This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 49.126.178.228 (talk) at 16:49, 30 April 2024 (Image). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 16:49, 30 April 2024 by 49.126.178.228 (talk) (Image)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Lhasa, Tibet, ChinaRamoche Temple | |
---|---|
RamocheTemple | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Tibetan Buddhism |
Sect | Gelug |
Location | |
Location | Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
Location within Tibet Autonomous Region | |
Geographic coordinates | 29°39′31″N 91°7′49″E / 29.65861°N 91.13028°E / 29.65861; 91.13028 |
Architecture | |
Style | Han and Tibetan |
Part of a series on |
Tibetan Buddhism |
---|
Schools |
Key personalities
|
Teachings
|
Practices and attainment |
Major monasteries |
Institutional roles |
Festivals |
Texts |
Art |
History and overview |
Ramoche Temple (Tibetan: ར་མོ་ཆེ་དགོན་པ་, Wylie: Ra-mo-che Dgon-pa, Lhasa dialect: ]; Chinese: 小昭寺; pinyin: Xiǎozhāo Sì) is a Buddhist monastery in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. It dates back to the seventh century and is considered to be the most important temple in the city after the Jokhang Temple. Situated in the northwestern part of the Tibetan capital, it is east of the Potala and north of the Jokhang. The site occupies an area of 4,000 square meters (almost one acre).
History
Ramoche is considered to be the sister temple to the Jokhang, which was built twenty years earlier c.622 for the Jowo Mikyo Dorje statue of Buddha Akshobya that Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal brought to Tibet on an elephant. The Ramoche instead was built originally to house the Jowo Rinpoche statue, carried c.641, via Lhagang, to Lhasa in a wooden cart when Princess Wencheng came to Tibet. Unlike the Jokhang, Ramoche was originally built in Chinese style.
Sources agree that the two Jowo statues were switched between the Jokhang and Ramoche temples, but the reasons for the switch remain uncertain.
Possibly during Mangsong Mangtsen's reign (649-676), because of a threat that the Tang Chinese might invade, Princess Wencheng is said to have had the statue of Jowo Rinpoche hidden in a secret chamber in the Jokhang. Princess Jincheng, sometime after 710 CE, maybe had it placed in the central chapel of the Jokhang. At an unknown date, the statue of Jowo Mikyo Dorje, a bronze statue of the Buddha Akshobya housed at the Jokhang, was moved to Ramoche. It crafted by Vishvakarman, and had been brought to Lhasa by Bhrikuti.
Extensive renovations and restorations of Ramoche were undertaken in the 13th century
In 1485, Ramoche was gifted in perpetuity to Kunga Dondrub and became the Gyuto Tratsang, or Upper Tantric College of Lhasa, and was home to 500 monks. There was a close connection with Yerpa which provided summer quarters for the monks.
The Fifth Dalai Lama carried out important restorations of the Ramoche in the 17th century. Afterward, the Ramoche was badly damaged by the Red Guards during China's Cultural Revolution in Tibet.
Destruction and restoration
The temple was gutted by fire and destroyed in the 1959 Lhasa uprising against Chinese occupation and the bronze statue disappeared. In 1983 the lower part of it was said to have been found in a Lhasa rubbish tip, and the upper half in Beijing. Thanks to the efforts of Ri ‘bur sprul sku, the parts were joined in the Ramoche Temple, which was partially restored in 1986, yet still showed damage in 1993.
A major restoration was undertaken in 1986 and the temple now has three stories. Near the main entrance to the building are ten pillars displaying local relics and symbols such as lotus flowers, jewellery, coiling clouds and Tibetan characters. The first floor has an atrium off which opens a scripture hall and the winding corridors of a Buddha palace. The second floor is mainly residential but has a chapel with an image of Buddha as King of the Nagas, and the third floor provides sleeping quarters reserved for the use of the Dalai Lama.
Footnotes
- ^ Dowman, Keith. 1988. The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide, p. 59. Routledge & Kegan Paul. London. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0 (ppk).
- Dr. Poonam Rana, "The Role of Bhrikuti (Bhelsa Tritsun) in the Spread of Buddhism", Sirjana, p.108-114
- ^ "Ramoche", Treasury of Lives, nd
- University of Virginia, MAPS, Places, "Jokhang"
- ^ Tibet (6th edition), p. 104. (2005) Bradley Mayhew and Michael Kohn. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74059-523-8.
- Dorje (1999), pp. 92-93.
- Dorje (1999), p. 92.
- Li, Jianglin; 李江琳 (2016). Tibet in agony : Lhasa 1959. Wilf, Susan. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 281. ISBN 9780674088894. OCLC 946579956.
After more than two hours of fierce combat, the defenders of Ramoche Temple succumbed at 3:30 on the afternoon of March 21, with heavy Tibetan casualties and extensive damage to the ancient building. (...) The roof of the main hall was still on fire...
- Tsering Gonkatsang and Michael Willis, "The Ra Mo Che Temple, Lhasa, and the Image of Mi bsKyod rDo rJe: The Narrative of Ri ‘Bur sPrul sKu," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 19.1 (2009), pp 41-57 for an account of the recovery and restoration. Available online from Cambridge Journals online: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=JRA&volumeId=19&seriesId=3&issueId=01 Archived 2016-04-08 at the Wayback Machine.
- Dorje (1999), p. 93.
References
- Dorje, Gyume (1999). Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan. Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England. ISBN 0-8442-2190-2.
External links
Buddhist monasteries in Tibet | |
---|---|
Lhasa |
|
Lhoka Prefecture | |
Shigatse |
|
Ngari Prefecture | |
Chamdo Prefecture and former Kham | |
Nyingchi Prefecture |