Palkhor Monastery and Kumbum Pagoda
Overview
Location
Located at the western end of the Changge Range in Gyangze County, Palkhor Monastery was a Tibetan monastery. Its 17 Dratsang (colleges) belong to three sects of Sagya, Kadam and Gelug and gather all religious sects, a salient feature of the monastery.
History
Palkhor Monstery, also named Palcho Monastery, is very different from other monasteries. Founded jointly by Kedup Je of the Gelugpa Sect and Rabten Kunsang of the Sakyapa Sect in 1418, the Phalkor Monastery has a special influence over Tibet’s Buddhism owing to its unification of three different sects, the Gelugpa, the Sakyapa and Bhuton Sects, in a single monastery. Built in 1414, this monastery consists of 17 Dratsang (colleges) that belong to the three sects of Sagya, Kadam and Gelug.
Palkhor also has the spectacular Bodhi stupa, or Kumbum in Tibetan. Kumpo pagoda, also named "Bodhi stupa" or "Kumbum" in Tibetan, which was built in 1412 and completed 10 years later. Deemed as the symbol of the monastery, the spectacular "stupa" consists of hundreds of chapels in layers, housing about a hundred thousand images of various icons. The elegant structure is worth visiting. The famous Kumbum pagoda, built in collaboration with Newari artists from Nepal and Tibetan artists, also stands in the same courtyard with nine stories, 108 doors and 77 chapels containing clay sculptures and various murals. The pagoda is said to have 100,000 images, either sculptured or painted, this is the reason for its name "100,000 Image Pagoda".
Feature
The Palkhor Monastery occupies an important place in Tibetan Buddhism history because different Buddhism sects, like Gelugpa, Sakyapa, were compatible in this monastery. The Monastery is a monastery having the characteristics of Han, Tibetan and Nepali architecture. Palkhor Monastery enjoys a high status in Tibetan Buddhism history because it houses three sects, Sakyapa, Kadampa and Gelugpa together. Those three sects get along well with each other though they once quarreled and fought. The Bodhi Dagoba, the Main Assembly Hall, murals and Zhacang (hall for the monks) in the monastery are the most renowned.
The Bodhi Dagoba about 32 meters high is a nine-tier building which has 108 gates, and 76 chapels and shrines. It is the symbol of the Pelkhor Choede. In Tibetan, the Bodhi Dagoba is called "Kumbum". It also has another name "Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda". About ten thousand figures of Buddha are celebrated in the chapels, shrines or as murals in the pagoda, hence its name. The pagoda comprises nearly one hundred chapels which overlap one another. People call this kind of structure "tower upon tower".
Main Assembly Hall is called "Tshomchen" in Tibetan. It is a three-storied building. On the first floor are the Main Chapel, Eastern and Western Chapels, and the cloister. In the Main Chapel is the bronze statue of Sakyamuni with a height of nearly eight meters (26 feet). It is said that about 14,000 kilograms (30,865 pounds) of copper were used to build the statue. Built with 48 columns, the chapel is decorated with numerous silk ’Thangkas’. On the second floor, Manjusri Bodhisattva, White Tara and Arhats are enshrined in the chapels. The eighteen-Arhat clay sculptures in the Arhat chapel are renowned in Tibet. On the third floor, Amitabha Buddha, Dakinis and esoteric Buddhism murals are displayed in the chapels.
Murals in the Monastery are also well known. These murals mainly relate to Esoteric and Exoteric Buddhism, and stories about the Buddhas. Tourists will find them almost everywhere in the monastery. Zhacang refers to the rooms where the monks live. Each sect has their own Zhacang in the monastery.
Features
"100,000 Image Pagoda" "Tower upon tower"
