Setenling Gompa, Ser Gompa, (

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: Saigesi) is a Jonangpa (or Jonang) monastery about a kilometre from the eastern edge of Aba or

Ngawa City Ngawa or Aba town (Burmese language, Burmese: ငါဝမြို့, Standard Tibetan: Ngawa) is the seat of Ngawa County, Ngawa (Aba) County, within the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomou ...

( ), the main city in Ngawa (Aba) County, within the Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (Tibetan:

Amdo Amdo ( �am˥˥.to˥˥ zh , c = 安多 , p = Ānduō ), also known as Domey (), is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions. It encompasses a large area from the Machu (Yellow River) to the Drichu (Yangtze). Amdo is mostly coterminous wi ...

) in northwestern

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is located on the

Tibetan plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

at an elevation of 3,200 metres (10,499 ft.). The head lama, Thubten Dorje Rinpoche, is still living in the monastery.

Description

One enters the courtyard through a gate between the office cum shop of the monastery and a mani wall with the large restored Assembly Hall in front. The Assembly Hall contains many images of Kunkhyen

Dolpopa Dölpopa Shérap Gyeltsen () (1292–1361),Newland (1992). p. 29 known simply as Dölpopa, was a Tibetan Buddhist master. Known as "The Buddha from Dölpo," a region in modern Nepal, he was the principal exponent of the shentong teachings, an ...

, Jetsun Kunga Drolchok,

Taranatha Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Ku ...

, Namnang Dorje as well as of the deities Cakrasamvara and

Kalacakra Kalacakra was a 1970s German psychedelic underground band formed by the duo Claus Rauschenbach and Heinz Martin. Their sound carried a heavily eastern influence, with a lot of flute, sitar and percussions, and their style has been described as ...

. Left of the Assembly Hall are the Tsenyi Dratsang with a walled garden for debating, the Gonkhang with an image of Takkiraja, the 'tiger-riding' form of

Mahakala Mahākāla (, ) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a ''Dharmapala, Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma") and a Wrathful deities, wrathful manifestation of a The Buddha, Buddha, while in Hindu ...

, and the Drubkhang or meditation hermitage with images of Dolpopa, Taranatha, Namnang Dorje and the deity Vajrakila. Newer buildings include the Dukhor Lolang with a three-dimensional

mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

of Kalacakra and the Head Lama's residence with a Jokhang Chapel containing many fine images, books and tankas.Dorje (2009), pp. 780-781.

History

The monastery was founded by Namnang Dorje, and reconstituted in the late 19th century by Dro-ge Yonten Gyatso. There are about 800 affiliated monks.

Ceremonies

* Sunning the Buddha and turning

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

Buddha.

Footnotes

References

* Dorje, Gyurme (2009). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook''. Footprint Books. . * Kotan Publishing (2000). ''Mapping the Tibetan World''. Kotan Publishing, 2004 reprint. {{ISBN, 0-9701716-0-9.

External links

Jonang monasteries and temples Buildings and structures in Sichuan Amdo Tourist attractions in Sichuan