Laying in Dranang, Samye Monastery was the first monastery built in Tibet. It was probably founded in 767 under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen, with the work being directed by Indian masters Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita. Construction was completed in 779.

Although Buddhism had been transmitted into Tibet at that time, there were no formal Buddhist priests or Buddhist rituals. Tubo King Trisong Detsen decided to invite Santarakshita and Padmasambhava, both Buddhists from India, to promote Buddhism in Tibet.

Samye means Unimaginable in Tibetan. It was said that when Tritsong Detsen asked for suggestions about the construction of the monastery, Padmasambhava, exerting his magical powers, showed the king an image of a monastery in his palm. That is the origin of the name.

Padmasambhava chose the construction site while the design was done by Santarakshita. After the construction was completed, Buddhism became the official religion in Tibet. Learned monks from inland China and India were invited to Tibet to translate Buddhist sutras into Tibetan. Trisong Detsen selected seven nobles to be the first monks in Tibet. Thus, Samye became the first formal monastery to establish triratna (refer to the Buddha), the Dharma and the Sangha, or Buddhist priesthood.

Samye Monastery has experienced a dozen centuries since its completion. It was once ruined in the late Tubo period because Buddhism was banned. In the early 10th century, the Sagya Prince of Dharma rebuilt the monastery.

The monastery combined Chinese, Tibetan and Indian architectural styles. The layout was designed completely according to the ideal universe found in Buddhist scriptures. Utse, the Great Hall symbolizing Sumeru in perfect the Buddhist universe, is the largest structure in the monastery, which is circled by the sun chapel and the moon chapel. Four stupas of different styles -- red, white, black and green -- represent four Heavenly Kings, and stand at four corners of the hall. Four larger halls and eight smaller ones, evenly distributed around Utse, are deemed the 12 continents in that universe. The monastery is secluded from the outside world by a circular wall, with thousands of Buddha statues sitting on it, representing mountains near the border of the universe.

Utse is a unique building with three floors. The ground floor is Tibetan, with a turning wheel cloister full of extraordinarily splendid murals. Before the hall, visitors will see a stone stele[explain this word], which was erected to memorize Trisong Detsen's vow of his piety to Buddhism. Inside there are several chapels in which different deities are enshrined. The holiest one is a Sakyamuni statue carved out of a huge rock from sacred Mt. Hepori. The second floor is a sutra hall in Chinese style, which houses about 472 Chinese stone Buddhas. The southeast corner is an apartment Dalai Lamas used to live in during visits to Samye. The Indian-style top roof houses Arhats of Indian features. The hall is totally covered with murals, depicting the lives of Sakyamuni, Padmasambhava, the Great Fifth, Samye's panorama layout and Tibetan history.

Southwest of Utse is the sutra translation center, where hundreds of translators from Tibet, India, and inland China translated huge volumes of sutra into Tibetan. Murals in the center record the grand event. It is now a college where lamas rest and debate sutras.

Although the Samye trove has a colossal collection of artifacts, its murals are prestigious throughout Tibet. Samye has many valuable murals which won't be seen anywhere else. They include murals telling of Padmasambhava's life (ground and second floors of Utse), the history of Samye (south cloister on the second floor of Utse) and other murals reflecting the local folklore. The Samye murals are actually an encyclopedia of Tibetan culture and religion.

After the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, the Chinese Government paid due attention to the old architecture and the protection of the relics in the monastery, and earmarked special funds for its maintenance. In 1962, it was listed as a key cultural relics unit under the prefecture's protection. In 1996, it was listed as a key cultural relics unit under State protection.