Tholing Monastery (or Toling, mtho lding dgon pa མཐོ་ལྡིང་དགོན་པ) (Tuolin si 托林寺) is the oldest monastery (or
gompa
A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhism, Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a ...
) in the
Ngari
Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe.
History
Ngar ...
Prefecture of western
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. It is situated in
Tholing
Tholing (, literally "high place";), Toling, Tuolin, or Toding, alternatively Zanda, Tsanda, Tsada, or Zada, is a town and seat of Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, in the west of Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The town was the ...
(Zanda),
Zanda County __NOTOC__
Zanda County () or Tsamda County () is a county in the Ngari Prefecture to the extreme west of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Its seat of power is at Tholing, the former capital of the Guge kingdom.
Zanda or Tsamda is said to me ...
, near the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n border of
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
. It was built in 997 AD by
Yeshe-Ö
Yeshe-Ö ( 959–1040) (spiritual names: Jangchub Yeshe-Ö, Byang Chub Ye shes' Od, Lha Bla Ma, Hla Lama Yeshe O, Lalama Yixiwo, also Dharmaraja ('Noble King') was the first notable lama-king in Tibet. Born as Khor-re, he is better known as Lh ...
, the second King of the
Guge Kingdom. In
Tibetan language Tibetan language may refer to:
* Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
* Lhasa Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect
* Any of the other Tibetic languages
See also
*Old Tibetan, the language ...
'Tholing' means "hovering in the sky forever" and is reflected by the location of the monastery at an elevation of . The complex includes three temples, the Yeshe-O Temple, the Lhakhang Karpo and the Dukhang. There are many ancient, precious, and well-preserved frescoes.
Geography
The monastery is located in remote
badland
Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, mi ...
s of far western Tibet in
Zanda County __NOTOC__
Zanda County () or Tsamda County () is a county in the Ngari Prefecture to the extreme west of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Its seat of power is at Tholing, the former capital of the Guge kingdom.
Zanda or Tsamda is said to me ...
. It perches on an escarpment in the Grand Canyon along the Langchen Tsangpo (designated as
Sutlej River
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
, meaning "elephant river", in Tibet).
It has a well laid out street, post office and telecommunication facilities. The isolated military installation of Zanda is nearby. Tholing is east of
Tsaparang
Tsaparang was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Guge in the Garuda Valley, through which the upper Sutlej River flows, in Ngari Prefecture (Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh. It is 278 km south-southwest of Senggezangbo Town and ...
, which is from
Darchen
Kangsa Village (), poetically known as Darchen, Tarchan or Taqin (, ), is a former Bhutanese enclave, currently held by the People's Republic of China and the seat of the Parga Township, Purang County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Thus, it i ...
.
History
The monastery is one of the first temples built at the start of the "second diffusion" of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
in Tibet. It was built in 997 AD by King
Yeshe-Ö
Yeshe-Ö ( 959–1040) (spiritual names: Jangchub Yeshe-Ö, Byang Chub Ye shes' Od, Lha Bla Ma, Hla Lama Yeshe O, Lalama Yixiwo, also Dharmaraja ('Noble King') was the first notable lama-king in Tibet. Born as Khor-re, he is better known as Lh ...
, when Tholing was the capital of Guge. The king sponsored lay young men who would become
noviciate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether t ...
s of the monastery.
For this purpose, he sponsored a fellowship for
Rinchen Zangpo
__NOTOC__
Lochen Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055; ), also known as Mahaguru, was a principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet, variously called the New Translation School, ...
to travel to India to study and translate. He was one of 21 young monks who traveled to
Vikramshila Mahavihara, a specialist institution in
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 ...
, for training. Only two monks, Richen Zangpo and
Lekpai Sherap, survived the severe climatic conditions, snake bites and diseases, and were able to return to Tibet.
Rinchen Zangpo built three of the major temples at the monastery.
The king invited the Indian master
Atiśa
( bn, অতীশ দীপংকর শ্রীজ্ঞান, ôtiś dīpôṅkôr śrigyen; 982–1054) was a Buddhist religious leader and master. He is generally associated with his work carried out at the Vikramashila monastery in Biha ...
(982-1054) to Guge in 1042 AD. He spent three years in this monastery and with his immense knowledge of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, revived Buddhism in Tibet. He founded the
Kadampa
300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa
The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengali master Atiśa (982-1054) and his students like Dromtön (1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master. ...
sect here, which adopted very austere methods. As a result, Buddhism spread from here to the whole of Tibet. Later, Atiśa's disciple was responsible for establishing the
Kagyu
The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...
sect with emphasis on physical and mental meditation techniques. They became the basis for
Yellow Hat Sect
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 ...
, now the dominant
Geluk
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 ...
sect in Tibet.
In the later part of the 11th century, a Buddhist conference was arranged at Gyatsa Jhakhang (also known as Yeshe-Ö Temple) a 10th-century temple which was in ruins and has since been restored.
Two chapels, dated to the fifteenth century, were used to store grains during the Cultural Revolution. Both have notable murals but those at Lakkhang Karpo are more prominent.
Tholing became a portal to Tibet for Indian scholars to visit and spread religious-cultural ideas of Buddhism. Patronized by the king of Guge, this Buddhist monastery marked the evolution of ascetic Buddhism in Tibet, influenced by the Indian Buddhist scholars. In its time, the monastery was the most influential in the region.
The influence of the Guge Kingdom, and the monastic center of Tholing came to be known in India from Kashmir to
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.
[
Giuseppe Tucci visited the monastery in 1933 (Report by Professor Tucci on his travel to Western Tibet):
" the monastery of Toling is one of the oldest, richest and finest of Tibet. These documents are of unrivalled interest for the religious history of Tibet as well as for the history of Indo-Tibetan Art. The rain dropping through the ceiling left unrepaired for years is washing away the marvellous frescoes."
]
The monastery became better known internationally, after Lama Govinda
Anagarika Govinda (born Ernst Lothar Hoffmann, 17 May 1898 – 14 January 1985) was the founder of the order of the Arya Maitreya Mandala and an expositor of Tibetan Buddhism, Abhidharma, and Buddhist meditation as well as other aspects of B ...
, a German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Buddhist monk, accompanied by his wife, visited the monastery in 1948. He presented pictures of the monastery's decorations, statues and paintings to the outside world. During the years of 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 goal ...
, the temples were destroyed or left to weather in the elements.[ In present day, the monastery is mostly in ruins. However, it still retains many images and scores of well-preserved murals which are made in the west Tibetan style.][
In a recent report presented at the Seminar held in ]Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, from 6–8 April 2011, on the subject of "Art and History of the Cultural History of Western Tibet 8thto 15th century and Cultural Preservation", it is recorded that the Inner Asian Art Style has been identified in the paintings discovered from the cave temples in Zanda of Nagarri.
In the Lotsava Lhakhang in Riba, in Ngari, field research has revealed a painting of eight monks including Rinchen Zangpo of the group of monks sent to Kashmir by Yeshe O, to bring texts of scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
from there to West Tibet.[
]
Architecture and fittings
The Tholing Monastery complex has many rectangular buildings. It is a walled complex facing east. Built of mud bricks, the style became the forerunner for similar temples built in the kingdom. Before the Cultural Revolution the monastery had six chapels. There are portrait paintings of Tsong Khappa, Sakya Panchen and many Buddhist monks dated to 15th and 16th centuries.[
The most prominent among the extant temples, the Yeshe-Ö Temple (also ''Gyatsa'' temple, or the golden house),] is built of mud-brick with red mud-brick towers. Colourful chortens are outside at each corner of this temple. Once a Vairochana
Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...
image was deified here. The temple is reported to have been reconstructed after it had been demolished during the Cultural Revolution, in a mandala style
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 e ...
. Yeshe-Ö Temple has elaborate-looking towers and its doors are painted red. During the Revolution, the images inside this temple were substantially damaged. The temple in the shape of a mandala contains several chapels.[ The murals in the two chapels, which are exquisite, survived demolition during the revolution as they were used as store houses for grains. There is also a museum hall in the entrance chapel. The Neten Lakhang and the Tongy Chapel, which were considered beautiful, were totally destroyed.]
The Dukhang (Assembly Hall) is single-storied and has paintings of Yeshe-Ö and other important personages. These are painted with considerable detail, showing the clothing of those times. Deities deified in the walls of the hall, in a seated posture, are peaceful in appearance, and are clothed with textiles and jewelry.[ There are images of Gelukpa monks and a Lama. The paintings on the walls are considered to be “superb mural art.”] They are traced to the 15th and 16th centuries, and are a fusion of styles from Tibet, Kashmir and Newari art of Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
.[ The Dukhang is where Rinchen Zangpo is said to have lived. Kashmiri art is seen here, as are the Dipankar, ]Sakyamuni
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
and Maitreya
Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
, the Buddha images of the past, present and future. These have been rebuilt in the back chamber.
The Lhakhang Karpo (White Chapel) has a high ceiling with thin wooden pillars made of Deodar wood and is painted red. The floor is of cobblestones while the ceiling is decorated in geometric designs. The Lakhang Karpo's murals, dating to the 15th and 16th centuries, are well preserved, including those of male figures on the right, and female figures on the left. The building now serves as storage for wood and stones.
Gallery
File:Tholing Kloster (Tibet) Zerstörte Heiligenfiguren Dieter Schuh.JPG, Destroyed holy monuments in Tholing Monastery.
File:Tholing Monastery (Tibet) Entrance White Temple Dieter Schuh.JPG, Caves near Tholing Monastery (Tibet).
File:Tholing Monastery White Temple Entrance Detail Dieter Schuh.JPG, Entrance of the White Temple of Tholing Monastery.
File:Wandgemälde Tholing Kloster (Tibet) Weißer Temple Dieter Schuh.JPG, Tholing Monastery
File:Tholing monastery (Tibet) Detail 1 Dieter Schuh.JPG, Tholing monastery in 2007
References
{{Ngari Prefecture
10th-century Buddhist temples
997 establishments
Buddhist monasteries in Tibet
Ngari Prefecture
Buddhist temples in Ngari Prefecture
Gelug monasteries
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Tibet