The Tibetan Plateau, with an average elevation of 4,000 meters, has long been known as the Roof of the World, where the weather is cold, rainfall is limited, natural conditions are rather harsh, and there are not many forests but plenty of stone.
Among Tibet’s buildings, the achievement of Tibetan Buddhist buildings is the highest. In the seventh century, the Tubo Tsampo Kingdom emerged on the Tibetan Plateau. Along with the development of Tibet’s relationship with the inland areas and Southeast Asia, Buddhism was introduced from India and the central plains.
The two wives of TSongsang Gampo, king of Tubo Tsampo, namely, Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (entered Tibet in 641) and Princess Chizun of Nepal, both worshipped Buddhism. Organized personally by Princess Wencheng, the Reshazu Lakang, the first Buddhist structure in Tibet, built in Luoxie (present-dayLhasa), is the predecessor of the still existing Gtsug-Khang Monastery. In the year 762, Khri-sron-btsan, king of Tubo Tsampo built Tibet’s first formal temple, Bsam-yas Monastery, and seven Tibetan youths were tonsured to become monks.
Before Buddhism was introduced into China, Tibet had already had a primitive religion, Bon, which was later blended with Buddhism. In addition, due to the strong influence of Tantrism of Indian Buddhism and elements of Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism developed a very strong mystical color obviously different from Buddhism in the inland areas. In Tibetan Buddhism, commonly called Lamaism, the temple is called a Lama temple, and the pagoda is called a Lama pagoda.
Beginning from the Yuan Dynasty, Tibet was formally included into Chinese territory WC can say that there is no other place in China like Tibet, wherein religion stands above all else, where life is full of a strong religious flavor and culture contains a strong theological atmosphere. Tibetan Buddhism was introduced into the Mongolian region in the Yuan Dynasty and was gradually widely accepted by the Mongolian people. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperors also built some Lama temples and Lama pagodas in Beijing and north China in order to unite the Tibetan and Mongolian nationalities.
Zuglakang Monastery in Lhasa
Zuglakang Monastery in Lhasa is a representative of temples built on flatlands. The monastery began construction in the seventh century, with extensions over the centuries, and it is preserved to this day.
The gate of the monastery faces west and is close to Barkor Street which encircles Zuglakang Monastery. Everyday, believers make a clockwise circular perambulation to show respect for the Buddha.
Walking through a doorway with a porch, across a thousand-Buddha verandah, one finds the Johkang Hall, the main hall of the Zuglakang Monastery. Johkang Hall is in a plane, square shape, with four layers on all sides, partitioned into small Buddhist halls. The Buddhist hall on the axis houses the statue of Sakyamuni brought by Princess Wencheng, In another Buddhist hall, there are the statues of Srong-brtsan-sgam-po, Princess Wencheng and Princess Chizun from Nepal. The center is a large space leading up to three floors with a flat top.
There is a gilded copper roof on the middle of each of the four sides of the fourth floor. Its figure is modeled after the structure of the Han nationality, and there is a truncated turret on each of the four corners.
Outside the front gate of the monastery is a small encircled yard inside which there is a willow tree said to have been planted by Princess Wencheng, as well as the Fanhui League Monument of the Tang Dynasty and a monument designed to persuade people to accept vaccination.
Print
Save