Tsurphu Monastery ( or Tölung Tsurphu (, "Tsurphu of Tölong") is a gompa which serves as the traditional seat of the Karmapa, the head of the

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, M ...

lineage of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in maj ...

. It is located in Gurum in

Doilungdêqên District Doilungdêqên District is a district in Lhasa, north-west of the main center of Chengguan, Tibet Autonomous Region. It is largely agricultural or pastoral, but contains the western suburbs of the city of Lhasa. The Duilong River runs southeast ...

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of ...

, China, from

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 Lhas ...

. The monastery is about above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. It was built in the middle of the valley facing south with high mountains surrounding the complex. Tsurphu is a complex with walls up to thick. The gompa, the traditional seat of the Karmapa lamas, is about up the Dowo Lung Valley on the north side of the river. The original walls of the main building were up to 4 meters thick and 300 meters on each side (). The monks' residences were on the eastern side.

History

Tsurphu was founded by

Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama Düsum Khyenpa (, 1110–1193) was the 1st Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. ''Düsum Khyenpa'' means "knower of the three times" (past, present and future). It was given to him to refer to knowledge of the t ...

(1110-1193) in 1159, after he visited the site and laid the foundation for an establishment of a seat there by making offerings to the local protectors, the

dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are als ...

s and territorial divinities (). In 1189 he revisited the site and founded his main seat there. The monastery grew to hold 1000 monks. The complex was totally destroyed in 1966 during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajra ...

, began to rebuild it in 1980; he died in 1981. Following the recognition of Ogyen Trinley Dorje (born 1985) as the 17th Karmapa by the Tai Situpa, the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

and China's governmental offices, he was enthroned at Tsurphu and resided there until he escaped from Tibet to

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

in 2000.

Branch monastery

A Yelpa Kagyu monastery, Jang Tana, in Nangchen,

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. Kha ...

, is considered a branch monastery of Tsurpu. It was founded by Yelpa Yeshe Tsek in 1068.

Variant names

Variant names for the monastery include: Tsurphu, 楚布寺, mtshur mdo bo lung dgon, 祖普寺, Okmin Tsurpu, 'og min mtshur phu.

Pilgrims

Image:Elderly Pilgrim, Tsurphu 1993.JPG, Elderly pilgrim, Tsurphu Gompa, 1993 Image:Pilgrims, Tsurphu 1993.JPG, Pilgrims, Tsurphu Gompa, 1993 File:Nomad camp above Tsurphu Gompa 2.JPG, Nomad camp above Tsurphu Gompa, 1993. Smoke is from

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

burning for ceremony.

Sources

* *Dowman, Keith. ''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide''. 1988. Routledge & Kegan Paul. London. *Martin, Michele. ''Music in the Sky: The Life, Art & Teachings of the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje''. 2003. Snow Lion Publications. Reprint: New Age Books, New Delhi, 2004. .

References

External links

Tsurphu Monastery Website
* The Tsurphu Appliques {{Authority control Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa (prefecture-level city) Buddhist temples in Tibet Karma Kagyu monasteries and temples 1159 establishments in Asia Religious organizations established in the 1150s Doilungdêqên District