Drongtse Monastery ('Brong rtse; Pinyin: Zhongze) is a

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

monastery was formerly one of the most important

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

monasteries in Tsang, Tibet. There was also a

chorten A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circuma ...

there. Drongtse Monastery, is 19 km northwest of

Gyantse 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 ( ...

and 14 km north of Tsechen Monastery, on the "Southern Friendship Highway" to

Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histor ...

, and just 6 km south of the site of the early Tsi Nesar temples. It was almost totally destroyed during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, but has been partially restored since, and the Assembly Hall was rebuilt in the 1980s, though many of the main buildings remain in ruins. The original four-storied monastery was on a "rocky eminence" about 300 ft (91 m) above the village. The wall was already partly ruined when

Sarat Chandra Das Sarat Chandra Dash ( bn, শরৎচন্দ্র দাশ) (18 July 1849 – 5 January 1917) was an Indian scholar of Tibetan language and culture most noted for his two journeys to Tibet in 1879 and in 1881–1882. Biography Born in Chi ...

visited in 1881. The ''du-khang'' or congregation hall, which could seat about eighty monks, contained some very old gilt images including one of Jowo Shakyamuni said to be a copy by an Indian artist of the famous and much-revered image housed at the

Jokhang The Jokhang (, ), also known as the Qoikang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery and Zuglagkang ( or Tsuklakang), is a Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Tibetans, in ...

in Lhasa. It also contained a picture of

Lozang Gyatso Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...

, the 5th Dalai Lama (note: Das wrongly refers to him as the 1st Dalai Lama), being given political power over Tibet by the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

conqueror,

Güshi Khan Güshi Khan (1582 – 14 January 1655; ) was a Khoshut prince and founder of the Khoshut Khanate, who supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan as the main benefactor of the Dalai Lama and the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1637, Güshi ...

, after the king of Tsang was deposed in 1642. The monastery was, according to some, founded by Lhatsun Chenpo (Je Lha-tsun), and was the birthplace of Lobsang Palden Chophel or the Sengchen ('Lion') Lama. Other sources attribute the founding in the same year to the

yogin A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

and ascetic, Rinchen Gyatso, fulfilling a prophecy of

Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Budd ...

. Later on, it was adopted as a branch monastery of

Tashilhunpo Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (), founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama, is the traditional monastic seat of the Panchen Lama, and an historically and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet. The monastery was sa ...

. There is a small chapel behind the monastery with rock-carved images of

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

, Tara, Amitayus and other deities. The Thirty-Second Ganden Tripa, Tsultrim Chopel (1561-1623) received his monastic education at Drongtse Monastery as a young boy. Lobzang Tsultrim (1745 - 1800) began his training at Drongtse at age 10.

Footnotes

References

* Das, Sarat Chandra. (1902). 'Lhasa and Central Tibet''. Reprint 1988: Mehra Offset Press, Delhi, pp. 77-79. * Dorje, Gyurme. (1999). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook: with Bhutan'', 2nd Edition, p. 261. Footprint Travel Guides. , . * Dowman, Das (1988). ''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide''. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London & New York. . * Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael ''Tibet''. (2005). 6th Edition. Lonely Planet. . {{Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist_temples_in_Tibet 1442 establishments in Asia Shigatse Gelug monasteries