SEARCH BOX

LABRANG CHINA

Labrang, was founded in 1710 by the First Jamyang-zhaypa, Ngawang-tsondru (1648-1722), in the Amdo province of northeastern Tibet. It lies 250 kilometers southwest of Lanchow, and is presently included in southwestern Kansu (Gansu) Province of China, near the border of Chinghai (Qinghai) Province. It is counted among the six major monasteries of the Gelug Tradition.

The First Jamyang-zhaypa, a disciple of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang-lozang-gyatso (1617-1682), was from Amdo and had studied sutra at Gomang College of Drepung Monastery and tantra at Gyumay Lower Tantric College. He authored the Kunkyen textbooks later used at Gomang, Drepung Deyang College and Labrang.

When he was Abbot of Gomang, Jamyang-zhaypa was requested by Ganden Erdene Junang, the Mongol King of Kokonor, to return to Amdo where many Mongols lived among the Tibetans. Jamyang-zhaypa accepted, and on the eve of his departure, the Gadong State Oracle prophesied that he would found a monastery in Amdo called Tashikyil. In establishing this monastery, Jamyang-zhaypa adopted the Drepung rules of discipline and chanting style for the main temple, and the Gomang style of debate.

Jamyang-zhaypa himself gave the name Genden-shaydrub Tashi-kunnay-kyilway-ling to his new monastery. The Second Panchen Lama, Lozang-yeshey (1663-1737), gave it a second name, Ganden Damcho-shaydrub-dargyey-ling "Labrang" means the residence of a great Lama. The monastery in general became known as Labrang, or Labrang Tashikyil, after the residence of Jamyang-zhaypa. The line of his reincarnations, the Jamyang-zhaypa Rinpoches, have been the traditional heads of the Labrang Monastery.

There has always been a strong connection between Labrang Tashikyil and the Mongols. Many lineages from Labrang, such as that of Kalachakra , spread to the Mongolian monasteries. The Buryat, Kalmyk, and Tuvinian regions of Russia used exclusively the Kunkyen textbooks of Jamyang-zhaypa. Many monasteries in Inner and Outer Mongolia used them as well. In Lhasa, the Mongols mostly studied at Gomang and Gyumay, as did Jamyang-zhaypa.

Labrang has six colleges. The largest is Mayjung Tosamling for the study of sutra and debate, established by the First Jamyang-zhaypa in 1710 when he founded the monastery in general. It awards the Geshey Dorampa degree. When the First Jamyang-zhaypa received the Say lineage (Srad-brgyud) transmission at Saygyu Tantric College (Sras-rgyud grva-tshang) from Saygyu Konchog-yarpel (1602-1682), this great master asked him to establish a tantric college as part of the monastery he would found in Amdo in the future. Keeping this request in mind, the First Jamyang-zhaypa established Maygyu Dratsang Lower Tantric College, in 1719.

The Dukor Dratsang or Kalachakra College, Ewam-chokor-ling was founded in 1763 by the Second Jamyang-zhaypa, Konchog-jigmey-wangpo (1728-1798),on the advice of the Third Panchen Lama, Pelden-yeshey The Panchen Lama’s home monastery,Tashilhunpo built a Kalachakra temple two years later, in 1765, devoted to the daily practice of the Kalachakra rituals. Since the first half of the eighteenth century, Kalachakra Colleges had already existed in Inner Mongolia. The first was at Ari-in Monastery, founded by the First Kanjurwa Gegen, Lozang-choden, and the second at Badghar Monastery (Pad-dkar dGon-pa) by his disciple, Dunkhor Pandita The Dukor Datsang at Labrang was the first of its kind in Amdo.

The Menpa Dratsang or Medical College, Sorig-zhenpen-ling was established in 1784, also by the Second Jamyang-zhaypa. The Kyedor Dratsang or Hevajra College, Sangngag-dargyay-ling was started by the Fourth Jamyang-zhaypa, Kelzang-tubten-wangchug in 1879. The Gyuto Dratsang or Upper Tantric College, Sangchen-dorjey-ling was established in 1943 by the Fifth Jamyang-zhaypa, Lozang-jamyang-yeshey-tenpay-gyeltsen.

The two Tantric Colleges at Labrang, like their models in Lhasa, studied mostly the Guhyasamaja, Chakrasamvara and Vajrabhairava tantric systems. They awarded Geshe Karamapa and Geshe Ngagrampa The Kalachakra College was responsible for not only the Kalachakra rituals, but also those of Samvid and Vairochana Abhisambodhi. The monks of the Kalachakra College also studied astronomy, astrology, and mathematics. In addition to medical studies, the monks of the Medical College were responsible for the rituals of the Medicine Buddha Akshobhya , and the Hiddenly Actualized The rituals for Hevajra and Vajrapani Mahachakra , and prepared a calendar/almanac each year according to the Chinese-style black calculation system. As at the Jokang (Jo-khang) in Lhasa, every year from the 3^rd to the 17^th of the first Tibetan month, Labrang held a Great Prayer Festival with examinations for the highest grades of Geshe. At this festival, there were ritual masked dances and other rites as in Lhasa.

At its height in 1957, Labrang had nearly 4,000 monks. About 3,000 of them were at the Mayjung Tosamling College, with the rest evenly distributed among the other five colleges. Approximately three-quarters of the monks were Tibetans. The rest were mostly Outer Mongolian Mongols , Inner Mongolian Mongols (smad-sog, nang-sog), Kokonor Mongols, Mongours from northern Amdo, Yellow Yugurs from Gansu (Kansu), Xinjiang Kalmyk Mongols, and ethnic Chinese. Labrang had 138 branch monasteries.

Starting in 1958, the monastery was closed for twelve years by the Chinese. During the 1970s, it was opened for tourism. It was reopened as a functioning monastery by the Seventh Panchen Lama, Chokyi-gyeltsen-trinley-lhundrub (1938-1989), in 1980. At present there are about 500 monks, divided among the six colleges in the same proportions as before. The study program is only a fraction of what it previously had been.

The Labrang Monastery is located at the foot of the Phoenix Mountain northwest of Xiahe County in Gannan Tibetan Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. A propitious place in the hearts of the Tibetan, it stands by the Daxia River and faces the Dragon Mountain.

As for the Dragon and Phoenix Mountains, there is a beautiful legend. A long time ago, this place was a boundless sea. After countless changes, mountains and lands appeared. One day, a golden-wing phoenix flew here and rested on one of the mountains in the south. It was so thirsty that it drank all the water; thus the sea dried up. A dragon in the sea was greatly shocked, so it cavorted out of the water, which led to the emergence of a spring at the site where the phoenix drank. As the spring water effused more and more, the Daxia River was formed. So the dragon became the Dragon Mountain and the phoenix became the Phoenix Mountain. And the Daxia River flowed from west to east through the two mountains, eroding the hollow into a basin. The Labrang Monastery was built on the Zhaxiqi (means auspiciousness) shoal which is in the north of the basin.

The architectural layout of the Labrang Monastery belongs to the Tibetan style and the construction patterns are mostly Tibetan, Han's mode and a compound style of both Han's and Tibetan. The symbols of the whole construction are the White Towers both in the northeast and in the northwest. The grand sutra and Buddha halls are located in the northwestern part centered around the Grand Sutra Hall. Other halls spread in a shape similar to a crescent moon.

The Grand Sutra Hall is the dominant place for the religious activities of the Labrang Monastery and for the adherents' worshipping. On the inside walls there are portraits of Buddha and built-in shrines of Buddha and bookcases. The elegantly decorated hall is splendid enough to give you real enjoyment.

Located in the northwest of the Grand Sutra Hall, the Grand Golden Tile Hall is the highest building in the Labrang Monastery and is strongly tinged with a Nepalese flavor. It is six-storied and the roof is covered with bronze bricks that are washed by gold. In front of the hall gate, a stele hangs on which the Han, Tibetan, Manchu and Mongolian characters were written by the Emperor Jiaqing (1760-1820) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Inside the hall there is a bronze figure of Buddha created by Nepalese artisans.

The Labrang Monastery boasts tens of thousands of statues of Buddha made of gold, silver, copper, and aluminum. There are statues with ivory, sandalwood, jade, crystal and clay as the basic materials. These Buddha statues are all lifelike with kind-looking faces, which give you a real enjoyment of beauty. In addition, the monastery possesses many Buddha hats and many Buddhist treasures adorned with pearls, jadeite, agate and diamonds.

The Labrang Monastery holds seven large-scale summon ceremonies a year, among which the Summons Ceremony in the first lunar month and the Buddhist Doctrine Explaining Ritual in the seventh lunar month are the grandest ones.

Labrang is located in Xiahe County in Gansu province, in the traditional Tibetan area ofAmdo. Labrang Monastery is home to the largest number of monks outside of Tibet Autonomous Region. Xiahe is located about 4 hours from the city of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu.

In the early part of the 20th century, Labrang was by far the largest and most influential monastery in Amdo. It is located on the Sangchu or Xiahe River a tributary of the Huang He or Yellow River.

Labrang Monastery is located in the town of Xiahe, which belongs to the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

The monastery was founded in 1709 by the first Jamyang Zhaypa, Ngawang Tsondru. It is Tibetan Buddhism's most important monastery town outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Labrang Monastery is situated at the strategic intersection of four major Asian cultures—Tibetan, Mongolian, Han Chinese, and Chinese Muslim—was one of the largest Buddhist monastic universities. In the early 20th century, it housed several thousand monks. Labrang was also a gathering point for numerous annual religious festivals, supported an active regional marketplace where Han Chinese artisans rubbed shoulders with Hui merchants and nomadic Tibetan highlanders, and was the seat of a Tibetan power base that strove to maintain regional autonomy through the shifting alliances and bloody conflicts that took place between 1700 and 1950.

In April 1985 the Assembly Hall burned down. It was replaced and the new building was consecrated in 1990.

The monastery complex dominates the northern part of the village. The white walls and golden roofs feature a blend of Tibetan and Han architectural styles. The monastery contains 18 halls, six institutes of learning, a golden stupa, a sutra debate area, and houses nearly 60,000 sutras. There once were more than 2,000 monks in residence, but now only 500, due to a twelve year closure starting in 1958. It has a Buddhist museum with a large collection of Buddha statues, sutras and murals. In addition, a large amount of Tibetan language books, including books on history is available for purchase, together with medicines, calendars, music and art objects.

There used to be a great golden statue of the Buddha, more than 50 feet high, which was surrounded by rows of surrounding Buddhas in niches

The monastery today is an important place for Buddhist ceremonies and activities. From 4 to 17 January and 26 June to 15 July (these dates may change according to the lunar calendar), the great Buddhist ceremony will be held with Buddha-unfolding, sutra enchanting, praying, sutra debates, etc.

In March 2008 there were protests by monks from Labrang Monastery as well as by other ethnic Tibetans linked to previous protests and rioting that broke out in Lhasa

The present summons ceremony, which began in the middle of the 18th century, is based on a ceremony held in 1409 by TsongKha-pa (1357-1419), founder of the Gelugpa Sect. it includes a series of religious activities attendee by both Tibetan monks and pilgrims, such as the free Captive Animals Festival held on the 8th day of the first Tibetan lunar month, The Sun-Bathing Buddha Festival on the 13th day of the month and the Cham dance on the 14th day. In addition to this, all the monks of the monastery will gather in the Grand Sutra Hall to recite Buddhist scriptures six times a day, every day during the period. The sun-Bathing Festival has always been the biggest draw.

The monastery boasts six Buddhist institutes (the Institute of Essoteric Buddhism, Higher and Lower Institutes of Theology, the Institute of Medicine, Institute of Astrology and Institute of Law). Each of them has a chanting hall, several temple halls, and 18 residences for "the Living Buddhas," 18 Buddhist Lhakangs (living quarters for monks) and a sutra printing house. The pray hall is the principal part of a monastery, where monks study, hold meetings and chant scriptures. The largest, the palatial Grand Prayer Hall belongs to the College of Esoteric Buddhism. In 1985, the hall was burnt down by fire. The central government provided 12 million yuan (US$ 1.45 million) for its reconstruction. After reconstruction in 1990, the hall was expanded to cover about one hectare (2.471 acres).

The hall, of wood and clay structure, has the roof supported by 140 giant pillars. It is large enough to accommodate 3,000 monks. The elegantly decorated hall houses portraits of Buddha on its walls and has built-in Buddha shrines and bookcases. Fine "thangka" (sacred painting on cloth) paintings hang from and northwest. The chanting halls are all located in the northwestern part of the monastery compound and the other five chanting halls are set around the Grand Chanting Hall in a shape similar to a crescent moon. The hall of Maitreya Buddha is representative of the monastery's temple halls and features a strong Nepalese flavor. It houses a 10-meter-high gilded statue of Maitreya Buddha created by Nepalese artisans. E'angzogzhe (1648-1712), the first generation Living Buddha in 1709, founded the monastery. At its height, the monastery housed about 4,000 monks in its 90 halls, with 31 residential and academic buildings, and more than 500 scripture reading rooms. But many building were destroyed during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976). In the 1990s, most of them were rebuilt or renovated. Presently there are about 1,200 monks, coming mostly from Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Apart from a spectacular collection of monastic buildings, the Labrang Monastery is also a treasure house. Art treasures are everywhere. Stunning frescoes and tapestries, incredible carpentry, painted Tibetan furniture, white Tibetan scarves, stupas (the cone-shaped jewel-encrusted burial chambers where the bones of Tibetan religious and political leaders are placed) resplendent with jewels. Most enchanting of all are the different kinds of Buddha statues and "thangkas."

From the peaceful Sakyamuni (the Present Buddha) and Maitreya (the Future Buddha) covered with huge turquoise medallions and gold ornaments to ferocious nandikesvaras, joy ful Buddha tangled up in multi-armed embraces, from the gilt Tsong Kha-pa to the bronze statue of Jiamuyang 1, from just 1 inch high to 10 meters tall, more than 10,000 statues of Buddha made of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, ivory, sandalwood, jade, crystal and clay build up a mysterious Buddhist world in the flickering light of yak-butter lamps. The Labrang Monastery has a collection of Province. The monastery also has one of the richest collections of Buddhist scriptures in the world, boasting nearly 65,000 0f them in 18,200 volumes. These scriptures fall into a dozen categories, including philosophy, collected and craftsmanship. Also included are two volumes of Pattra-leaf sutras, and some 70,000 wood blocks for printing scriptures.

The monastery is built in an attractive setting, with the Daxia River winding by to the south and rolling mountains to the south and north. About 14 kilometers up the valley from the monastery, the Sangke Grasslands is an ideal place for hiking or horse-riding, with a limpid lake and snow-capped mountains on all sides.