Chupzang Nunnery
Encyclopedia
Chupzang Nunnery is a historical nunnery, belonging to Sera Monastery
. It is located north of Lhasa
in Tibet
. Though the site was established as a hermitage around 1665, it was converted into an exclusive nunnery in 1984 and has since grown into one of the largest nunneries in the Lhasa Valley.
Chupzang, also spelt Chubzang, in Tibetan
means "fresh water" or "good water" and is so-named because water is supplied by a natural spring.
from the south-east direction. As originally built, the hermitage (ri khrod) faces south. The layout of the hermitage has three components. The first part, on the extreme north, consists of a multitude of stupas (reliquaries) amidst painted rocks that depict craven images said to be ‘self-arisen’. The second part, which is the main hermitage complex, is to the south of the stupas and has the monastery with the Dharma courtyard (chosrwa), and a secondary temple. The third part, to the south of the temple complex, has a plethora of apartments, which are all privately owned by the nuns themselves.
of Tibet
from 1665 till his death. Trinlé Gyatso belonged to Nyangdren (in the suburb of Lhasa to the west of Sera). Trinlé Gyatso was a student of the Fifth Dalai Lama. He was also the uncle of Desi Sanggyé Gyatso (1653–1705), who was also a student of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s and who also became the regent of Tibet. It is also mentioned that the Fifth Dalai Lama wanted initially to favour Sanggyé Gyatso by appointing him as regent of Tibet. However, good counsel prevailed, and to avoid any public protests he appointed Trinlé Gyatso as the regent until his nephew gained more experience and attained maturity before becoming the regent. Then, Trinlé Gyatso, in the later part of his life, requested the Fifth Dalai Lama's permission to build a hermitage for eight monks initially (it is said that it was later increased to a core group of 16 ordained monks - 8 from each of the two colleges of Sera Je and Sera Me of Sera Monastery) in the foothills above his native Nyangbran and invited the Fifth Dalai Lama to perform a “site investigation” (sa brtag) to determine the most auspicious location on which to build the monastery. The Dalai Lama made the treasure (gter) discovery of the self-arisen stone image of the Buddha
that is still located in Chupzang’s lower temple, and he also gave the name to the hermitage. However, the initial hermitage fell into ruin and the official founding of a new hermitage is credited to Phrin las rgya mtsho's nephew, Sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, in around 1696. The ruins of the original hermitage are still seen at the site. Chubzang was one of the five hermitages that belonged to Sera Me college; the other four were Pabonka
, Jogbo, Tashi Choiling and Pinglung.
The hermitage belonged to Chupzang Yeshé Gyatso (Chu bzang ye shes rgya mtsho) (1789–1856) in the eighteenth century, who built a four-pillar temple with rear chapel and porticos at the site. It was later under the possession of Byang chub chos ’phel, the sixty-ninth throne holder of Ganden (Ganden Tripa). Subsequently, Khri byang sku phreng gsum pa blo bzang yeshes, who was a junior tutor to the living 14th Dalai Lama
became in charge of the hermitage.
In 1921, Pha bong kha bde chen snying po (1878–1941) stayed at Chubzang and published his teachings in his most famous work, Liberation in Our Hands (Rnam grol lagbcangs).
In the 1950s, the site became a religious retirement community for elderly Lhasans. These elders constructed small huts to spend the last years of their life in prayers and meditation according to Buddhist practice. However, during the Cultural Revolution
the place became a general housing complex for people. It was only in the 1980s that Nuns began to renovate the site. They founded the modern nunnery (as seen at present), in 1984,which has since grown into one of the largest nunneries in the Lhasa Valley. However, somewhat unusually, the houses are owned individually by the nuns, but the nunnery has an administrative body and a site for communal gathering.
The main temple wing has an assembly hall where two sets of the idols of Tsong Khapa are deified, flanked by his two favourite disciples. Further to the north east of the hall is a protector deity chapel (mgon khang) where images of Gnas Chung, Lha Mo, six-armed Mahakala
(Mgon po phyag drug), Dharmarāja
(Dam chen chos rgyal), Rdo rje g.yu sgron ma and two tutelary deities (yi dam) of the nunnery - Vajrabhairava (Rdo rje ’jigs byed) and Vajrayogini (Rdo rje rnal ’byor ma), the supreme deity of the Tantric pantheon - are worshipped.
The Dharma enclosure (chosrwa) to the west of the temple is an area where nuns sit in the open and recite Buddhist scriptures and memorize them. A small chapel inside the courtyard has an image of the protector deity Rdo
rje g.yu sgron ma. The stone image (rdo sku) of the Buddha said to have been “discovered as treasure” (gter nas ston pa) by the Fifth Dalai Lama is located in a secondary temple, which is situated to the south of the Dharma enclosure. There is also a reception room close by in a courtyard. At one time there were 90 Gelukpa nuns residing here.
The pilgrim route of circumambulation of the Pamwangka, Tashi Choling, Tokden Drubuk and Chubzang Nunnery took a day to cover during the summer season.
Structures predating the 1960s
While the above details are of recent structures, some details of the temple and the images that existed in the past are also given in a catalogue titled the "Monasteries of Lhasa: A Heap of Jewels"; hereafter Lha sa’i dgon tho (Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2001)". The details mentioned relate to the main temple images found at the end of 17th century namely, the Buddha, the Medicine Buddha (Sman bla), Avalokiteśvara
and the Fifth Dalai Lama (Da lai bla ma sku phreng lnga pa, 1617–1682). In the chapel known as the Chimed Lhakhang, images seen were of Nine Deities related to Amitāyus (Tshe dpag med lha dgu). A Tārā Chapel (Sgrol ma lha khang) is also mentioned.
Nuns from this monastery were involved in staging protests against the government during the period of protest from several monasteries from 1988–89 in Tibet. Nuns were arrested and released from jail a few months later.
Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses in...
. It is located north of Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
in Tibet
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
. Though the site was established as a hermitage around 1665, it was converted into an exclusive nunnery in 1984 and has since grown into one of the largest nunneries in the Lhasa Valley.
Chupzang, also spelt Chubzang, in Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
means "fresh water" or "good water" and is so-named because water is supplied by a natural spring.
Geography
The Chubzang Nunnery, located on the hill side, is situated to the northwest of Sera Monastery and to the north of Lhasa in the suburb of Nyang bran, at the base of the rocky canyon which is covered with shrubs. It is approachable by about a 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) path from Sera, which takes about 20 minutes to cover. It is also approachable from Trashi Chöling HermitageTrashi Chöling Hermitage
Trashi Chöling Hermitage is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located north of Lhasa in Tibet.-Footnotes:...
from the south-east direction. As originally built, the hermitage (ri khrod) faces south. The layout of the hermitage has three components. The first part, on the extreme north, consists of a multitude of stupas (reliquaries) amidst painted rocks that depict craven images said to be ‘self-arisen’. The second part, which is the main hermitage complex, is to the south of the stupas and has the monastery with the Dharma courtyard (chosrwa), and a secondary temple. The third part, to the south of the temple complex, has a plethora of apartments, which are all privately owned by the nuns themselves.
History
The nunnery was originally a hermitage believed to have been founded by Trinlé Gyatso (Phrin las rgya mtsho) (d. 1667), who was the regentRegent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
from 1665 till his death. Trinlé Gyatso belonged to Nyangdren (in the suburb of Lhasa to the west of Sera). Trinlé Gyatso was a student of the Fifth Dalai Lama. He was also the uncle of Desi Sanggyé Gyatso (1653–1705), who was also a student of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s and who also became the regent of Tibet. It is also mentioned that the Fifth Dalai Lama wanted initially to favour Sanggyé Gyatso by appointing him as regent of Tibet. However, good counsel prevailed, and to avoid any public protests he appointed Trinlé Gyatso as the regent until his nephew gained more experience and attained maturity before becoming the regent. Then, Trinlé Gyatso, in the later part of his life, requested the Fifth Dalai Lama's permission to build a hermitage for eight monks initially (it is said that it was later increased to a core group of 16 ordained monks - 8 from each of the two colleges of Sera Je and Sera Me of Sera Monastery) in the foothills above his native Nyangbran and invited the Fifth Dalai Lama to perform a “site investigation” (sa brtag) to determine the most auspicious location on which to build the monastery. The Dalai Lama made the treasure (gter) discovery of the self-arisen stone image of the Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
that is still located in Chupzang’s lower temple, and he also gave the name to the hermitage. However, the initial hermitage fell into ruin and the official founding of a new hermitage is credited to Phrin las rgya mtsho's nephew, Sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, in around 1696. The ruins of the original hermitage are still seen at the site. Chubzang was one of the five hermitages that belonged to Sera Me college; the other four were Pabonka
Pabonka Hermitage
Pabonka Hermitage , also written Pawangka, is a historical hermitage, today belonging to Sera Monastery, about 8 kilometres northwest of Lhasa in the Nyang bran Valley on the slopes of Mount Parasol in Tibet....
, Jogbo, Tashi Choiling and Pinglung.
The hermitage belonged to Chupzang Yeshé Gyatso (Chu bzang ye shes rgya mtsho) (1789–1856) in the eighteenth century, who built a four-pillar temple with rear chapel and porticos at the site. It was later under the possession of Byang chub chos ’phel, the sixty-ninth throne holder of Ganden (Ganden Tripa). Subsequently, Khri byang sku phreng gsum pa blo bzang yeshes, who was a junior tutor to the living 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
became in charge of the hermitage.
In 1921, Pha bong kha bde chen snying po (1878–1941) stayed at Chubzang and published his teachings in his most famous work, Liberation in Our Hands (Rnam grol lagbcangs).
In the 1950s, the site became a religious retirement community for elderly Lhasans. These elders constructed small huts to spend the last years of their life in prayers and meditation according to Buddhist practice. However, during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
the place became a general housing complex for people. It was only in the 1980s that Nuns began to renovate the site. They founded the modern nunnery (as seen at present), in 1984,which has since grown into one of the largest nunneries in the Lhasa Valley. However, somewhat unusually, the houses are owned individually by the nuns, but the nunnery has an administrative body and a site for communal gathering.
Architecture
The nunnery consists of two wings. The upper wing is the main temple wing with an attached enclosure for lighting butter lamps. The second part is the Dukhang or the Assembly Hall.The main temple wing has an assembly hall where two sets of the idols of Tsong Khapa are deified, flanked by his two favourite disciples. Further to the north east of the hall is a protector deity chapel (mgon khang) where images of Gnas Chung, Lha Mo, six-armed Mahakala
Mahakala
Mahākāla is a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, and a deity in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Vajrayana school. He is known as Daheitian in Chinese and Daikokuten in Japanese...
(Mgon po phyag drug), Dharmarāja
Dharmaraja
Dharmaraja refers to several things in Buddhism and Hinduism:* Dharmaraja, the original Sanskrit term for Chogyal, which may refer to a secular ruler of Sikkim or Bhutan, or a higher-ranking monk in Tibetan Buddhism...
(Dam chen chos rgyal), Rdo rje g.yu sgron ma and two tutelary deities (yi dam) of the nunnery - Vajrabhairava (Rdo rje ’jigs byed) and Vajrayogini (Rdo rje rnal ’byor ma), the supreme deity of the Tantric pantheon - are worshipped.
The Dharma enclosure (chosrwa) to the west of the temple is an area where nuns sit in the open and recite Buddhist scriptures and memorize them. A small chapel inside the courtyard has an image of the protector deity Rdo
rje g.yu sgron ma. The stone image (rdo sku) of the Buddha said to have been “discovered as treasure” (gter nas ston pa) by the Fifth Dalai Lama is located in a secondary temple, which is situated to the south of the Dharma enclosure. There is also a reception room close by in a courtyard. At one time there were 90 Gelukpa nuns residing here.
The pilgrim route of circumambulation of the Pamwangka, Tashi Choling, Tokden Drubuk and Chubzang Nunnery took a day to cover during the summer season.
Structures predating the 1960s
While the above details are of recent structures, some details of the temple and the images that existed in the past are also given in a catalogue titled the "Monasteries of Lhasa: A Heap of Jewels"; hereafter Lha sa’i dgon tho (Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2001)". The details mentioned relate to the main temple images found at the end of 17th century namely, the Buddha, the Medicine Buddha (Sman bla), Avalokiteśvara
Avalokitesvara
Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....
and the Fifth Dalai Lama (Da lai bla ma sku phreng lnga pa, 1617–1682). In the chapel known as the Chimed Lhakhang, images seen were of Nine Deities related to Amitāyus (Tshe dpag med lha dgu). A Tārā Chapel (Sgrol ma lha khang) is also mentioned.
1960s–present
Chupzang nunnery or Ani Gompa (Tibetan terminology used for Nunnery) was rebuilt as part of the rebuilding activity undertaken, after 1980, without interference from the Chinese. The monastery was rebuilt some time between 1985 and 1986, after it was destroyed during the cultural revolution. Chupzang is under the authority of the senior monk of the Sera Monastery. Eight Sera monks are said to visit the monastery to perform religious rites and to teach the nuns residing here. The nuns are all young (in teens and twenties) from nearby villages who stated their background as “Middle Peasants” conforming to the Chinese communist system. In 1988, there were reports of eighty nuns residing here including a few older nuns (who were here even prior to Cultural Revolution of 1959). Admission of nuns to the monastery was approved by the Lama of Sera Monastery, provided there was accommodation in the nunnery. However, the nuns were not officially registered in the nunnery as they had to retain their original ration cards issued in their villages. As the government did not provide any funds for the nunnery the sustainability of nuns residing here was through family support and donations. The nunnery now does not have a democratically elected management committee but a local political leader of 'xiang' is responsible for the monastery and he is said to visit the nunnery very rarely – once or twice a year.Nuns from this monastery were involved in staging protests against the government during the period of protest from several monasteries from 1988–89 in Tibet. Nuns were arrested and released from jail a few months later.
Further reading
- Mayhew, Bradley and Michael Kohn (2005). Tibet. 6th Edition. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74059-523-8.