of brick and stone painted white with few or no windows in the lower sections of the wall * Use of a surrounding red ochre stripe near the top of the walls, sometimes punctuated by large gold circles * Use of unique style flared roofs atop interior temples * Massive entry doors made of wood and iron * Interior courtyards and temples brightly colored in Buddhist-themed art motifs such as the ashtamangala or swastika Regional differences Bhutan Dzongs serve as the religious, military, administrative, and social centers of their district. They are often the site of an annual ''tsechu'' or religiou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forts In Tibet
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid to meditation and trance induction. In the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Shinto it is used as a map representing deities, or especially in the case of Shinto, paradises, kami or actual shrines. A mandala generally represents the spiritual journey, starting from outside to the inner core, through layers. Hinduism In Hinduism, a basic mandala, also called a ''yantra'', takes the form of a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often have radial balance. A ''yantra'' is similar to a mandala, usually smaller and using a more limited colour palette. It may be a two- or three-dimensional geometric compos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajradhatu
Vajradhatu was the name of the umbrella organization of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, one of the first Tibetan Buddhist lamas to visit and teach in the West. It served as the vehicle for the promulgation of his Buddhist teachings, and was also the name by which his community was known from 1973 until 1990. Starting in 1976 it was paralleled by a governmental structure for establishing the non-denominational enlightened society of Shambhala Kingdom, which included Shambhala Training among many other activities. Eventually, the Vajradhatu organization was renamed Shambhala International by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. History The community of Chögyam Trungpa originated in 1970 with his arrival in North America from Scotland. The first established center of his teachings was "Tail of the Tiger" in Barnet, Vermont (now Karmê Chöling). When he began teaching at University of Colorado Boulder in 1971, a second branch of the community began to form there. When Vajradhatu was incorporated in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring to Buddhism, Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in the Medieval India, medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through the teachings of lineage holders. Others might generally refer to texts as the Buddhist Tantras. It includes practices that make use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. Traditional Vajrayāna sources say that the tantras and the lineage of Vajrayāna were taught by Gautama Buddha, Śākyamuni Buddha and other figures such as the bodhisattva Vajrapani and Padmasambhava. Contemporary historians of Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Sri-Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir Shaivism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, sutras are a distinct type of literary composition, a compilation of short aphoristic statements.Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pages 54–55 Each sutra is any short rule, like a theorem distilled into few words or syllables, around which teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven. The oldest sutras of Hinduism are found in the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of the Vedas. Every school of Hindu philosophy, Vedic guides for rites of passage, v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phagmodrupa Dynasty
The Phagmodrupa dynasty or Pagmodru (, ; ) was a dynastic regime that held sway over Tibet or parts thereof from 1354 to the early 17th century. It was established by Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen of the Lang () family at the end of the Yuan dynasty. The dynasty had a lasting importance on the history of Tibet; it created an autonomous kingdom after Yuan rule, revitalized the national culture, and brought about a new legislation that survived until the 1950s. Nevertheless, the Phagmodrupa had a turbulent history due to internal family feuding and the strong localism among noble lineages and fiefs. Its power receded after 1435 and was reduced to Ü (East Central Tibet) in the 16th century due to the rise of the ministerial family of the Rinpungpa. It was defeated by the rival Tsangpa dynasty in 1613 and 1620, and was formally superseded by the Ganden Phodrang regime founded by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1642. In that year, Güshi Khan of the Khoshut formally transferred the old possessi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen
Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen (; )Chen Qingying (2003) (1302 – 21 November 1364) was the founder of the Phagmodrupa Dynasty that replaced the Mongol-backed Sakya dynasty, ending Tibet under Yuan rule. He ruled most of Tibet as ''desi'' (regent) from 1354 to 1364 (alt. 1371, 1373 or 1374). As a law-giver, politician and religious patron, he created a heritage that lasted centuries. Name Tai Situ is the Tibetan transcription of the term Da Situ (大司徒) from Chinese, meaning great Situ, referring to an office-holder or administrator. He was also sometimes called 松秋堅贊 in Chinese. The youth of Changchub Gyaltsen The Phagmodru hermitage, situated on the northern bank of the Tsangpo River, was founded by Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170) who initiated a sub-sect of the Kagyu school of Buddhism. After his death a monastery called Thel arose at the place in the late 12th century. It is presently in ruins. The monastery was ruled by members of the noble Lang Family whos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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