Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t23: bsam yas dgon
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t23
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bsam yas dgon
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Samye Monastery (bsam yas dgon) was built in the 8th century CE. It is an old temple of Tibetan Buddhism in China and the first standard Buddhist monastery in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in the north bank of Yarlung Tsangpo River within Zhanang County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region.
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In 8th century CE, Trisong Detsen (reigned 742-798 CE), the 38th ruler (King) of Tibetan Empire invited eminent Indian Buddhist master Santaraksita to Tibet for the second time to build standard Buddhist monastery, conduct the tonsure for monks and nuns and spread the Dharma and ritual. Without extensive mass base of Buddhism believers, it was not easy to build a Buddhist monastery in Tibet at that time. Under such circumstances, Trisong Detsen took all kinds of measures and eventually Buddhism was accepted by Tibetan people. Under the direction of Santaraksita and Padmasambhava, the ground-breaking ceremony was held in 774 CE and the construction of the monastery began. After five years of concerted efforts of Tibetan people and investment of a large number of manpower and material the construction was completed in 778 CE. Santaraksita and Padmasambhava held a grand consecration ceremony for the monastery.
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Designed by Santaraksita and Padmasambhava, Samye Monastery is a grand monastery with complete construction and unique style. There are three versions about the reference model based on Ou Danda Pu Li Temple in Magadha built by King Gopala of ancient Indian Pala Dynasty, consulting the world prospect described in Abhidharma-kosa and imitating the Mandala in the Esoteric Buddhism. In fact, the construction of Samye Monastery combines different features of the mentioned three. For example, the main temple in centre is a grand three-storey building and represents Mt Meru, the Buddhist universe centre. The four continents (Purva Videha, Jambudvipa, Apara Godaniya and Vttara Kuru) in the ocean around Mt Meru are represented by four temples at the cardinal points, each flanked by two smaller temples to symbolise eight islands in the ocean. The Sun and Moon chapels stand in two flanks of the main temple. In the four corners of the main temple lie four Pagodas with different colour representing different meanings. For example, the White one is Bodhi pagoda, Red for Dharma pagoda, Black for Dagoba and Green for Heaven pagoda. All these Pagodas symbol the Buddhism idea of conquering all demons and curbing all disasters.
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The whole complex of Samye Monastery is surrounded by a circular wall symbolising the periphery of the world in Buddhism. The gates at the four cardinal points and the eastern gate leads to the front entrance of the hall. All of the layers of the three-storey main temple follow different architectural styles, the bottom Tibetan, the middle Han and the top Indian. Statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in three layers reflect different cultural features in three regions. For example, statues in the first layer imitates the image of Tibetan, the second layer Han people of Tang Dynasty and in the third layer, Indian. It is actually a grand multi-cultural Buddhist monastery.
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Today, Samye Monastery has developed into a comprehensive monastery of Tibetan Buddhism integrating Nyingma, Sakya and Gelug. In 1996, Samye Monastery was listed as one of the fourth batch of important cultural relic sites under state-level protection by the State Council of China. In 2005, Samye Monastery was rated as one of national 4A-level scenic spots in China.
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(*Kalsang gyal*)