Reting Monastery () is an historically important

Buddhist monastery Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

in Lhünzhub County in

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 ...

Ü-Tsang Ü-Tsang is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the others being Amdo in the north-east, and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered ...

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, ...

. It is also commonly spelled "Radreng."

History

Reting Monastery was founded by

Atiśa ( bn, অতীশ দীপংকর শ্রীজ্ঞান, ôtiś dīpôṅkôr śrigyen; 982–1054) was a Buddhist religious leader and master. He is generally associated with his work carried out at the Vikramashila monastery in Biha ...

's chief disciple

Dromtön Dromtön, Drom Tonpa or Dromtönpa Gyelwé Jungné (, 1004 or 1005–1064) was the chief disciple of the Buddhist master Atiśa, the initiator of the Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of Reting Monastery. Early life and educatio ...

in 1057 in the Reting Tsangpo Valley north of Lhasa as the seat of the Kadam 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 majo ...

. He brought some of Atiśa's relics with him. It was the first major monastery of the Sarma revival.

Je 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 Bud ...

(1357–1419) reformed the Kadam, which then became known as the

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 ...

lineage and Reting became an important Gelug monastery, the seat of the Reting Rinpoche.Dowman, Keith. (1988). ''The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', p. 94. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. . The Reting Rinpoches were responsible for the successful search and discovery of the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

. The Reting Rinpoches were among the candidates for

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

during the minority of a Dalai Lama. Thus, the Reting Rinpoche was Regent between 1845 and 1855 and, again, from 1933-1947. The latter Regent, the Fifth Reting Rinpoche, was involved in the search for the present Dalai Lama and became his Senior Tutor, later abdicated his position and was found guilty of colluding with the Chinese and died in a Tibetan prison in 1947. They also destroyed the Gelug Reting Monastery and killed many in Lhasa.Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael (2005). ''Tibet'', 6th Edition, (2005), p. 142, Lonely Planet Publications. ."Biography of Reting Rinpoche."
/ref> The political confusion which followed aided the rapid collapse of Tibet after the Chinese invaded. The Sixth Reting Rinpoche died in 1997. The Chinese announced in January 2001 that a new incarnation had been chosen as the Seventh Reting Rinpoche, just two days after the

Karmapa The Karmapa (honorific title ''His Holiness the Gyalwa'' ��ྒྱལ་བ་, Victorious One''Karmapa'', more formally as ''Gyalwang'' ��ྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, King of Victorious Ones''Karmapa'', and informally as the '' ...

began his flight to India. This incarnation has not been recognised by the Dalai Lama who believes he is a pawn in the attempt by the Chinese to control the Buddhist religion in Tibet. Reting was devastated by the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

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 goa ...

, and has only been partially restored.

Footnotes

References

* Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State.'' University of California Press: 1991.

External links

Biography of Reting Rinpoche
by

Hugh Edward Richardson Hugh Edward Richardson (22 December 1905 – 3 December 2000) was an Indian Civil Service officer, British diplomat and Tibetologist. His academic work focused on the history of the Tibetan empire, and in particular on epigraphy. He was am ...

{{Reting Rinpoches Gelug monasteries Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa (prefecture-level city) 1057 establishments 1050s establishments in Asia Religious organizations established in the 1050s Lhünzhub County