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Pabongkha Hermitage (Pabongkha Ritr) 1

by Jos Ignacio Cabezn
Copyright 2006 by Jos Ignacio Cabezn and THL.

Hermitages Home Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Location and Layout 3. History A. Founding Narratives B. Later History 4. Glossary 5. Notes

Introduction

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A view of Pabongkha from the south.

A view of Pabongkha from the rear, looking down into the Nyangdren Valley .

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Pabongkha, one of the largest and most important of the Sera hermitages (ritr), lies about eight kilometers northwest of downtown Lhasa on the southern (Lhasa-facing) slope of a peak known as Mount Parasol (Udukri), northwest of Sera. It takes a little over one hour to walk from Pabongkha to Sera. Pabongkha is the starting point for the Sixth-Month Fourth-Day (Drukpa Tsezhi) Sera Mountain Circumambulation Circuit (Ser Rikhor) pilgrimage. To see images of the circumambulation taken in 2002, click here. The site has a long history that is said to go back to the time of the first Buddhist king (of Tibet) Songtsen Gampo (Chgyel Songtsen Gampo).2 Although originally the site of his castle (kukhar) or fort, it appears that Pabongkha was quickly converted into a monastery, perhaps as early as the reign of the second great Buddhist king (of Tibet) Trisong Detsen (Chgyel Trisong Detsen). The monastery was partially destroyed as part of King Langdarmas (d. 842) campaign to dismantle monastic Buddhism. During the so-called later propagation period (chidar), Pabongkha was taken over by members of the Kadampa school. Later, Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) lived at the site as a hermit, and it eventually became a Geluk institution. Before 1959, Pabongkha was apparently an autonomous institution that belonged to no other monastery, although at various times it has had informal ties to Sera through the person of the various Sera lamas that served as its abbots. The monastery suffered considerable destruction from 1960 to the mid-1980s. Sera monks began renovating the buildings in the mid-1980s, and today the monastery belongs to Sera. Since the mid-80s, all of Pabongkhas monks are Sera monks, and the hermitage is managed by a senior Sera monk. As was the case before 1959, and as is typical of the Sera hermitages in general, Pabongkha is principally a ritual institution. It maintains its own tradition of monthly and yearly ritual cycles.3 The most important of these yearly ritual events (at least for the laity) are: the six-day (three sets of two-day) Avalokite!vara fasting rituals (nyungn) that take place during the time of the Tibetan New Year (Losar) celebrations, the sixteen-day (eight sets of two-day) Avalokite!vara fasting rituals that take place during the fourth Tibetan month. This attracts many (especially elderly) people from Lhasa and the surrounding area, and the ritual and other events that take place during the Sixth-Month Fourth-Day pilgrimage. Back to the Top

Location and Layout

Various kinds of rhetoric have been used to portray Pabongkha as a sacred site metaphysical, historical, archival, and so forth. In the more metaphysical accounts, Pabongkha is depicted as a site that is sacred by its very nature that is, sacred by virtue of the fact that from among the twenty-eight sites in the world associated with the deity Cakrasa"vara (Demchok), Pabongkha is one of the Four Principal Sites (Nyew N Zhi): the one called Debiko#i (Debi Koti).4 In these accounts, then, Pabongkha is depicted as sacred at a deep or ontological level because it is a part of the body of a deity, Cakrasa"vara. But other discourses on the sacredness of the site exist alongside the metaphysical one. As is typical of many Tibetan religious institutions, various auspicious self-arisen images (rangjn)5 and rock formations are believed to exist on the mountains behind Pabongkha. The parasol has already been mentioned in other contexts; there is also a famous rock formation that resembles a conch. These various magical properties of the landscape are considered signs of the purity of

the site (sajang). [Click here to read a discussion of the metaphysics of sacred space at a site like Sera.] Pabongkha is located on a rise above the fields in the Lhasa suburb of Nyangdren. Just east of the monastery is a cemetery (durtr) that is in use even to this day. The cemetery is identified as one of the cemeteries in the ma!"ala of Cakrasa"vara. Informants report that before 1959 only fully ordained monks could be brought here for sky burial. Today no such restriction exists, and the bodies of lay people are also disposed of here. Inside the main temple at Pabongkha there is a small stone statue of a Buddha6 said to have magically emerged self-arisen image out of a stone as Songtsen Gampo was gestating in his mothers womb. By the time the king was born, the statue, which was slowly emerging from the stone over the nine months he was in his mothers womb, took its final and present form. The image faces the cemetery, and like the Maitreya statue at Keutsang Hermitage (Keutsang Ritr) that gazes down upon the eastern cemetery of Lhasa this statue too is said to effectuate the transition of consciousness (powa) to the pure land for any deceased person whose remains are brought to this cemetery. The first temple that one sees as one arrives at Pabongkha is the Temple of of the signs of holiness visible in the the Three Protectors (Riksum Gnpo Lhakhang). The temple that presently mountains above Pabongkha. exists at this site is recent. Before 1959, it seems that only a small shrine to the Three Protectors (Riksum Gnpo) existed at this spot.7 The present temple was built sometime in the late 1980s. In 2004 it was being renovated, and new murals depicting the Eighty Deeds of Tsongkhapa (Tsongkha Gyepchu) were being painted on its walls by a group of artists from Tsang province. The temple contains several important icons: In the center portion of the main altar one finds the stone selfarisen images of the Three Protectors Avalokite!vara , Maju!r$ , and Vajrap%&i . On the western portion of the main altar the left side as one is facing it there is a miraculous statue of Thousand-Armed Avalokite!vara , which is said to grow slightly in size every time the yearly fasting ritual of the deity is performed in this temple. Along the eastern wall of the temple, one finds the famous stone containing the six-syllable mantra (o# ma!i padme h$#) that was carved into (or that emerged miraculously from) the rock onto which Tnmi (seventh century), the legendary founder of the Tibetan written language, wrote these letters as the first exemplar of Tibetan writing.
The self-arisen image of the Buddha housed in the Pabongkha temple. It emerged from a rock slowly as Songtsen Gampo was gestating in his mothers womb. The white conch shell rock formation, one

Proceeding northwest from the Temple of the Three Protectors, one arrives at what is arguably the most important structure in the monastery: the temple called The Boulder House (Pabongkha/ng). Known originally as Maru Castle (Kukhar Maru), it sits atop the largest boulder on the site, the so-called Female Turtle (Rbelmo) Boulder (see below). The castle reportedly the first structure built on this site is said to date from the time of Songtsen Gampo. It is not clear, however, whether the present temple is (or contains) a remnant of that original building, or whether the castle was completely destroyed and later rebuilt as the temple that exists there today. One enters this temple building from the north side. The first floor is little more than a vestibule containing stairs that lead to the second story. Ascending the flight of stairs, one arrives at the three chapels that together comprise the second floor: A small chapel that houses statues of some of the more important figures in the history of the monastery The large assembly hall (dukhang) has room for about onehundred monks. This is the main meeting hall used by the monks of the monastery today. In a small case on the eastern side of this room, facing the windows overlooking the cemetery, one finds the self-arisen image of the Buddha that emerged from a stone during Songtsen Gampos gestation. Behind the main assembly hall is a small protector deity chapel (gnkhang). The third floor contains the private rooms of the lama.
The Pabongkha Temple, purportedly the oldest temple at the hermitage, sits atop the Female Turtle Boulder . At the bottom of the boulder (in the center) one can see the small door that leads into Songtsen Gampos meditation cave (druppuk).

Beneath the main temple, in the interior of this boulder is a cave chapel, the place where Songtsen Gampo remained in retreat in order to pacify the negative forces that were hindering the building of the Jokhang. There is a mortar throne in the middle of the room that is said to be Songtsen Gampos actual meditation seat. The altar along the northern wall of this cave contains a self-arisen image rock image of the deity Pel Lhamo, who appeared in a vision to the king while he was in retreat here. Tsongkhapas meditation hut lies just north of the Pabongkha main temple. Tsongkhapa is said to have stayed here when he once took the one-day Mah%y%na Precepts (Tekchen Sojong). Beside Tsongkhapas hut is a small chapel containing a selfarisen image stone image of the Medicine Buddha (Menla). North of Tsongkhapas meditation hut are a series of st$pas that are said to date to the time that the site was a Kadampa monastery. And north of these is the Temple of the Five Visions , which contains two chapels: A small Chapel to the Eight Medicine Buddhas (Menla Deshek Gy) , and A large Chapel to Tsongkhapa. This chapel has large clay statues of Tsongkhapa and his two disciples, as well as statues of Tsongkhapa in various forms as he appeared in visions to his disciple Kedrupj (1385-1438). This set of images of Tsongkhapa is collectively known as the Five Visions of the Lord (Tsongkhapa) (J Zikpa Ngaden). Northeast of the Temple of the Five Visions of the Lord (Tsongkhapa) is the Male Turtle (Rbelpo) Boulder (see below) with a small structure atop it. Before 1959, there was a st$pa where this small structure now stands. Finally, to the east of the Male Turtle Boulder are the ruins of what used to be the headquarters of the estate of Lhaptsn Rinpoch (Lhaptsn Rinpoch Labrang). In addition to the buildings just mentioned there are many other buildings, like the kitchen, as well as minor structures and shrines, and of course various large buildings that contain monastic living quarters. Back to the Top
In the foreground, the (white) meditation hut of Tsongkhapa. Behind it are the st!pas that are said to date to the time that Pabongkha was a Kadampa institution. Behind the st!pas is the Temple of the Five Visions of the Lord (Tsongkhapa).

History

Founding Narratives
Pabongkha, also known as Maru Castle, has a history that spans more than thirteen-hundred years. Traditional accounts tell us that the oldest building on the site, the temple known as Pabongkha (Boulder House/Man),8 predates the Jokhang, Lhasas central cathedral. If this is true and carbon-14 dating may prove definitive in deciding this, as it has in helping us to fix the date of the interior portions of the Jokhang itself it would make the main temple at Pabongkha one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in the Tibetan world, dating to seventh century. There are two distinct narratives of the founding of Pabongkha. The first relates the founding of the hermitage to the building of the Jokhang. The second relates it to the figure of Tnmi, the legendary founder of the Tibetan writing system and literary language. In each case, the founding of the monastery is associated with foundational events in the introduction of Buddhism into Tibet. In both narratives, the turtle spirit, who resides within the giant boulder at the site, is seen as something to be controlled or dominated. But in the second account, it is portrayed as something wondrous rather than as a threat. In neither of these narratives is the turtle gendered, as it will be in the later apocalyptic myths of the Pabongkha site (see below).

Version One 9
According to many Tibetan sources, the Jokhang the central cathedral of Lhasa and the first Buddhist temple built in Tibet is said to have been constructed to house the statue of the Jowo Miky Dorj, brought to Tibet by Songtsen Gampos Nepalese queen. But the building of the Jokhang was no easy thing. The site where the temple was supposed to sit was a swamp or lake (tso), and the water of this lake was the hearts-blood (nyingdrak) of the female demon that lay supine over (or in some accounts that actually was) the landscape of Tibet. The demoness, we are told, had to be subjugated if Buddhism was to thrive in the country.10 And so, the narrative continues, Songtsen Gampo ordered that the area be filled with dirt. The dirt was carried on the backs of goats.11 Once the site had been prepared, construction on the Jokhang began. But the portion of the walls that went up by day would be destroyed by demons at night. The Nepalese queen asked her co-wife, the Chinese queen, to perform an astrological prognostication to determine how to deal with this problem. The Chinese queen determined that an earth spirit, a golden turtle named Ser Maha,12 who lived in the northern mountains of the Lhasa Valley , was the cause of the problem.13 She recommended that the king build a fortress at the site: an edifice that, being placed atop the huge turtle-boulder, would subdue the spirit beneath it, thus clearing away the obstacles that were impeding the building of the Jokhang temple.

Songtsen Gampo then built a nine-story fort made of bricks mortared with molten metal on the back of the Female Turtle Boulder .14 It was fastened to the boulder in each of the four directions with powerful, magically-blessed chains. He and his two wives then set themselves to meditating in this building for a period of three years. According to an alternate tradition, Songtsen Gampo meditated not in the castle but in a cave inside the huge boulder: a cave that has been preserved to this day.15 While living in this cave he had a vision of a goddess, Pel Lhamo,16 who promised to act as the protectress of the site, and of Buddhism in general. According to another account,17 on the third day of their retreat, the king and his two queens had visions of the Three Protectors, who promised to help the king realize his The interior of Songtsen Gampos meditation cave located in the Female plan to introduce Buddhism into Tibet. They dissolved into a rock, and the Turtle Boulder . The throne is said to have figures of the three deities then emerged spontaneously from the rock-face. been Songtsen Gampos actual meditation These self-arisen images of the three deities are to this day found on the seat. main altar of the Temple of the Three Protectors in the southern part of Pabongkha hermitage. Finally, Pabongkha is said to be the place where Songtsen Gampo and his court created Tibets first legal code: the set of sixteen rules of purity for the populace (mich tsangma chudruk), which was then spread throughout the empire.18

Version Two 19
In the alternate narrative of the founding of Pabongkha, the Jokhang has already been built, and the king and his ministers are residing in Lhasa. One morning, while inspecting the Lhasa Valley from atop the roof of the White Palace in Lhasa, they noticed a large dark shape (nakril chenpo zhik) in the middle of the trees on the side of Cakrasa"vara mountain north of Lhasa. The next day they went to inspect the site, and saw that the dark shape was a giant rock shaped like a turtle. Songtsen Gampo thought to himself, Tnmi is about to return from India, and I should build him a palace that can serve as the headquarters from which he can spread the new written language. This place [Pabongkha] is a beautiful place, and the turtle is a wondrous thing. I will build Tnmis palace here. The king designed the palace himself. Once the foundation was finished, he had molten metal poured onto it so that the turtle-rock and the nine-story building would be forever fused as one. Once Tnmi arrived, Songtsen Gampo set him up in this palace, and Tnmi began to teach the written language first to the king and his ministers, and then to others, who in turn spread this knowledge throughout Tibet.20 But before beginning to instruct his fellow Tibetans, Tnmi wrote the six-syllable mantra (o# ma!i padme hu#) for the sake of good luck. According to one account, the king saw these letters, was amazed, and had them engraved onto a rock. An alternative account tells us that Tnmi from the outset traced out the letters onto the rocks surface, and that they then magically emerged in bas-relief in a self-arisen image fashion. This rock has been preserved, and can be seen in the Temple of the Three Protectors at Pabongkha Hermitage (Pabongkha Ritr) even to this day.21

The self-arisen image of the protector deity Pel Lhamo inside Songtsen Gampos meditation cave.

The Gendered/Sexual Landscape

There is one other aspect of the site related to the narrative of the turtle that must be mentioned. Oral tradition has it that there are in fact not one but two turtle spirits on the site, each associated with its own boulder. The boulder that sits lower on the hill the one on which Songtsen Gampo built his castle is said to be the Female Turtle. Northeast of the Female Turtle, farther uphill, there is another larger boulder identified as the Male Turtle. A small structure (before 1959, it was a st$pa) has been built atop it. Oral tradition has it that the Male Turtle is attempting to slide down the hill to unite sexually with the Female Turtle, and that if this event occurs, it will usher in an apocalypse that is, the destruction of the universe by wind, fire, water, and so forth.

The stone bearing what oral lore says are the first Tibetan letters written by Tnmi, kept in the Temple of the Three Protectors at Pabongkha.

There are two factors that are seen as preventing this. First, each of the two turtle boulders is fixed in its respective location by Buddhist monuments. The Female Turtle is fixed in place by the castle/temple built by Songtsen Gampo, which is said to have a mythic axis/pole running through its middle that pierces the heart of the Female Turtle and holds her in place so that she cannot move.22 The Male Turtle is held in place by the previously-mentioned st$pa. Second, the st$pas that have been built between the two turtles are said to act as an additional barrier a second line of defense, as it were between the two boulders/spirits. In one account, there are said to be one hundred and eight st$pas, each one of them containing one bead from Tsongkhapas rosary.23

The myth of the turtles both presumes and reinforces aspects of Tibetan gender ideology. First, the relative position of the two turtles is hardly accidental. In the natural world, as in the social world, the male must be located higher. Sexually speaking, as well, the cultural logic requires that the male be in a position to mount the female yet another reason for situating the Male Turtle on top of (and descending towards) the female. It might seem strange that sexual union, a generative act, should be seen here not only as threatening, but as the very deed that ushers in the end of the world cycle. But we must remember that this was most likely an oral myth created by monks, and that for monks sex is the end of a world the end of their The Male Turtle Boulder . vows, and therefore of their life/world as celibates. Sex that takes place within the confines of a monastery is, moreover, considered to be a great sin (dikpa chenpo). Sex in a holy place also brings pollution. From several vantage points, therefore, there is an imperative to keep sex from happening within the confines of Pabongkha. Finally, we must not forget that the turtles are in actuality geo-spirits (sadak): the powerful indigenous gods who are the original owners of Lhasa. The mating of the two spirits might have been seen as potentially leading to the proliferation of these creatures as a species, or to their reassertion of power over the land that was once theirs. To have allowed this to happen is to have risked the destruction of the world of Buddhism, whose existence on Tibetan soil depends metaphysically on the control of Tibets native spirits. The st$pas that separate the turtle spirits in the physical space of the monastery are the physical symbols of Buddhism as the force that controls the indigenous spirits of the country in the metaphysical sphere.

Later History
Although the various accounts agree that Pabongkha was originally built as a fort and not as a monastery, traditional lore has it that the site was converted into a religious center very early in its history. Initially, it is said to have served as the home to about a hundred tantrikas.24 According to some accounts, after Tibetans began to get ordained as Buddhist monks, Pabongkha was converted into a residence for the first seven Tibetan monks (semi dn). This would have taken place during the reign of Trisong Detsen). If this is true,25 it would make Pabongkha one of the oldest monasteries in Tibet. Pabongkha was destroyed during the reign of King Langdarma. There are different accounts of this event. In the more naturalistic version given by Dungkar Rinpoch, the temple on the rock was completely destroyed by the king. According to the more super-naturalistic version current among the monks of the monastery, Langdarma began to destroy the nine-story temple story-by-story starting from the top. After destroying four stories, the deity Pel Lhamo appeared to him and told him to stop.26 A five-story temple then remained. During the Cultural Revolution the temple lost two more stories. This explains how today it is a three-story building. We know little about Pabongkha between the time of Langdarma and the eleventh century. It was then that the site was reestablished as a Kadampa monastery by one of the most important masters of that tradition. The great Kadampa master Potowa Rinchen Sel (1027/31-1105) is said to have lived in the so-called Cave of the Tenth Day (Tsechupuk),27 for a period of time. Pabongkha is the site where Potowa Rinchen Sel transmitted many of the Kadampa teachings to Gesh Drakkarwa (1032-1111), one of his eight great close disciples (kabap buchen gy).28 Because Potowa Rinchen Sel was quite old at the time, he regretted that he could not bring Pabongkha back to its former glory, so he entrusted this work to his student. It is Gesh Drakkarwa, then, who is credited with the re-establishment of Pabongkha as a monastic institution.29 He stayed in retreat in the Cave of the Tenth Day for quite some time, and during this period gathered many disciples. He then began the process of reconstruction, and rebuilt at least two stories of the temple that had been destroyed during Langdarmas reign. He also taught extensively at Pabongkha until his death at around the age of eighty. During his decades of residence at Pabongkha, upwards of three hundred monks gathered around him. The monastery appears to have remained a Kadampa institution for the next two hundreds of years, passing through seven or more abbots, and growing in size to upwards of four hundred monks.30 Many st$pas31 are said to have been built at the site by the successive Kadampa masters who held the throne of Pabongkha, and some of these monuments still exist at the site today. A small clay tablet repository (tsakhang) to the east of the temple of the Three Protectors is also said to have been built during the Kadampa period as an antidote to demonic influences. After the seventh Kadampa abbot of Pabongkha, the monastery went into a period of decline. It appears that it may have then become a Sakya institution around the time of Pakpa (1235-1280), remaining under Sakyapa control for a period of about two hundred years. At the time of Pakmo Drupa hegemony, Pabongkha once again went into a period of decline. Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa school, apparently remained in retreat at Pabongkha for a short period of time. The site was once again revived this time as a Geluk institution by Penchen Delek Nyima (sixteenth century). Under Penchen Delek Nyimas abbacy, Pabongkha thrived, at least for a short period of time, but, like many institutions in and around Lhasa, it suffered as a result of the internecine warfare that plagued Central Tibet as a whole, and Pabongkha once again went into a period of decline.

St!pas at Pabongkha that are said to date to the Kadampa period.

It was in year 1619 that Pabongkha came under the aegis of the great Gelukpa master Khntn Peljor Lhndrup (15611637). Khntn was a lama renowned for his ecumenical outlook. He was an important figure in the history of Sera, and one of the teachers of the Fifth Dalai Lama. After the death of Khntn, the Fifth Dalai Lama had a three story palace32 built at Pabongkha. He commissioned an image of his teacher, and endowed the institution generously by providing it with fields, pastures for animals, and many head of yak.33 He also became (at least nominally) the head of Pabongkha, and it seems that he inaugurated a tradition according to which all of the successive Dalai Lamas visited the institution at least once in their lives. Desi Sanggy Gyatso (1653-1705), the regent of the Fifth Dalai Lama, lists the following abbots from the time of Khntn up to his own day: Peljor Rapgy (1604-1669) Serapa Jamyang Drakpa (b. seventeenth century) Khen Ngawang Tendzin34 M Lazur Lozang Dndrup35 Pabongkha has remained a Geluk institution up to the present time. Informants tell us that one of the great lamas of Sera, Lhaptsn Rinpoch, established a lamas residence (labrang) at Pabongkha at some point in time, but we do not know when precisely this was. This compound now lies in ruins. Before 1959 Pabongkha was an independent monastery, albeit one that had had strong historical and social ties to Sera for several hundred years of its history. According to one informant, before 1959 only fully ordained monks were allowed to live at Pabongkha. While this may have been true in theory, it is difficult to imagine that this rule was strictly observed, given that so much of the menial labor in small monasteries like this one (hauling water, cleaning, serving tea, etc.) is traditionally done by novice monks. As with many of Tibets great monasteries, Pabongkha was forcibly closed after the events of 1959. Many of its important images36 were destroyed. It
The ruins ofsite. the Lhaptsn Rinpochs estate remained closed until the monks of Sera formally applied for permission to rebuild the They began the project of (Lhaptsn Rinpoch Labrang) at restoring Pabongkha in the mid 1980s. Today Pabongkha is owned and Pabongkha. administered by Sera, and all of the monks of the hermitage are Sera monks.

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Glossary
Note: The glossary is organized into sections according to the main language of each entry. The first section contains Tibetan words organized in Tibetan alphabetical order. To jump to the entries that begin with a particular Tibetan root letter, click on that letter below. Columns of information for all entries are listed in this order: THL Extended Wylie transliteration of the term, THL Phonetic rendering of the term, the English translation, the Sanskrit equivalent, associated dates, and the type of term. To view the glossary sorted by any one of these rubrics, click on the corresponding label (such as Phonetics) at the top of its column.
Ka | Kha | Ga | Nga | Ca | Cha | Ja | Nya | Ta | Tha | Da | Na | Pa | Pha | Ba | Ma | Tsa | Tsha | Dza | Wa | Zha | Za | A | Ya | Ra | La | Sha | Sa | Ha | A

Ka Extended Wylie ka thung ka ring kang shi kun rig rnam par snang mdzad keu tshang keu tshang keu tshang sku phreng lnga pa keu tshang sku phreng gnyis pa keu tshang sku phreng gnyis pa blo bzang jam dbyangs smon lam Phonetics katung karing Kangshi English short pillar long pillar Kangxi 16541722 Sanskrit Date Type Term Term Person Buddha Monastery cave, cavern, or overhang Term Person b. 1791 Person

Knrik Nampar Nangdz Sarvavid Vairocana Keutsang keutsang

Keutsang Kutreng Ngapa the fifth Keutsang incarnation Keutsang Kutreng Nyipa the second Keutsang incarnation Keutsang Kutreng Nyipa the second Lozang Jamyang Keutsang Mnlam incarnation Lozang Jamyang Mnlam

b. 1791

Person

keu tshang sku phreng dang po byams pa smon lam

Keutsang Kutreng Dangpo Jampa Mnlam

the first Keutsang incarnation Jampa Mnlam

d. 1790

Person

keu tshang jam dbyangs Keutsang Jamyang Losel blo gsal keu tshang nub keu tshang nub ri khrod keu tshang sprul sku keu tshang bla brang keu tshang bla ma keu tshang ri khrod Keutsang Nup Keutsang Nup Ritr Keutsang Trlku Keutsang Labrang Keutsang Lama Keutsang Ritr Keutsang Hermitage Keutsang East Keutsang East Hermitage Keutsang West Keutsang West Hermitage Keutsang incarnation Keutsang Lamas estate

Person Monastery Monastery Person Monastery Person Monastery

keu tshang shar keu tshang shar ri khrod kong po jo rdzong

Keutsang Shar Keutsang Shar Ritr Kongpo Jodzong

Monastery Monastery Place Publisher 17191794 Person Term Term Tibetan Text Collection Building Organization Organization

krung goi bod rig pa dpe Trungg Brikpa skrun khang Petrnkhang klong rdol bla ma ngag dbang blo bzang dkar chag dkar chag bka gyur bka gyur lha khang bka brgyud bka gdams pa bka gdams lha khang bka babs bu chen brgyad bka babs ming can brgyad Longdl Lama Ngawang Lozang karchak karchak Kangyur Kangyur lhakhang Kargy Kadampa Kadam Lhakhang kabap buchen gy Kabap Mingchen Gy Kadam Chapel eight great close disciples the eight great ones who were named to receive the oral instructions inventory catalogue Scriptures Scripture Temple

Room Term

bkra shis chos gling bkra shis chos gling ri khrod bkra shis gser nya bkra shis lhun po sku mkhar sku mkhar ma ru sku bzhi khang sku rim grwa tshang bskang gso bskal bzang rgya mtsho Kha Extended Wylie khang tshan khams khal

Trashi Chling Trashi Chling Ritr trashi sernya Trashi Lhnpo kukhar Kukhar Maru Kuzhi Khang kurim dratsang kangso Kelzang Gyatso castle Maru Castle Chapel of the Four Statues ritual college propitiation ritual 17081757 English regional house a unit of weight/volume equal to about 2530 lbs. the third Trijang incarnation Lozang Yesh 19011981 19011981 in the midst of on the side of Sanskrit Date Trashi Chling Hermitage two auspicious golden fish

Monastery Monastery Term Monastery Term Building Room Term Ritual Person

Phonetics khangtsen Kham khel

Type Term Place Term

khri byang sku phreng gsum pa blo bzang ye shes khri byang rin po che khrod khrod

Trijang Kutreng Sumpa Lozang Yesh Trijang Rinpoch tr tr

Person

Person Term Term Person Room Monastery

mkhan ngag dbang bstan Khen Ngawang Tendzin dzin mkha spyod dbyings mkhar rdo mkhar rdo sku phreng Khach Ying Khardo Khardo Kutreng Ngapa the fifth Khardo

19th-20th Person

lnga pa jam dbyangs chos kyi dbang phyug mkhar rdo sku phreng drug pa jam dpal thub bstan nyan grags rgya mtsho mkhar rdo sku phreng bdun pa jam dpal bstan dzin nyan grags rgya mtsho mkhar rdo sku phreng bzhi pa padma dga bai rdo rje mkhar rdo sku phreng gsum pa chos kyi rdo rje mkhar rdo sku phreng gsum pa rigs dzin chos kyi rdo rje mkhar rdo mthun mchod mkhar rdo ba mkhar rdo bla brang mkhar rdo tshoms chen mkhar rdo ri khrod mkhar rdo rin po che mkhar rdo srong btsan mkhar rdo sgrub sde gsum mkhar rdo ba mkhar rdo bla ma mkhar rdo bzod pa rgya mtsho

Jamyang Chkyi Wangchuk

incarnation Jamyang Chkyi Wangchuk Khardo Kutreng Drukpa the sixth Khardo Jampel Tupten Nyendrak incarnation Gyatso Jampel Tupten Nyendrak Gyatso Khardo Kutreng Dnpa Jampel Tendzin Nyendrak Gyatso the seventh Khardo incarnation Jampel Tendzin Nyendrak Gyatso the fourth Khardo incarnation Pema Gaw Dorj the third Khardo incarnation Chkyi Dorj the third Khardo incarnation Rikdzin Chkyi Dorj

centuries 1909/12? Person -1956?

Person

Khardo Kutreng Zhipa Pema Gaw Dorj Khardo Kutreng Sumpa Chkyi Dorj Khardo Kutreng Sumpa Rikdzin Chkyi Dorj

19th century b. 18th century

Person

Person

Person

Khardo Tnch Khardowa Khardo Labrang Khardo Tsomchen Khardo Ritr Khardo Rinpoch Khardo Songtsen Khardo Drupd Sum Khardowa Khardo Lama Khardo Zpa Gyatso Khardo (Hermitages) Lord of Death Machine 13851438 15611637 15611637 Birth Peak Birth Soul Mountain Birth Deity Peak English dance Garu Nunnery dance Dance Gompa: Place of Meditative Equipoise A History of Gargn Samten Ling: Clearing Away Darkness, Meaningful to Behold A History of Garu [Nunnery] 8th century Siddha Chapel Ravine Spring J College Sanskrit Date 16721749 the three practice centers of kardo Khardo Lamas estate Khardo Assembly Hall Khardo Hermitage

Festival Person Organization Room Monastery Person Buddha Monastery Person Person Person Term

mkhar rdo gshin rje khrul Khardo Shinj Trlkhor khor

mkhas grub rje khon ston

Kedrupj Khntn

Person Person Person Place Place Place Type Monastery Term Monastery Term Monastery

khon ston dpal byor lhun Khntn Peljor Lhndrup grub khrungs dbu rtse khrungs bai bla ri khrungs bai lha ri Ga Extended Wylie ga ru ga ru ga ru dgon pa gar gar dgon bsam gtan gling Phonetics Garu Garu Garu Gnpa gar Gargn Samten Ling Trung Uts Trungw Lari Trungw Lhari

gar dgon bsam gtan gling Gargn Samten Linggi gi lo rgyus mun sel Logy Mnsel Tongwa mthong ba don ldan Dnden

Tibetan Text Title

gar lo gu ru rin po che grub thob lha khang grog mo chu mig grong smad grwa tshang byes

Garlo Guru Rinpoch Druptop Lhakhang Drokmo Chumik Drongm Dratsang J

Tibetan Text Title Person Room Place Place Monastery

grwa tshang smad grwa bzhi grwa bzhi lha khang glang dar ma dga chos dbyings dga ldan dga ldan khri pa dga ldan lnga mchod

Dratsang M Drapchi Drapchi Lhakhang Langdarma Gach Ying Ganden Ganden tripa Ganden Ngamch

M College Drapchi Temple d. 842

Monastery Building Building Person Room Monastery

throne-holder of Ganden the Ganden Feast of the 25th Yellow Lapis: A History of the Ganden [School] Ganden Palace Winter Solstice Ritual

Term Festival Tibetan Text Title Organization Room Ritual Organization Organization Term

dga ldan chos nyung bai Ganden Chnyung "$rya ser po Baidurya Serpo dga ldan pho brang dga spyod dbyings dgun nyi ldog gi cho ga dge lugs dge lugs pa dge bshes Ganden Podrang Gach Ying Gn Nyidokgi Choga Geluk Gelukpa gesh

dge bshes pha bong khar Gesh Pabongkhar grags pa drakpa dge bshes brag dkar ba Gesh Drakkarwa

Gesh Pabongkha 10321111 b. 20th century d. 1990s fully-ordained monk monastery new monastery first Gnpasar incarnation Ngawang Dndrup Gnpasar Hermitage White Mah%k%la protector deity chapel Mah%k%la Throwing of the Torma to Mah%k%la Six-Armed Mah%k%la money offering to monks 18th century

Person Person Person Person Term Term Monastery Term Person

dge bshes ye shes dbang Gesh Yesh Wangchuk phyug dge bshes seng ge dge slong dgon pa dgon pa gsar dgon pa gsar Gesh Sengg gelong gnpa Gnpasar gnpa sar

dgon pa gsar sku phreng Gnpasar Kutreng dang po ngag dbang don Dangpo Ngawang grub Dndrup dgon pa gsar ri khrod mgon dkar mgon khang mgon po mgon po gtor rgyag Gnpasar Ritr Gnkar gnkhang Gnpo Gnpo Torgyak

Monastery Buddha Term Buddha Ritual

mgon po phyag drug mgon po a gho gyed rgya mtsho mtha yas rgya res rgya res tshoms chen rgyal chen karma phrin las rgyal ba lnga pa chen po rgyal bai rigs lnga bla ri

Gnpo Chakdruk Gnpo Agho gep Gyatso Tay Gyar Gyar Tsomchen Gyelchen Karma Trinl Gyelwa Ngapa Chenpo Gyelw Riknga Lari

Buddha Buddha Term Person Buddha Building Buddha

the Great Fifth Dalai Lama Soul Mountain of the Buddhas of the Five Families Queen Tsering Trashi

16171682

Person Place

rgyal mo tshe ring bkra shis rgyal tshab rje rgyal rabs gsal bai me long rgyal rong khang tshan rgyugs rgyud stod rgyud smad

Gyelmo Tsering Trashi Gyeltsapj Gyelrap Selw Melong Gyelrong Khangtsen gyuk Gyt Gym

18th century 13641432

Person Person Tibetan Text Title Monastery Subunit Term Monastery Monastery

The Clear Mirror: A Royal History Gyelrong Regional House examination Upper Tantric [College] Lower Tantric [College]

rgyud smad grwa tshang rgyun ja sgo gnyer sgo srung sgom chen

Gym Dratsang gynja gonyer gosung gomchen

The Lower Tantric College daily tea or prayer temple attendant door-keeper meditator 15321592 15321592 Sound-Catcher (or Ear) Spring meditation hut 16411713 16411713 Drupkhang incarnation Drupkhang Lamas estate Drupkhang Hermitage practice center ritual method of realization practice-center meditation cave T%r% Ritual T%r% T%r% Chapel hundred eight English Sanskrit Date 16821762 16171682 20th century money printing press mantra tantric priest Tantric College English recluse constitution English Pond Park female-water-hare (year) good waters Chupzang Nunnery 17891856 ritual b. 18th century? protector deity Sanskrit Date Sanskrit Date

Monastery Term Term Term Term Person Person

sgom sde nam kha rgyal Gomd Namkha mtshan Gyeltsen sgom sde pa Gomdepa

sgra dzin chu mig sgrub khang sgrub khang dge legs rgya mtsho sgrub khang pa sgrub khang sprul sku sgrub khang bla brang sgrub khang bla ma sgrub khang ri khrod sgrub grwa sgrub thabs sgrub sde sgrub phug sgrol chog sgrol ma sgrol ma lha khang brgya brgyad Nga Extended Wylie ngag dbang byams pa ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho ngag dbang sman rgyal ngul gyi par khang sngags sngags pa sngags pa grwa tshang Ca Extended Wylie gcig bu pa bca yig Cha Extended Wylie chab rdzing gling kha chu mo yos chu bzang chu bzang chu bzang dgon chu bzang ye shes rgya mtsho cho ga phyag len chos kyi rdo rje chos kyi seng ge chos skyong chos khang rtse ba dgon pa chos khor dus chen

Dradzin Chumik drupkhang Drupkhang Gelek Gyatso Drupkhangpa Drupkhang Trlku Drupkhang Labrang Drupkhang lama Drupkhang Ritr drupdra druptap drupd druppuk Drlchok Drlma Drlma Lhakhang gya gy Phonetics Ngawang Jampa Ngawang Lozang Gyatso Ngawang Mengyal nglgyi parkhang ngak ngakpa Ngakpa Dratsang Phonetics chikbupa chayik Phonetics Chapdzing Lingkha chumo y chupzang Chupzang Chupzang Gn Chupzang Yesh Gyatso choga chaklen Chkyi Dorj Chkyi Sengg chkyong

Place Term Person Person Person Organization Person Monastery Term Term Term Term Ritual Buddha Building Term Term Type Person Person Person Term Term Term Monastery Type Term Term Type Place Date Term Monastery Monastery Person Term Person Person Term Monastery Festival

Chkhang Tsewa Gnpa Chkhang Tsewa Monastery Chnkhor Dchen Festival of the

chos gos chos rgyal chos rgyal khri srong ldeu btsan chos rgyal srong btsan sgam po chos thog chos sdings chos sdings ri khrod chos me khang chos mtshams chos gzhis chos rwa

chg Chgyel Chgyel Trisong Detsen

Turning of the Wheel of the Doctrine yellow ceremonial robe Dharmar%ja the Buddhist king (of Tibet) Trisong Detsen the Buddhist king (of Tibet) Songtsen Gampo ritual cycle Chding Hermitage butter-lamp offering house doctrine retreat estate lands Dharma enclosure or Dharma courtyard worship Little White St'pa Chapel of Deathlessness English seven teas and two soups 17th century the Lord Sanskrit Date 742-796

Term Buddha Person

Chgyel Songtsen Gampo chtok Chding Chding Ritr chm khang chtsam chzhi chra

617-650

Person

Term Monastery Monastery Term Term Term Term

mchod mjal mchod rten dkar chung chi med lha khang Ja Extended Wylie ja bdun dang thug pa gnyis jo khang jo ston bsod nams rgyal mtshan jo bo jo bo mi bskyod rdo rje jo mo si si jam dpal bla ri

chnjel Chten Karchung Chim Lhakhang

Term Monument Building

Phonetics ja dn dang tukpa nyi Jokhang Jotn Snam Gyeltsen jowo Jowo Miky Dorj Jomo Sisi Jampel Lari

Type Term Monastery Person Term Buddha Place

Maju!r$ Peak the Soul-Mountain of Maju!r$ Mirror of Vajrabhairava Thirteen-Deity Vajrabhairava

Place Place Person Place Buddha Monastery b. 1748 Person Organization Organization Monastery b. 1748 b. 1748 Person Person Person

jam dpal dbyangs kyi bla Jampelyangkyi Lari ri jam dbyangs grags pa jigs byed kyi me long jigs byed lha bcu gsum jog po Jamyang Drakpa Jikjekyi Melong Jikj Lha Chuksum Jokpo

jog po ngag dbang bstan Jokpo Ngawang Tendzin dzin jog po bla brang jog po bla brang jog po ri khrod jog po rin po che jog ri ngag dbang bstan dzin rje btsun nam mkha spyod sgrol rdor dbang mo rje btsun bla ma ngag dbang rnam grol rje gzigs pa lnga ldan Jokpo Labrang Jokpo Labrang Jokpo Ritr Jokpo Rinpoch Jokri Ngawang Tendzin Jetsn Namkhach Drldor Wangmo Jetsn Lama Ngawang Namdrl J Zikpa Ngaden Five Visions of the Lord (Tsongkhapa) Jetsn (or Khach) Drldor Wangmo Jokpo Lamas estate Jokpo Lamas residence Jokpo Hermitage

Person Painting Series 13831445 English Sanskrit Date Person

rje shes rab seng ge Nya Extended Wylie nyang bran nyang bran rgyal chen nyi od pho brang

J Sherap Sengg

Phonetics Nyangdren Nyangdren Gyelchen Nyiw Podrang

Type Place Buddha

Palace of the Rays of the Sun

Room

nye bai gnas bzhi gnyer pa gnyer tshang rnying rnying ma rnying ma sgrub grwa rnying ma pa rnying ma bla ma snying khrag bsnyen pa Ta Extended Wylie t% r%i bla ri trak shad gter gter bdag srong btsan gter nas ston pa rta mgrin rta mgrin gsang sgrub

nyew n zhi nyerpa nyertsang nying Nyingma Nyingma drupdra Nyingmapa Nyingma lama nyingdrak nyenpa

Four Principal Sites manager managers room old Nyingma practice center

Place Term Term Term Organization Term Organization Term

hearts-blood approximation retreat English the Soul-Mountain of T%r% treasure Treasure Lord Songtsen discovered as treasure Hayagr$va Hayagr$va in his Secret Accomplishment form Sanskrit Date

Term Term

Phonetics Tar Lari Traksh ter Terdak Songtsen tern tnpa Tamdrin Tamdrin Sangdrup

Type Place Buddha Term Buddha Term Buddha Buddha

rta ma do nyag rta tshag ye shes bstan pai mgon po rtag brtan rtags brtan rtags brten rtags brten ri khrod rtags bstan rtags bstan rtags bstan sgrub phug rtags bstan ri khrod rten khang mchod rten bstan gyur

Tama Donyak Tatsak Yesh Tenp Gnpo takten takten Takten Takten Ritr takten Takten Takten Druppuk Takten Ritr tenkhang chten tengyur Collection of Translated &%stras Tengyur chapel b. 1957 st$pa Takten Hermitage Takten Hermitage revealed sign permanent and stable stable sign 17601810

Place Person Term Term Monastery Monastery Term Monastery Monastery Monastery Term Monument Tibetan Text Title Building Person Class Of Deities English Sanskrit Date 13611485 17371802 Mah%y%na Precepts Thousand-'Armed Thousand-' Eyed Avalokite(vara 20th century 12th century 7th century English Sanskrit Date Type Term Person Person Term Buddhist Deity Person Person Person

bstan gyur lha khang bstan nor mkhar rdo bstan ma Tha Extended Wylie thang ka thang stong rgyal po thuu bkwan theg chen gso sbyong

Tengyur lhakhang Tennor Khardo Tenma

Phonetics tangka Tangtong Gyelpo Tuken Tekchen Sojong

phyag stong spyan stong chaktong chentong thogs med rin po che thod smyon bsam grub thon mi Da Extended Wylie d% ma d% ma la nyag Phonetics dama Damala Nyak Tokm Rinpoch Tnyn Samdrup Tnmi

Type Term Place

da lai bla ma da lai bla ma sku phreng dgu pa da lai bla ma sku phreng brgyad pa jam dpal rgya mtsho da lai bla ma sku phreng lnga pa da lai bla ma sku phreng lnga pa ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho da lai bla ma sku phreng bcu bzhi pa da lai bla ma sku phreng bcu gsum pa da lai bla ma sku phreng bcu gsum pa thub bstan rgya mtsho da lai bla ma sku phreng drug pa da lai bla ma sku phreng bdun pa da lai bla ma sku phreng bdun pa bskal bzang rgya mtsho da lai bla ma sku phreng gsum pa "%kin) dam chen chos rgyal dung dkar blo bzang phrin las dung dkar tshig mdzod dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo dung dkar rin po che dur khrod dus khor de bi ko *i

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama Kutreng Gupa Dalai Lama Kutreng Gyepa Jampel Gyatso Dalai Lama Kutreng Ngapa

the Ninth Dalai Lama the Eighth Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatso the Fifth Dalai Lama

18061815 17581804 16171682 16171682 b. 1935 18761933 18761933 16831706 17081757 17081757 15431588

Person Person Person

Person

Dalai Lama Kutreng the Fifth Dalai Ngapa Ngawang Lozang Lama Ngawang Gyatso Lozang Gyatso Dalai Lama Kutreng Chuzhipa Dalai Lama Kutreng Chuksumpa Dalai Lama Kutreng Chuksumpa Tupten Gyatso Dalai Lama Kutreng Drukpa Dalai Lama Kutreng Dnpa Dalai Lama Kutreng Dnpa Kelzang Gyatso Dalai Lama Kutreng Sumpa dakini Damchen Chgyel Dungkar Lozang Trinl Dungkar Tsikdz Dungkar Tsikdz Chenmo Dungkar Rinpoch durtr Dkhor Debi Koti cemetery K%lacakra Debiko#i the eighth Demo incarnation Ngawang Lozang Tupten Jikm Gyatso Dod Dakpo College wrathful magical powers The Essence of Eloquence that Distinguishes between the Provisional and Definitive Meaning Sixth-Month Fourth-Day Dungkar Dictionary The Great Dungkar Dictionary the Fourteenth Dalai Lama the Thirteenth Dalai Lama the Thirteenth Dalai Lama Tupten Gyatso the Sixth Dalai Lama the Seventh Dalai Lama the Seventh Dalai Lama Kelzang Gyatso the Third Dalai Lama (%kin$ Dharmar%ja

Person

Person Person Person

Person Person Person

Person Term Buddha

19271997

Person Tibetan Text Title Tibetan Text Title

19271997

Person Term Buddha Place

de mo sku phreng brgyad Demo Kutreng Gyepa pa ngag dbang blo bzang Ngawang Lozang Tupten thub bstan jigs med rgya Jikm Gyatso mtsho dog bde dog sde dog sde lho smon dwags po grwa tshang drag phyogs kyi las drang nges legs bshad snying po Dod Dokd Dod Lhomn Dakpo Dratsang drakchokkyi l Drangng Leksh Nyingpo

17781819

Person

Place Place Place Monastery Term Tibetan Text Title

drug pa tshe bzhi drung pa brtson grus rgyal mtshan drung pa rin po che gdan sa gdan sa gsum

Drukpa Tsezhi Drungpa Tsndr Gyeltsen Drungpa Rinpoch densa Densa Sum

Festival fl. 17th century fl. 17th century Person Person Term

seats of learning the three great Geluk seats of learning

gdugs dkar gdugs pai bla ri gdugs yur dgon gdung rten bdag bskyed

Dukar Dukp Lari Dukyur Gn dungten dakky funerary st'pa self-generation the Parasol Soul Mountain

Buddha Place Monastery Term Term

bdag jug bde chen pho brang bde mchog bde mchog gi pho brang bde mchog bla mchod

danjuk Dechen Podrang Demchok Demchokgi Podrang Demchok Lach

self-initiation Palace of Great Bliss Cakrasa"vara Palace of Cakrasa"vara Offering to the Master Based on the Deity Cakrasa"vara Soul Mountain of Demchok S$tra of Good Fortune assembly hall simulacrum (type of statue) stone image Cavern of Dochung Chongzhi Vajrabhairava Vajrayogin$

Term Room Buddha Place Ritual

bde mchog bla ri mdo skal bzang du khang dra sku rdo sku rdo cung cong zhii phug pa rdo rje jigs byed rdo rje rnal byor ma rdo rje btsun mo rdo rje g.yu sgron ma rdo rje shugs ldan rdo rje sems dpa rdo gter rdo ring sdig pa chen po sde srid

Demchok Lari Do Kelzang dukhang draku doku Dochung Chongzhi Pukpa Dorj Jikj Dorj Neljorma Dorj Tsnmo Dorj Yudrnma Dorj Shukden Dorj Sempa Dod Doring dikpa chenpo desi

Place Tibetan Text Title Term Term Term Place

Buddha Buddha Buddha Buddha Buddha

Vajrasattva

Buddha Place Clan

great sin regent 16531705 English Sanskrit Date

Term Term Person

sde srid sangs rgyas rgya Desi Sanggy Gyatso mtsho Na Extended Wylie na chung rtse mo ri na ro mkha spyod ma na ro mkha spyod mai bdag jug nag chu nag chu zhabs brtan dgon pa nag ril chen po zhig nang rten gtso bo nam mkha rgyal mtshan nor bu gling kha gnas kyi bla ma gnas sgo gdong gnas sgo gdong ri khrod gnas bcu lha khang gnas chung gnas brtan bcu drug gnas brtan bcu drug Phonetics Nachung Tsemo Ri Naro Kachma Naro Khachm Danjuk Self-initiation Ritual of Naro Khachma

Type Place Buddha Ritual

Nakchu Nakchu Zhapten Gnpa nakril chenpo zhik nangten tsowo Namkha Gyeltsen Norbu Lingkha nekyi lama Negodong Negodong Hermitage Nechu Lhakhang Nechung Neten Chudruk Neten Chudruk Sixteen Arhats Sixteen Arhats Offering of Homage to the (Sixteen) Arhats the Soul-Mountain of the Arhats site deity Nenang Nunnery Nenang Hermitage a holy site mountain-abode Liberation in Our Temple of the Sixteen Arhats head lama a large dark shape main inner image(s) 15321592

Place Monastery Term Term Person Place Term Monastery Monastery Building Buddha Ritual Buddha Ritual

gnas brtan phyag mchod Neten Chakch

gnas brtan bla ri gnas bdag gnas nang gnas nang dgon pa gnas nang ri khrod gnas mo gnas rtsa chen po gnas ri rnam grol lag bcangs

Neten Lari nedak Nenang Nenang Gnpa Nenang Ritr Nemo n tsa chenpo neri Namdrl Lakchang

Place Term Monastery Monastery Monastery Place Term Term Tibetan Text

Hands rnam rgyal rnam sras rnam sras bang mdzod rnal byor mai bdag jug Namgyel Nams Nams Bangdz Neljorm Danjuk Vai!ravana Treasure-House of Vai!rava&a Self-Initiation Ritual of Vajrayogin$ English Padmasambhava Sanskrit Date 8th century

Title Monastery Buddha Room Ritual

Pa Extended Wylie padma byung gnas pa! chen sku phreng gsum pa pa! chen bde legs nyi ma pa! chen bla ma pa! chen blo bzang ye shes po ta la po to ba rin chen gsal dpa grong shag pa dpal ldan lha mo dpal byor rab rgyas dpal lha mo dpe cha ba dpe mtshams dpyid kyi rgyal moi klu dbyangs spang lung spang lung ri khrod spangs lung sku phreng dang po blo bzang thugs rje spo bo ra spyi khang spyi mi sprul sku Pha Extended Wylie pha dam pa pha dam pa sangs rgyas pha bong pha bong kha pha bong kha Phonetics Pa Dampa Pa Dampa Sanggy Pabong Pabongkha Pabongkha The Boulder House b. 18th century 18781941 18781941 Pabongkha incarnation Pabongkha Lamas estate Pabongkha Hermitage 18781941 A Catalogue of Pabongkha 20th century 20th century The Boulder English Sanskrit Date b. 11th century b. 11th century Type Person Person Building Monastery Building Person Person Person Person Organization Monastery Person Tibetan Text Title Organization Person Person Monastery Phonetics Pema Jungn Type Person Person 16th century 16631737 1027/311105 Person Person Person Building Person Clan Buddha 16041669 textualist textual retreat The N%ga Song of the Queen of Springtime Panglung Hermitage the first Panglung incarnation Lozang Tukj representative incarnation 1770-ca. 1835 Person Buddha Term Term Tibetan Text Title Monastery Monastery Person

Penchen Kutreng Sumpa the Third Penchen Lama Penchen Delek Nyima Penchen Lama Penchen Lozang Yesh Potala Potowa Rinchen Sel Padrong Shakpa Pelden Lhamo Peljor Rapgy Pel Lhamo pechawa petsam Chikyi Gyelmo Luyang

Panglung Panglung Ritr Panglung Kutreng Dangpo Lozang Tukj Bombora Chikhang chimi trlku

Building Term Term

pha bong kha rgya mtsho Pabongkha Gyatso Tay mtha yas pha bong kha bde chen snying po pha bong kha pa pha bong kha sprul sku pha bong kha bla brang pha bong kha ri khrod pha bong kha rin po che pha bong khai dkar chag phag mo gru pa phun tshogs phrin las phun tshogs rab rgyas phur lcog Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo Pabongkhapa Pabongkha Trlku Pabongkha Labrang Pabongkha Ritr Pabongkha Rinpoch Pabongkh Karchak Pakmo Drupa Pntsok Trinl Pntsok Rapgy Purchok

phur lcog sku phreng gnyis pa blo bzang byams pa phur lcog sku phreng dang po ngag dbang byams pa phur lcog sku phreng gsum pa blo bzang tshul khrims byams pa rgya mtsho phur lcog sku phreng gsum pa yongs dzin byams pa rgya mtsho phur lcog ngag dbang byams pa phur lcog bla brang phur lcog bla ma

Purchok Kutreng Nyipa Lozang Jampa

the second Purchok incarnation Lozang Jampa

17631823

Person

Purchok Kutreng Dangpo the first Purchok Ngawang Jampa incarnation Ngawang Jampa Purchok Kutreng Sumpa the third Purchok Lozang Tsltrim Jampa incarnation Gyatso Lozang Tsltrim Jampa Gyatso Purchok Kutreng Sumpa the third Purchok Yongdzin Jampa Gyatso incarnation Yongdzin Jampa Gyatso Purchok Ngawang Jampa Purchok Labrang Purchok lama Purchok Lamas estate

16821762 18251901

Person

Person

Person

16821762

Person Organization Person

phur lcog blo bzang tshul Purchok Lozang Tsltrim khrims byams pa rgya Jampa Gyatso mtsho phur lcog ri phur lcog ri khrod Purchok Ri Purchok Ritr Purchok Mountain Purchok Hermitage A Brief Explanation of the History of Purchok Riksum Jangchup Ling A Brief History of Purchok Riksum Jangchup Ling: A Hook to Draw in the Three Types of Faith

18251901

Person

Place Monastery Tibetan Text Title

phur lcog rigs gsum Purchok Riksum byang chub gling gi Jangchup Linggi Jungwa byung ba mdo tsam brjod Dotsam Jpa pa phur lcog rigs gsum byang chub gling gi byung ba mdo tsam brjod pa dad gsum dren pai lcags kyu phur lcog rin po che phur bu lcog phur bu lcog ri khrod phur byung pho brang ngos pho lha nas phyag mdzod phyi dar phrin las rgya mtsho phags pa phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pai mdo phan po pho ba Ba Extended Wylie bar skor sangs rgyas bai "$rya ser po bod ljongs nang bstan bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang byang byang chub chos phel byang chos khor gling byams khang byams chen chos rje Phonetics Barkor sanggy Baidurya Serpo Bjong Nangten Bjong Mimang Petrnkhang Jang Jangchup Chpel Jang Chkhor Ling Jamkhang Jamchen Chj Purchok Riksum Jangchup Linggi Jungwa Dotsam Jpa Desum Drenp Chakkyu

Tibetan Text Title

Purchok Rinpoch Purbuchok Purbuchok Ritr Purjung podrang ng Polhan chandz chidar Trinl Gyatso Pakpa Pakpa Sherapkyi Parltu Eight Thousand- +ry%,*as%hasrik%praj%p%ramit% Chinpa Gyetongp Do Line Perfection of S$tra Wisdom S$tra Penpo powa transition of consciousness English Sanskrit Buddha Yellow Lapis Tibetan Buddhism Date administrative head later propagation period d. 1667 12351280 A Brief History of Purchok the actual palace 16891747

Person Monastery Monastery Tibetan Text Title Term Person Term Term Person Person Tibetan Text Title Place Term

Type Place Buddhist Deity Tibetan Text Title Tibetan Journal Title Publisher

Northern Tibet 17561838 Maitreya Chapel 1354-

Place Person Monastery Room Person

1435 byams pa byams pa gling byams pa bstan dzin phrin las rgya mtsho byams pa thub bstan rin po che byin can byin rlabs byes byes mkhan po rgyal mtshan don grub byes sgom sde khang tshan byes du khang byes har gdong khang tshan brag mchod sa brag ri brag ri brag ri sku phreng gnyis pa rgya mtsho chos byor brag ri rgya mtsho mtha yas brag ri sprul sku Jampa Jampa Ling Jampa Tendzin Trinl Gyatso Jampa Tupten Rinpoch jinchen jinlap J J Khenpo Gyeltsen Dndrup J Gomd Khangtsen J Dukhang J Hamdong Khangtsen J Gomd Regional House J College Assembly Hall Hamdong Regional House of the J College Offering Place Cave crag the second Drakri incarnation Gyatso Chnjor b. 19th century 17th century blessed blessing 18781941 20th century Maitreya Buddha Monastery Person Person Term Term Monastery Person Monastery Subunit Building Monastery Subunit Place Monastery Term Person

Drak Chsa Drakri drakri Drakri Kutreng Nyipa Gyatso Chnjor Drakri Gyatso Tay Drakri Trlku

Person Drakri incarnation the Drakri incarnation Lozang Tekchok Wangpo Drakri Lamas estate Drakri Hermitage lamas estate Offering-Ritual to the Lama 11231193 soul mountain Lozang the Little Meditator 19011981 Cycle for Gathering Power Mahe!vara Mount Parasol chant leader solitary site solitary place recluse Ensapa 1504/51565/6 1504/51565/6 rainy-season retreat nomad Bari Lamas estate Bari Hermitage patron Person Person

brag ri sprul sku blo Drakri Trlku Lozang bzang theg mchog dbang Tekchok Wangpo po brag ri bla brang brag ri bla ma brag ri ri khrod brag ri rin po che bla brang bla ma bla ma mchod pa tshog bla ma zhang bla ri blo bzang sgom chung blo bzang ye shes bstan dzin rgya mtsho dbang dus khor lo dbang phyug chen po dbu gdugs ri dbu mdzad dben gnas dben sa dben sa pa dben sa pa dben sa pa blo bzang don grub dbyar gnas bras spungs brog pa sba ri sba ri bla brang sba ri bla ma sba ri ri khrod sba ri rin po che sbyin bdag Drakri Labrang Drakri lama Drakri Ritr Drakri Rinpoch labrang lama Lama Chpa Tsok Lama Zhang lari Lozang Gomchung Lozang Yesh Tendzin Gyatso Wangd Khorlo Wangchuk Chenpo Udukri umdz en ensa ensapa Ensapa Ensapa Lozang Dndrup yarn Drepung drokpa Bari Bari Labrang Bari lama Bari Ritr Bari Rinpoch jindak

Organization Person Monastery Person Term Term Ritual Person Term Person Person Tibetan Text Title Buddha Place Term Term Term Term Person Person Term Monastery Term Organization Person Monastery Person Term

Ma Extended Wylie ma cig lab sgron ma !i bka bum

Phonetics Machik Lapdrn Mani Kabum

English

Sanskrit

Date 12th century

Type Person Tibetan Text Title Term Term Term Term

The Compendium on the Ma!i [Mantra] mani wheel mani [wheel] temple ma&(ala sixteen rules of purity for the populace Maitreya as Lord of Men Acala Cave of Mila serf rained flowers female-fire-pig (year)

ma !i khor lo ma !i lha khang ma!"ala mi chos gtsang ma bcu drug mi dbang byams pa mi g.yo ba mi lai brag mi ser me tog char babs me mo phag mes dbon mo barha nyag dmar gdung rmog tho go smad smad du khang smad bla zur blo bzang don grub sman bla sman bla sman bla bde gshegs brgyad sman bla bde gshegs brgyad

mani khorlo mani lhakhang mendel mich tsangma chudruk

Miwang Jampa Miyowa Mil Drak miser metog charbap memopak Mewn Mo Barha Nyak mardung Moktogo M M Dukhang M Lazur Lozang Dndrup Menla Menla Menla Deshek Gy

Buddha Buddha Cave Term Term Date Person Place

mummified corpse

Term Place Monastery

M College Assembly Hall

Building Person

Medicine Buddha Medicine Buddha Ritual of the Eight Medicine Buddhas Eight Medicine Buddhas Medicine Buddha [Ritual]: Yizhin Wanggyel fasting ritual English clay tablet repository pressed-clay tablets Eighty Deeds of Tsongkhapa 13571419 tsen chapel Great Commentary on the Praj%m$la Three Roots Chapel Sanskrit Date

Buddha Ritual Ritual

Menla Deshek Gy

Buddha Ritual

sman bla yid bzhin dbang Menla Yizhin Wanggyel rgyal smyung gnas Tsa Extended Wylie tsa khang tsa tsa tsong kha brgyad bcu tsong kha pa gtsang btsan khang rtsa shes *)k chen Phonetics tsakhang tsatsa Tsongkha Gyepchu Tsongkhapa Tsang tsenkhang Tsash Tikchen nyungn

Ritual Type Term Term Series Of Paintings Person Place Term Tibetan Text Title Room Term

rtsa gsum lha khang rtsam pa Tsha Extended Wylie tsha khang tshan tshal pa bka brgyud tshe mchog gling tshe dpag med lha dgu

Tsasum Lhakhang tsampa Phonetics Tsa Khangtsen Tselpa Kagy Tsechokling Tsepakm Lhagu

English Tsa Regional House

Sanskrit

Date

Type Monastery Subunit Organization Monastery

Nine Deities [related to] Amit%yus Cave of the Tenth Day Temple of the

Buddha

tshes bcu phug tshes bcu lha khang

Tsechupuk Tsechu Lhakhang

Room Room

tshogs chen tshogs chen sprul sku

Tsokchen Tsokchen Trlku

Tenth Day Great Assembly Hall incarnation of the Great Assembly Hall public admonition Cycle on Ga!e(a merchant Eastern Assembly Hall assistant tutor retreatant lake Kokonor wheel of weapons English Extensive Explanation of the World English Sanskrit Date Sanskrit Date

Building Term

tshogs gtam tshogs bdag lag na khor lo tshong pa tshoms chen shar mtshan zhabs mtshams pa mtsho mtsho sngon po mtshon chai khor lo Dza Extended Wylie mdzo dzam gling rgyas bshad

tsoktam Tsokdak Lakna Khorlo tsongpa Tsomchen Shar tsenzhap tsampa tso Tso Ngnpo tsnch khorlo

Term Tibetan Text Title Term Building Term Term Term Place Term

Phonetics dzo Dzamling Gyesh

Type Term Tibetan Text Title

Wa Extended Wylie Phonetics Type Person w%gin"amatibhadrapa*u Vagindamatibhadrapatu bandash%sadharasagara Bandashasadharasagara Zha Extended Wylie zhang gro bai mgon po g.yu brag pa zhabs rjes zhabs brtan zhi byed zhing pa gzhi bdag gzhung dgon gzhung sgo gzhung pa khang tshan Za Extended Wylie zangs dkar zangs mdog dpal ri Phonetics Zangkar Zangdok Pelri English Zangskar Glorious CopperColored Mountain Sanskrit Date Type Place Place Phonetics Zhang Drow Gnpo Yudrakpa zhapj zhapten Zhij zhingpa zhidak zhunggn zhunggo Zhungpa Khangtsen footprint ritual Pacification farmer site-spirit state monastery main door Zhungpa Regional House English Sanskrit Date 11231193 Type Person Term Term Organization Term Term Term Term Monastery Subunit

zangs ri zangs ri mkhar dmar gzim khang gzims khang gong ma gzungs bul bzod pa rgya mtsho A Extended Wylie od zer phung po che ol khar Ya Extended Wylie yang gam yi dam yig cha yul nyer bzhii ya rgyal/ de bi ko *i dang ming gzhan pha bong kha byang chub shing gi nags khrod du bkod pai dkar

Zangri Zangri Karmar zimkhang Zimkhang Gongma zungbl Zpa Gyatso residence Upper Residence to offer zung [inside of statues] 16721749 English Great Heap of Light lkhar English wealth-box tutelary deities (a monasterys) ritual texts An Inventory of [the Institution that,] from among the Four Sites, is Debiko*i, a.k.a. Sanskrit Date Sanskrit Date

Place Monastery Term Building Term Person

Phonetics zer Pungpoch lkhar Phonetics yanggam yidam yikcha Yl Nyerzhi Yagyel/ Debi Koti dang Mingzhen Pabongkha Jangchup Shinggi Naktrdu Kop Karchak Deden Pemo

Type Place Place Type Term Term Term Tibetan Text Title

chag dad ldan padmo rgyas byed gzi sbyin od stong bar bai nor bu

ye shes rgyal mtshan

Gyej Zijin tong Barw Pabongkha, Norbu Forest of Bodhi Trees: A Jewel Radiating a Thousand Rays, the Resplendent Ripener of the Lotus of the Faithful Yesh Gyeltsen

17131793 17131793

Person Person

yongs dzin ye shes rgyal Yongdzin Yesh mtshan Gyeltsen Ra Extended Wylie ra kha brag ra kha brag ri khrod ra kha brag a zhu bsod nams ra mo che ra sa rang byon rab byung rab gsal ri ri khrod ri khrod pa ri khor ri go sgo ma ri chen gsum rigs pai rgya mstho rigs dzin chos kyi rdo rje rigs gsum mgon po rigs gsum mgon po lha khang rin po che rus sbal pho rus sbal mo rwa sgreng rwa sgreng sku sgreng lnga pa rwa sgreng rin po che La Extended Wylie lam rim lam rim jam dpal zhal lung lam rim bde lam las rung li thang lo gsar Sha Extended Wylie shug pai nags bla ri Phonetics Shukp Nak Lari English The SoulMountain of Juniper Forests Perfection of Wisdom S$tras the Mill of the Shinj Praj%p%ramit% S$tra Sanskrit Phonetics lamrim English graded stages of the path Sanskrit Phonetics Rakhadrak Rakhadrak Ritr Rakhadrak Azhu Snam Ramoch Rasa rangjn rapjung rapsel ri ritr ritrpa rikhor Rigo Goma Richen Sum Rikp Gyatso Rikdzin Chkyi Dorj Riksum Gnpo Riksum Gnpo Lhakhang rinpoch rbelpo rbelmo Radreng Radreng Kutreng Ngapa the fifth Radreng incarnation Radreng Rinpoch male turtle female turtle Three Protectors Temple of the Three Protectors Three Great Mountains Ocean of Reasoning self-arisen image calendrical cycle sun room the mountain hermitage hermit mountain circumambulation Great Female Goat [Temple] Rakhadrak Hermitage English Sanskrit

Date

Type Monastery Monastery

b. 17th century

Person Building Place Term Term Term Term Term Term

Place Place Tibetan Text Title b. 1790? Person Buddha Building Term Place Place d. 1947 d. 1947 d. 1947 Date Person Person Person Type Term Tibetan Text Title Tibetan Text Title Term Place New Year Date Festival Type Place

Lamrim Jampel Zhellung The Revelations of Maju(r): A Lamrim Lamrim Delam lerung Litang Losar The Easy Path: A Lamrim enabling retreat

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pai mdo gshin rjei rang thag bshes gnyen tshul khrims Sa Extended Wylie sa skya

Sherapkyi Parltu Chinp Do Shinj Rangtak Shenyen Tsltrim

Tibetan Text Title Term 20th century Person

Phonetics Sakya

English

Sanskrit

Date

Type Organization

sa skya pa sa skya pa bsod nams rgyal mtshan sa brtag sa bdag sa dpyad sa pho bya sa sbyang sangs rgyas rgya mtsho sad mi mi bdun sin dhu ra se ra se ra byes grwa tshang se ra sngags pa grwa tshang se ra chos sdings se ra chos sdings ri khrod se ra theg chen khang gsar se ra theg chen gling se ra pa jam dbyangs grags pa se ra spyi so se ra phur pa se ra byes se ra dbu rtse se ra dbu rtse se ra dbu rtse ri khrod se ra smad se ra rtse se ra tshogs chen se rai ri khrod se rai ri khor

Sakyapa Sakyapa Snam Gyeltsen satak sadak sach sapoja sajang Sanggy Gyatso semi midn sindura Sera Sera Dratsang J Sera Ngakpa Dratsang Sera Chding Sera Chding Ritr Sera Tekchen Khangsar Sera Tekchen Ling Serapa Jamyang Drakpa Sera chiso Sera purpa Sera J Sera Uts Sera uts Sera Uts Ritr Sera M Sera ts Sera Tsokchen Ser ritr Ser Rikhor Sera peak Sera Uts Hermitage Sera M (College) Sera peak Sera Great Assembly Hall hermitage of Sera Sera Mountain Circumambulation Circuit Lion-Headed *%kin$ A History of the Serm Tsam Norling College: A Garland of Jewels A History of Serm protector deity life-essence 604-650 senior teacher accumulation and purification Guhyasam%ja new speaking-statue bearer of the golden letter monastic confession ritual (to) make burnt juniper offerings and raise flags English Sanskrit Date Sera as a whole Sera dagger Sera J (College) Sera Mah%)%na Monastery b. 17th century Sera Chding Hermitage Sera J College Sera Tantric College the first seven Tibetan monks sindhura site investigation geo-spirits site investigations male-earth-bird (year) purity of the site 16531705

Organization Person Term Term Term Date Term Person Term Term Monastery Monastery Monastery Monastery Monastery Building Monastery Person Monastery Term Monastery Monastery Term Monastery Monastery Term Building Term Pilgrimage Cycle Buddha Tibetan Text Title

seng gdong ma

Sengdongma

ser smad thos bsam nor Serm Tsam Norling gling grwa tshang gi chos Dratsanggi Chjung byung lo rgyus nor bui Logy Norb Trengwa phreng ba ser smad lo rgyus srung ma srog snying srong btsan sgam po slob dpon gsag sbyang gsang ba dus pa gsar gsung byon ma gser ma h% gser yig pa gso sbyong bsangs gsol dar dzugs Serm Logy sungma soknying Songtsen Gampo loppn sakjang Sangwa Dpa sar sungjnma Ser Maha seryikpa Sojong sangsl dardzuk

Tibetan Text Title Term Term Person Term Term Buddha Term Term Buddha Term Ritual Term

Ha Extended Wylie Phonetics Type

ha ha rgod pai dur khrod Haha Gp Durtr har gdong khang tshan Hamdong Khangtsen hwa shang lha mo lha mo khar lha mo nyi ma gzhon nu lha mo nyi gzhon lha btsun rin po che lha btsun rin po chei bla brang lha btsun rin po chei bla brang lha bzang lha bzang kh%ng lha lung dpal gyi rdo rje lha sa lha sai dgon tho Hashang Lhamo Lhamokhar Lhamo Nyima Zhnnu Lhamo Nyizhn Lhaptsn Rinpoch Lhaptsn Rinpoch Labrang Lhaptsn Rinpoch Labrang Lhazang Lhazang Khang Lhalung Pelgyi Dorj Lhasa Lhas Gnto

Hamdong Regional House

Place Monastery Subunit Person Buddha Place Buddha Buddha Person

Lhaptsn Rinpochs estate estate of Lhaptsn Rinpoch d. 1717 Lhazang Khan d. 1717 9th century A Catalogue of the Monasteries of Lhasa A Catalogue of the Monasteries of Lhasa: A Heap of Jewels Lhopa Regional House b. 17th century English Sanskrit Date 18031875 mother o" ma&i padme h'"

Organization

Organization

Person Person Person Place Tibetan Text Title Tibetan Text Title

lha sai dgon tho rin chen Lhas Gnto Rinchen spungs rgyan Punggyen

lho pa khang tshan a kha bsod nams bzang po A Extended Wylie a khu rin po che a mdo rdo rje sku bum a ma o# ma!i padme h$#

Lhopa Khangtsen Akha Snam Zangpo

Monastery Subunit Person

Phonetics Akhu Rinpoch Amdo Dorj Kumbum ama om mani peme hum

Type Person Place Term Mantra

Notes
[1]

The account that follows is based on the narrative of the monastery in Sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, Dga ldan chos byung bai "$rya ser po [Yellow Lapis: A History of the Ganden (School)] (Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1991), 144; on the Pabongkha entry in Dung dkar blo bzang phrin las, Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo (Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 2002), 1313-1316; on a Karchak of the monastery made available to me by Pabongkha monks in 2004; and on material from oral interviews with some of the resident monks conducted in August of 2004. The title of the Karchak reads Yul nyer bzhii ya rgyal/ de bi ko *i dang ming gzhan pha bong kha byang chub shing gi nags khrod du bkod pai dkar chag dad ldan padmo rgyas byed gzi sbyin od stong bar bai nor bu (hereafter Pha bong khai dkar chag). It appears to be an edited version of a text bearing the same name published in Three Khrid on the N% ro mkha spyod Practice (Delhi: Ngawang Sopa, 1976), 454-532. (I have Gene Smith to thank for making a copy of this latter edition available to me.) References to the Dkar chag in this work are to the edition published in Tibet. The publication of the Tibetan edition of the Dkar chag was sponsored by a contemporary abbot (or perhaps now former abbot) of Pabongkha, Jampa Tupten Rinpoch. In the colophon the author of the Karchak identifies himself as the reincarnation of a Lama of Kongpojo Dzong, the reincarnation of the Lama of Chkhang Tsewa Monastery (Chkhang Tsewa Gnpa); he also identifies himself as belonging to the M College (Dratsang M) of Sera, but gives his name only in Sanskrit as W%gin(amatibhadrapa#u bandash%sadharasagara (sic). The introductory verse of the Delhi edition bears identifying marks (dots) under certain syllables. (These are missing in the Tibetan edition.) Those marks spell out Ngawang Lozang Tupten Gyatso Jikdrel Wangchuk Chokl Nampar Gyelwa. This resembles the name of the eighth Demo incarnation Ngawang Lozang Tupten Jikm Gyatso (Demo Kutreng Gypa Ngawang Lozang Tupten Jikm Gyatso, 1778-1819), tutor of the Ninth Dalai Lama (Dalai Lama Kutreng Gupa, 18061815). The colophon tells us that the work was written between the female-fire-pig (Memopak) and male-earth-bird (Sapoja) years. In the fourteenth calendrical cycle or Rapjung, this corresponds to 1827-1828. The author of the Dkar chag further states that he based his work on a verse text compiled by Khardowa (mkhan thog brgyad pa kha rdo sku thog bzod pa

rgya mtshoam/ blo bzang sgom chung pas bsgrigs pa tshig bcad ma), as well as on the constitution (Chayik) of the monastery written by Tatsak Yesh Tenp Gnpo (1760-1810). On Khardo Zpa Gyatso (1672-1749) see the Introduction to the Hermitages. On Tatsak Yesh Tenp Gnpo, see TBRC P302. Still unavailable, to my knowledge, are: (1) the Karchak of Pabongkha in six folios written by Khardo Zpa Gyatso, and (2) another Karchak by Khntn Peljor Lhndrup (1561-1637). The latter is mentioned in Akhu Rinpochs (1803-1875) list of rare texts; see Lokesh Chandra, Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature (Kyoto: Rinsen Book Co., 1981, repr. of the 1963 ed.), no. 11012. Bshes gnyen tshul khrims, Lhas Gnto Rinchen Punggyen [A Catalogue of the Monasteries of Lhasa: A Heap of Jewels; hereafter Lha sai dgon tho] (Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2001), 15, quotes Khntns Karchak, implying, perhaps, that he had the text at his disposal; he gives the date of composition of the work as 1619. Sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtshos account of Pabongkha in the Baidurya Serpo, 144, is fascinating because it links the flourishing of Tibet to the flourishing of Pabongkha; and vice versa, it links political problems in Tibet with the decline of Pabongkha. Mention of Pabongkha is also found in Turrell Wylie, The Geography of Tibet According to the Dzam-glingrgyas-bshad (Rome: IsMEO, 1962), 83 and 159 n. 400; and Alfonsa Ferrari, Luciano Petech and Hugh Richardson, Mkyen brtses Guide to the Holy Places of Central Tibet (Rome: IsMEO, 1958), 42, 101-102 n. 86, and plates 6 and 7.
[2]

Shenyen Tsltrim, Lhas Gnto, 15, gives the date of Pabongkhas founding as around 643 but cites no source for this.
[3]

As with many monasteries, these include both exoteric and Tantric ritual practices that take place on the eighth, tenth, fifteenth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-eighth of the lunar month. Pabongkha monks also do special rituals for important lamas in the tradition every Wednesday.
[4] [5]

Pabongkh Karchak, 15b-16a; the author of this text, 57b, gives the Tibetan translation of this as Lhamokhar.

For an account of other features of the surrounding landscape and various kinds self-arisen images found at or near the site, many of which are said to date to the time that Songtsen Gampo and his two queens lived at the Pabongkha, see Pabongkh Karchak, 22af and 29bf. This section of the text also contains a description of the special qualities of the plants and wildlife in the area.
[6]

This statue has been variously identified by different sources and informants as Avalokite!vara, +%kyamuni in his kingly or jowo form, Amit%yus and Amit%bha. Pabongkh Karchak, 28a, states that the image is of Amit%bha. The same text (26b-27a) also cites The Compendium on the Ma!i [Mantra] (Mani Kabum) concerning the tradition that an image emerged from a stone as Songtsen Gampo was gestating in his mothers womb. A believer would see this as proof of the authenticity of the image housed at Pabongkha. A skeptic would see in this an attempt to read events of classical Tibetan mythography into the artistic landscape of Pabongkha.
[7] The

cult of the Three Protectors at Pabongkha goes back at least to the seventeenth century. For example, in a vision that he had when he was forty-three years old, the Fifth Dalai Lama (Dalai Lama Kutreng Ngapa) is told by Avalokite!vara that In Central Tibet, people must recite the six-syllable mantra (ngak) 100,000,000 times and in Pabongkha the ritual method of realization (druptap) of the three divinities, namely Avalokite!vara, Maju!r$, and Vajrap%&i must be established; Samten Gyeltsen Karmay, The Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama: The Gold Manuscript in the Fournier Collection (London: Serindia Publications, 1988), 44.
[8]

One might image two quite different etymologies of the word Pabongkha. The word might be (1) a corruption of pabongkhang, The house (on) the Boulder; or (2) a more euphonious form of the word pabongpa, The Man from the (Site of) the Boulder. In the first instance, it is the architecture that gives the site its name. In the second instance, it is the first inhabitant.
[9]

The following account is based principally on Dungkar Tsikdz [Dungkar Dictionary], but see also the version found in Pabongkh Karchak, 20bf, which varies insignificantly.
[10]

The legend and symbolism of the supine demoness has been discussed by Janet Gyatso in Down with the Demoness: Reflection on a Feminine Ground in Tibet, in Janice Willis, ed., Feminine Ground: Essays on Women and Tibet (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1987).
[11]

The original name of Lha sa was Rasa, that is, Goat Earth. There are many legends related to goats in Lhasa from the Great Female Goat [Temple] (Ramoch) to the statue of the goat inside the Jokhang itself.
[12] [13]

Pabongkh Karchak, 21b: sa bdag gser ma h% gser gyi rus sbal gyi dbyibs.

Such a turtle is mentioned in other historical works. For example, the The Clear Mirror: A Royal History (Gyelrap Selw Melong) states that in the north at Pabongkha in Nyangdren there is a black turtle; Sakyapa Snam Gyeltsen, The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibets Golden Age, transl. by McComas Taylor and Lama Choedak Yuthok (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1996), 165. On the relationship of turtle spirits to divination, see R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 209-210.
[14]

Lhas Gnto, 15, quotes Khntns karchak to the effect that Maru Castle was built by Songtsen Gampo when he was fifteen years old in the female-water-hare (chumo y) year, and that he began meditating there when he was twentyone years old.
[15]

Songtsen Gampos act of meditating inside the Female Turtle might of course be seen as an act of penetration of Tibets natural spirits, a subjugation of the indigenous spirits of Tibet through an act akin to rape.
[16] This

goddess, who presumably as the same deity later known as Penden Lhamo, came to be considered the protector deity of Tibet. After the rise of the Ganden Palace (Ganden Podrang the government of the Dalai Lamas) the cult of

Penden Lhamo became incorporated into the rituals of the state. Pabongkh Karchak, 31a, states that this cave is the actual palace (podrang ng) of the deity.
[17] Pabongkh [18] Pabongkh [19] The

Karchak, 22a. Karchak, 32b-33a.

account that follows is principally based on that found in Dungkar Dictionary (Dungkar Tsikdz). The account in Pabongkh Karchak, 19bf, on the sites relationship to Tnmi and to the founding of the Tibetan written language, varies only slightly from the one given here.
[20] Lhas

Gnto, 15, cites the Fifth Dalai Lamas The N%ga Song of the Queen of Springtime (Chikyi Gyelmo Luyang) as the source for this tradition.
[21]

Pabongkh Karchak, 20a, states that therefore (Pabongkha) appears to be the site in Lhasa known as the Moon Cliff, which is said to be where the first Tibetan letters were engraved.
[22]

In this narrative the Female Turtle takes the place of the supine demoness spoken of in the myths of the founding of the Jokhang.
[23] There

is a certain anachronism here, given that (at least in some versions of the history of the site) the st$pas are said to have been built by the early Kadampa masters who lived at the site, and who predate Tsongkhapa by several centuries.
[24]

Lhas Gnto, 15: from the time (of Songtsen Gampo) up to the ordination of the seven original monks, about one hundred tantrikas with long locks of hair lived continuously at the site.
[25] The [26] This

claim is made not only in Dungkar Dictionary (Dungkar Tsikdz), but also in Pabongkh Karchak, 33a-b.

is according to the oral account of one of the Pabongkha monks. According to the Pabongkh Karchak, 34b, Pel Lhamo intervened by calling for Lhalung Pelgyi Dorj, the monk who assassinated Langdarma.
[27] The

only cave that exists at Pabongkha today is Songtsen Gampos cave located inside the Female Turtle Boulder . And in fact Pabongkh Karchak, 31a, confirms that it is this cave that is called the Temple of the Tenth Day (Tsechu Lhakhang). The cave apparently got its name from the fact that members of Trisong Detsens inner circle used to perform rituals inside the cave on the tenth day of the lunar month. Since the monastery is in a fairly flat area, it is difficult to imagine that there was any other cave at the hermitage itself in the past. However, Pabongkh Karchak, 30f, lists many caves. These, one assumes, are located in the hills above Pabongkha.
[28] Literally,

the eight great sons who received the oral instruction; also called the eight great ones who were named to receive the oral instructions (Kabap Mingchen Gy).
[29] The

Fifth Dalai Lama, in fact, does not mention Potowa Rinchen Sel at all, and credits the re-founding of Pabongkha to Gesh Drakkarwa; see ,ag-dBa- Blo-bZa- rGya-mTSHo, Fifth Dalai Lama, A History of Tibet, trans. by Zahiruddin Ahmad (Bloomington: Indiana University Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1995), 84.
[30]

Lhas Gnto, 16, mentions a certain Gesh Pabongkha (Gesh Pabongkhar drakpa) as having been responsible for increasing the size of the monastery to 400 monks after Gesh Drakkarwas tenure.
[31]

The tradition says that hundred and eight st$pas were built. But it also claims that each st$pa contained one bead from Tsongkhapas rosary. This, of course, would be impossible if they were built during the Kadampa period, since Tsongkhapa was not born until more than 200 years after this time.
[32]

Pabongkh Karchak, 44b. It is unclear which (if any) of the present buildings this might be.

[33] Pabongkh

Karchak, 44b: rab byung gnyug mar gnas pai ja tshul thebs/ snye thang bkra shis gling/ gzhis ka dud dzin bcu/ lag bab khal drug brgya/ nyang bran ka ma can dud gsum dang/ lag bab la khal drug cu skor bstsal/.
[34] Perhaps [35] Perhaps [36] Among

TBRC P939 or P3188? TBRC P162?

the more interesting and important images or religious objects mentioned in Pabongkh Karchak, 47bf, are the following: a set of sixteen arhat statues made by Potowa Rinchen Sel himself, a tooth relic of the Buddha Dipa"kara, stone statues of Avalokite!vara and of the protector traksh blessed by virtue of the deities dissolving into them, the selfarisen stone statue that emerged as Songtsen Gampo was gestating in his mothers womb, the statue of Khntn Peljor Lhndrup commissioned by the Fifth Dalai Lama as well as the his highly ornamented funerary st$pa that contained his actual body, a silver funerary st$pa and statue of Jamyang Drakpa, a one-story statue of the Buddha made in part from the gold extracted by King Mewn from Gold Cave, a speaking statue of Cakrasa"vara (Demchok) that conversed with the Dalai Lama Kelzang Gyatso (1708-1757) while he was doing the retreat of this deity; the self-arisen stone images of the Three Protectors (mentioned above); Tnmis o# ma!i padme h$# stone, statues of Tsongkhapa in the five-visionsforms, a volume of the dh%ra!) that dates to the Sakya period. This, of course, is only a sampling of the more important artifacts; there were many other images and religious objects beside those mentioned here. Most of the images in the hermitage were lost or destroyed after 1959. Back to the Top

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