Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t28: vbras spungs dgon
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t28
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vbras spungs dgon
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vbras spungs dgon, a well-known temple of dge lugs pa of Tibetan Buddhism, one of three major temples in Lhasa. The full name “dpal ldan vbras spungs dgon” is derived from a place name in south India where a pagoda of dpal ldan vbras spungs stood and Buddha preached dus vkhor there. It is actually a Buddhist shrine.
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In 1416, vjam dbyangs chos rgyal (1379-1449), disciple of Tsong kha pa, built a large temple “vbras sungs dgon” at suburb of Lhasa (present-day western suburb of Lhasa, Tibet) and served as abbot until he passed away. At vbras spungs dgon, he preached the doctrine of the compatibility of Tantric Buddhism and Exoteric Buddhism advocated by Tsong kha pa and attached much importance to studying and practicing the teaching of Exoterric Buddhism.
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Vbras sungs dgon founded seven grwa tshangs (academy) namely blo gsal gling grwa tshang, sgo mang grwa tshang, bde yangs grwa tshang, sngags pa grwa tshangm, shag skor grwa tshang, rgyas pa grwa tshang and vdul ba grwa tshang. Subsequently, shag skor grwa tshang and rgyas pa grwa tshang merged with blo gsal gling grwa tshang and vdul ba grwa tshang integrated into sgo mang grwa tshang, forming an academy layout of four grwa tshangs (academy). Except that monks from sngags pa grwa tshang specialised in practicing *Tantra* and performing Tantric ritual, other grwa tshangs were renowned as the Exoteric Academies for study into gzhung-po-ti lnga.
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The majority of erudite monks of dge lugs pa came from sgo mang grwa tshang and blo gsal gling grwa tshang and the teaching and ritual of vbras sungs dgon spread across mdo khams and thereby many
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*Drepung Monastery, Tibet, China*
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well-known branch temples such as sku vbum, dgon lung, chu bzang, gser khog, bla brang bkra shes vkhyil and la mo bde chen were built.
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In history, vbras sungs dgon was renowned as the largest and the highest-ranking temple, housing the most monks (quota: 7,700 monks. actual number: over 10,000 monks) and top ranked among three major temples in Lhasa and among temples of dge lugs pa. After the second Dalai Lama was designated as the living Buddha of vbras sungs dgon, the second, third, fourth and fifth Dalai Lamas all came from vbras sungs dgon. Meanwhile, Tibetan Karma Phodrang regime was set up at vbras sungs dgon in the Qing Dynasty and vbras sungs dgon enjoyed a high status in the history of Tibetan theocracy.
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Vbras sungs dgon trained a good number of Buddhist scholars and translators who are well versed in Tibetan and Sanskrit and houses an array of Buddhist *sutras* and few Sanskrit Pattra sutras, becoming a cultural centre for India-China cultural exchange. In modern times, dge lugs pa spread to India and built many large temples. For instance, vbras sungs dgon in south India (present-day Mango region of Karnataka) which houses over 4,500 monks now.
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(*Kalsang gyal*)