Drepung Monastery (, "Rice Heap Monastery"), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three"

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...

university

gompa A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a universit ...

s (monasteries) of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. The other two are

Ganden Monastery Ganden Monastery (also Gaden or Gandain) or Ganden Namgyeling or Monastery of Gahlden is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet. It is in Dagzê County, Lhasa. The other two are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery. Ga ...

and

Sera Monastery Sera Monastery ( "Wild Roses Monastery"; ) is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa and about north of the Jokhang. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of its ...

. Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is located on the Gambo Utse mountain, five kilometers from the western suburb of

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhasa ...

Freddie Spencer Chapman Frederick Spencer Chapman, (10 May 1907 – 8 August 1971) was a British Army officer and World War II veteran, most famous for his exploits behind enemy lines in Japanese occupied Malaya. His medals include the following: the Distinguishe ...

reported, after his 1936–37 trip to Tibet, that Drepung was at that time the largest monastery in the world, and housed 7,700 monks, "but sometimes as many as 10,000 monks." Since the 1950s, Drepung Monastery, along with its peers Ganden and Sera, have lost much of their independence and spiritual credibility in the eyes of Tibetans since they operate under the close watch of the Chinese security services. All three were re-established in exile in the 1950s in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

in south-west India. Drepung and Ganden are in

Mundgod Mundgod is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state in India, Mundgod is known for its Tibetian Colony it is also called as Mini Tibet. Characteristics it is bounded by Maje-Pur village in the north, Malagankoppa village in the ...

and Sera is in

Bylakuppe Bylakuppe is an area in Karnataka which is home to the Indian town Bylakuppe and several Tibetan settlements (there are several Tibetan settlements in India), established by Lugsum Samdupling (in 1961) and Dickyi Larsoe (in 1969). Bylakuppe ...

History

Drepung Monastery was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge Tashi Palden (1397–1449), one of

Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Budd ...

's main disciples, and it was named after the sacred abode in South India of Shridhanyakataka. Drepung was the principal seat of the

Gelugpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

school and it retained the premier place amongst the four great Gelugpa monasteries.Dowman (1988), p. 67. The

Ganden Phodrang The Ganden Phodrang or Ganden Podrang (; ) was the Tibetan system of government established by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1642; it operated in Tibet until the 1950s. Lhasa became the capital of Tibet again early in this period, after the Oirat lo ...

(''dga´ ldan pho brang'') in Drepung was the residence of the Dalai Lamas until the

Great Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...

constructed the Potala. Drepung was known for the high standards of its academic study, and was called the

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Ganden Phodrang The Ganden Phodrang or Ganden Podrang (; ) was the Tibetan system of government established by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1642; it operated in Tibet until the 1950s. Lhasa became the capital of Tibet again early in this period, after the Oirat lo ...

, had been constructed in 1518 by Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo (1476–1541), retrospectively named and counted as

2nd Dalai Lama Gedun Gyatso, also Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo (, "Sublimely Glorious Ocean of Spiritual Aspirants", layname: Yonten Phuntsok; 1475–1542), was considered posthumously to have been the second Dalai Lama. Early life Gedun Gyatso was born near Shig ...

. The name of the Tibetan government established by the 5th Dalai Lama came from the name of this estate. Penchen Sönam Drakpa (1478-1554 CE) in 1535 succeeded

Gendün Gyatso Gedun Gyatso, also Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo (, "Sublimely Glorious Ocean of Spiritual Aspirants", layname: Yonten Phuntsok; 1475–1542), was considered posthumously to have been the second Dalai Lama. Early life Gedun Gyatso was born near Shig ...

(1476–1541) on the Throne of Drepung, both of them being major figures in the history of the Geluk tradition. By the time Sönam Drakpa was appointed to the Throne of Drepung (Drepung Tri), he was already a famous Geluk master. He had already occupied the Throne of Ganden ( Ganden Tri) and was considered the most prolific and important Geluk thinker of his time. His successor was none other than Sönam Gyatso (1543-1588 CE), the lama who would receive the official title of the Third Dalai Lama (Talé Lama Kutreng Sumpa). Before his death in 1554, Sönam Drakpa established his own estate, the Upper Chamber (Zimkhang Gongma), which was named because of its location at the top of Drepung, just below the Ngakpa debating courtyard "Ngagpa Dratshang". Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center attributes the following ''Name variants'' to Penchen Sönam Drakpa: "bsod nams grags pa rimaryName paN chen bsod nams grags pa itle khri 15 bsod nams grags pa rimaryTitle rtses thang paN chen bsod nams grags pa itle gzims khang gong ma 01 bsod nams grags pa itle this last one referring to the Seat of the Upper Chamber established in 1554. According to TBRC his successors referring to the estate of the Zimkhang Gongma were Sonam Yeshe Wangpo (1556–92), Sonam Gelek Palzang (1594–1615) and

Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen Trülku Drakpa Gyeltsen (1619–1656) was an important Gelugpa lama and a contemporary of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682). His Seat was the upper residence () of Drepung Monastery, a famous Gelug gompa located near Lhasa. Incarnation lineage ...

(1619–1656) - closely connected to the famous story of

Dorje Shugden Dorje Shugden ( bo, རྡོ་རྗེ་ཤུགས་ལྡན་, Wylie: ''rdo rje shugs ldan'', ), also known as Dolgyal and Gyalchen Shugden, is an entity associated with the Gelug school, the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

. (Some say that Drakpa Gyeltsen was Sönam Drakpa’s second reincarnation, but usually he is considered to be the 4th incarnation of Panchen Sonam Dragpa). It seems to be commonly accepted that Dragpa Gyaltsen was the fourth holder of the ''gzims khang gong ma'' incarnation line. According to Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center ''gzims khang gong ma 04 grags pa rgyal mtshan'' has been his "primaryTitle". Since the search for his reincarnation has been banned, he has been the last one. Chapman reported that in the late 1930s Drepung was divided into four colleges, each housing monks from a different locality: "one being favoured by

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

pas, another by

Mongolians The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

, and so on." Each college was presided over by an abbot who had been appointed by the late 13th Dalai Lama. Drepung is now divided into what are known as the seven great colleges: Gomang (sGo-mang), Loseling (Blo-gsal gling), Deyang (bDe-dbyangs), Shagkor (Shag-skor), Gyelwa (rGyal-ba) or Tosamling (Thos-bsam gling), Dulwa (‘Dul-ba), and Ngagpa (sNgags-pa). It can be a somewhat useful analogy to think of Drepung as a university along the lines of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

the Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the various colleges having different emphases, teaching lineages, or traditional geographical affiliations. According to local sources, today the population at the monastery in Lhasa is about 300 monks, due to population capping enforced by the Chinese government. However, the institution has continued its tradition in exile with campuses in South India on land in

given to the Tibetan community in exile by Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

. The monastery in India today houses over 5,000 celibate monks, with around 3,000 at Drepung

Loseling Drepung Monastery (, "Rice Heap Monastery"), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Drepung is the largest of all ...

and some 2,000 at Drepung Gomang. Hundreds of new monks are admitted each year, many of them refugees from Tibet. The Ganden-Phodrang-Palace situated at Drepung Monastery was constructed by the

in 1518 and declared his chief residence/governmental palace until the inauguration of

Potala Palace The Potala Palace is a ''dzong'' fortress in Lhasa, Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and a World Heritage Site since 1994. The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythi ...

by the 5th Dalai Lama.

Recent events

Almost half of the older monastic buildings was destroyed after the Chinese arrived in Lhasa in 1951. The chief buildings including the four colleges, the Tsokchen, and the Dalai Lamas' residence were preserved. The first reported demonstration during the 2008 Tibetan uprising anniversary was on 10 March 2008, when a group of 300-400 monks from Drepung monastery marched to

's center demanding religious freedom and the release of Drepung monks arrested a year earlier. Chinese police blocked their route, and a sitting protest began. Reportedly, some monks were thrown to the ground and kicked, and up to 60 monks were arrested. Drepung monastery was under siege four days later by Chinese forces, on 14 March 2008. Reports state forces had blocked off water, electricity, food and health facilities in Drepung Monastery and at other monasteries active in the demonstrations, including Ganden and Sera monasteries. As a consequence, monks were suffering starvation. After the 7 April 2008 foreign press tour by Chinese authorities, 80 monks were disappeared from DrepungNirmala Carvalho, ''More than a thousand monks and many civilians have disappeared since the March crackdown'', 29 September 2009), http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13322&geo=6&size=A and two from Labrang were disappeared for speaking out to reporters. The International Herald Tribune reported that Drepung Monastery reopened in 2013 after being shut for five years.

Gallery

File:Young monks of Drepung.jpg, Young monks debating at Drepung File:Monks in the great assembly hall at Drepung Monastery, Tibet.jpg, Monks in the great assembly hall, 2006 File:Monks chanting, Drepung monastery, Tibet.webm, Monks chanting, 2013 File:Drepung_Loseling_Monastery_(Karnataka_-_India)_(33561248421).jpg,

Thanka A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, ...

s painted on the walls of Drepung File:Drepung monastery kitchen.jpg, Monastery kitchen, 2013 File:Ganden Phodrang.JPG, Ganden Phodrang, the Dalai Lama's residence File:Destroyed buildings at Drepung, 1993.jpg, Destroyed buildings at Drepung, 1993

Footnotes

References

* Dorje, Gyurme. (1999). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan''. 2nd Edition. Footprint Handbooks. Bath, England. . * Dowman, Keith. (1988). ''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and New York. *von Schroeder, Ulrich. 2001. ''Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet''. Vol. One: ''India & Nepal''; Vol. Two: ''Tibet & China''. (Volume One: 655 pages with 766 illustrations; Volume Two: 675 pages with 987 illustrations). Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd. . ’Bras spungs («drepung») monastery: pp. 550, 705, 715, 830, 1004, 1005. bKra shis sgo mang grwa tshang («tashi gomang dratsang»), p. 824; Pls. 196A, 196B; Blo gsal gling grwa tshang («losaling dratsang»), p. 1005; Fig. XVI–4; Mi ’khrugs lha khang («mintrug lhakhang»), p. 824; Pls. 196A, 196B.

External links

Bras-spungs monastery, Tibet, China
Encyclopædia Britannica
Official Website of Drepung Gomang MonasteryA multimedia guide to DrepungDrepung Loseling Institute in North AmericaDrepung: An Introduction by Georges Dreyfus (April 10, 2006)The Gomang College home pageTibet Lhasa Drepung Monastery Tour Blog by ChrisDrepung Loseling video tour in 2006, Tibetan settlement in Mundgod, India
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1416 15th-century Buddhist temples Chengguan District, Lhasa Buddhist temples in Tibet 1416 establishments in Asia Religious organizations established in the 1410s Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa Gelug monasteries Articles containing video clips Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Tibet