Tsozong Gongba Monastery
Encyclopedia
Tsozong Gongba Monastery (also Tsodzong or Tsomum, 1400 AD; meaning 'castle in a lake') is a small sacred
chapel of the Nyingma
(Red) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
(monks wear red hats - see the other two Red Hat Sect
s).
s.
The three statues (Chenresig, Guru Rimpoché and Sakya Thukpa, see above) were actually shot and burned by the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) during the Cultural Revolution
, before being restored by the local lama
Dudjom Rimpoche and his son Chuni Rimpoche (now resident of at Lamaling Monastery near Bayi
town, see the map on your left). A small 'kora' (ritual circumambulation circuit, see also Kora (pilgrimage)
) around the monastery passes several hard-to-discern holy sites, including a Sky burial
site, a 'body-print' of Gesar.
(also Baksum Tso, Draksum-tso) - Eastern Tibet’s largest freshwater
lake. Because of the water's stunning jade
green effect its meaning in Tibetan - "Phasongtso" is "green water" (Cuogao). The color is due to Songluo (lit. pine-vine). Basum Tso Lake
lies about 50 km east of Kongpo Gyamda County. The lake surface is on average about 3,538 meters above sea level and covers an area of 25.9 square kilometers, with a length of 12 km and a few hundreds to a few thousands meters in width. The deepest part is about 60 (198 feet) meters deep.
Tsozong Gongba Monastery can be reached via the Mila Pass with 16,500 feet above sea level. Zig-zagging the way over mountain passes one will ascend to over 4,450m driving over the Serkhyin La Pass. From the back of mongastery is revealed spectacular views of Namcha Barwa
, the highest peak in the East Himalayas
(7782m).
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
chapel of the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
(Red) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
(monks wear red hats - see the other two Red Hat Sect
Red Hat Sect
In Tibetan Buddhism, the "Red Hat" sects or schools include the three oldest of the four main schools, to wit:*Nyingma*Sakya*KagyuSome others consider only the Nyingma school to be a "Red Hat" sect....
s).
Symbolism
The construction of the Tsozong Gongba Monastery was chaired by the Nyin-gma-pa monk Sungye Lingpa and is now home of few nunNun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s.
The three statues (Chenresig, Guru Rimpoché and Sakya Thukpa, see above) were actually shot and burned by the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
(PLA) 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...
, before being restored by the local lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
Dudjom Rimpoche and his son Chuni Rimpoche (now resident of at Lamaling Monastery near Bayi
Bayi
-Chinese:*Bāyī , referring to the anniversary of the Nanchang Uprising, which is considered as the founding of the People's Liberation Army, and thus a common name used by entities in the People's Republic of China:...
town, see the map on your left). A small 'kora' (ritual circumambulation circuit, see also Kora (pilgrimage)
Kora (pilgrimage)
Kora is both a type of pilgrimage and a type of meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Kora is performed by making a walking circumambulation around a temple, stupa, or other sacred site. Some traditional kora important to the Tibetan tradition include circumambulating Namtso Lake and...
) around the monastery passes several hard-to-discern holy sites, including a Sky burial
Sky burial
Sky burial, or ritual dissection, is a funerary practice in Tibet, wherein a human corpse was incised in certain locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements and animals – especially to predatory birds. The locations of preparation and sky burial are understood in the...
site, a 'body-print' of Gesar.
Directions
Tsozong Gongba Monastery is located on the Tashi (in Chinese Zha-Xi/Tsa-Xi, 島心湖) Island in the middle of the Basum Tso LakeBasum Tso Lake
Dragsum Tsho Dragsum Tsho Dragsum Tsho (tib.: brag gsum mtsho, Tibetan:བྲག་གསུམ་མཚོ་, Pagsum Co , literally meaning “three rocks” in Tibetan, is a lake covering 28 square kilometres in Gongbo'gyamda County, Nyingchi Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, approximately 300 km east...
(also Baksum Tso, Draksum-tso) - Eastern Tibet’s largest freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
lake. Because of the water's stunning jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
green effect its meaning in Tibetan - "Phasongtso" is "green water" (Cuogao). The color is due to Songluo (lit. pine-vine). Basum Tso Lake
Basum Tso Lake
Dragsum Tsho Dragsum Tsho Dragsum Tsho (tib.: brag gsum mtsho, Tibetan:བྲག་གསུམ་མཚོ་, Pagsum Co , literally meaning “three rocks” in Tibetan, is a lake covering 28 square kilometres in Gongbo'gyamda County, Nyingchi Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, approximately 300 km east...
lies about 50 km east of Kongpo Gyamda County. The lake surface is on average about 3,538 meters above sea level and covers an area of 25.9 square kilometers, with a length of 12 km and a few hundreds to a few thousands meters in width. The deepest part is about 60 (198 feet) meters deep.
Tsozong Gongba Monastery can be reached via the Mila Pass with 16,500 feet above sea level. Zig-zagging the way over mountain passes one will ascend to over 4,450m driving over the Serkhyin La Pass. From the back of mongastery is revealed spectacular views of Namcha Barwa
Namcha Barwa
Namjagbarwa Peak , also known as Namcha Barwa, Namchabarwa, or Nanjiabawa Feng, is a mountain in the Tibetan Himalaya. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra would make it the eastern anchor of the entire mountain chain, and it is the highest...
, the highest peak in the East Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
(7782m).