Yarchen Gar (), officially known as "Yaqên Orgyän Temple" (), is a

Tibetan Buddhist 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 majo ...

monastery of the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and trans ...

school, with an educational institute and residential community in western

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The majority of its Tibetan and Chinese residents are nuns, leading to it being called the "City of Nuns". By the end of 2019, more than half of their residences had been demolished by Chinese authorities.

Location and history

Yarchen Gar lies 4000m above sea level in an isolated valley of Pelyul County, west of

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

in the

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, often shortened to Ganzi Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the western arm of Sichuan province, China, bordering Yunnan to the south, the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west, and Gansu to the north ...

, known as

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 ...

. At its height, its

sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

of an estimated 10,000 nuns, monks and lay practitioners was considered the largest concentration of monastics in the world. The monastery is dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture after 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 goa ...

. The nuns at Yarchen Gar are also known for their practice of

Tummo In Tibetan Buddhism, ''tummo'' (; sa, चण्डाली, caṇḍālī) is the fierce goddess of heat and passion. Tummo is found in the Mahasiddha Krishnacarya and the '' Hevajra Tantra'' texts. Tummo is also a tantric practice for in ...

in the winter, in individual retreat cabins on the hillsides.

Demolitions and re-education

Owing to the expanding influence of Tibetan Buddhism, the monks and nuns of Yarchen Gar are seen as a threat to Chinese plans to "sinicinize religions". Evictions of monks and nuns began in 2001 after residences were demolished. In August 2017, a further 2000 residences were torn down and a similar number of nuns and monks evicted by Chinese authorities. The monastery has periodically been closed to foreigners, and was again closed in April 2019. In the following month of May, forced removals of 7,000 residents began, and in July at least 3,000 nuns' residences were demolished. By August 2019, a large swathe of the nun's area had been cleared, likely to pave the way for tourist infrastructure according to Free Tibet. The evicted nuns and monks were then detained in political re-education centers and forced to participate in patriotic exercises. There have been reports of sexual violence being used against nuns and of torture of both nuns and monks. About seventy nuns and monks were confined in

Jomda County Jomda County, (; ) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Administrative divisions Jomda is divided in 2 towns and 11 townships. * ( bo, འཇོ་མདའ་, ) * Gamtog Town (, ) * (, ) * (, ) * (, ) * ( ...

and forced to undergo "patriotic re-education", during which nuns were beaten and not allowed to wear their robes. A similar program was carried out at another monastery, Larung Gar. Many of the evicted monks and nuns from Larung Gar subsequently relocated to Yarchen Gar. In 2017, China's demolitions and evictions were condemned by six

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

human rights experts in an unusual collaboration. The

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

expressed concern over the ongoing destruction at Yarchen Gar and Larung Gar in 2018.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 30.9425, N, 99.6074, E, type:landmark, display=title Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Nyingma monasteries and temples