Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t30.1

v1.c7.s3.t30.1

Tashilhunpo Monastery (bkra shis lhun po dgon), located at the western suburb of Shigatse city, Tibet Autonomous Region, is a renowned monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in China and one of the Big Six Monasteries of the Gelug sect of Buddhism. It was first constructed in 1447 in the Shigatse Region by Dge vdun grub pa (dge vdun grub pa,1391～1474), a disciple of Master Tsongkhapa. And it was fully constructed by 1459, with numbers of large and small halls including Vajrayana Temple, Sutra Hall, Gyeni Chanting Hall and three Dratsang (college) like Ngang College. There were about 1,600 monks in the monastery from Tsang, Ngari Sanai, Nepal and Kashmir. As the abbot of the monastery for 38 years, Dge vdun grub pa promoted the canon that Buddhist learners must abide by Lam Rim and emphasised the practice of the Three Precepts. He demanded the monks to abide by the religious discipline. Tashilhunpo monastery later became the central Monastery of the Gelug sect in Tsang region of Tibet.