Yangpachen Monastery 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 A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

in Yangpachen (Tibetan: ''yangs pa can''; ''Thub btsan yangs pa can''), in the

Lhasa Prefecture Lhasa is a prefecture-level city, one of the main administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It covers an area of of rugged and sparsely populated terrain. Its capital and largest city is Lhasa, with around 300,000 ...

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 historically the seat of the

Shamarpa The Shamarpa (; literally, "Person (i.e. Holder) of the Red Crown"), also known as ''Shamar Rinpoche'', or more formally Künzig Shamar Rinpoche, is a lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and is regarded to be the mind ma ...

s of

Karma Kagyü 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, ...

. It is about southeast of Lhasa "on the northern side of the Lhorong Chu valley above the Lhasa-Shigatse highway."

History

It was founded around by the 4th

who on finding the site proclaimed, "There shall be a monastery built on the left side of the Yangpachen as the support for

Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

teachings and symbol of everlasting victory". Yangpachen Gompa was founded by Murab Jampa Tujepel in 1490 under the auspices of the fourth Sharmapa and financed by the Prince of Rinpung. It was the residence of the Sharmapas for only 300 years.... When the Gorkhalis under Pritvi Narayan Shah, king of the newly unified Kingdom of Nepal, invaded Tibet in 1792 to be defeated by a Chinese army, the tenth Sharmapa was accused of traitorous support of the Nepalis. A modern Tibetologist proved this interpretation of history to be wrong and showed that the Shamarpa mediated in this conflict. (In 1963, following a request from the 16th Karmapa, the Tibetan Government in Exile lifted the ban.) "Yangpachen was confiscated by the Gelukpas, the Sharmapa's hat was buried and recognition of future incarnations was prohibited. In Nepal the present fourteenth Sharmapa has resumed his full status amongst the Karma Kagyupas."''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'' (1988), p. 130. Keith Dowman. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. . The monastery was attacked around 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 ...

by the Chinese forces and totally destroyed, but is now being rebuilt. :"The principal lhakang contains some new images; the Pelkor Gomkang contains an original image of Chakdrukpa (

Mahakala Mahākāla is a deity common to Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as the sacred ''Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma"), while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva and t ...

) that resisted attempts to destroy it; but the image of Chakdrukpa in the Sinon Gomkang has vanished, along with the glory of Yangpachen." The associated Dorje Ling (rDo rje gling) Ani Gompa or nunnery is about a day's walk from Yangpachen Monastery and two days' walk north of

Tsurphu 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 lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in Gurum in Doilungdêqên District, Tibet A ...

. It is at the bottom of the eastern face of a long ridge with magnificent views of the high

Nyenchen Tanglha The Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains (officially spelt Nyainqêntanglha Mountains in Chinese) are a long mountain range, and subrange of the Transhimalaya System, located in Tibet and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Geography One source ...

range to the north. By 1986 the lhakang and domestic quarters had been rebuilt after the depredations of the Cultural Revolution, and about 30 ''anis'' (nuns) were again in residence.''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'' (1988), p. 129. Keith Dowman. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. .

References

{{Shamarpas Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa (prefecture-level city) Damxung County Karma Kagyu monasteries and temples