– The Temple Of Buddha Shakyamuni
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The Jokhang Temple is, without doubt, the most sacred temple in Tibet. Also one of the main attraction for the people who travel to Tibet.
It was established in the seventh century by King Songtsen Gampo to house the image of Akshobhya (Mikyoba) Buddha offered to him his Nepalese wife, Tritsun (Bhrkuti Devi). At this time, it was called the ‘Trulnang’ temple.
When the Jowo Shakyamuni statue given to the king by Wen Cheng, his Chinese wife, moved the statue from Ramoche temple, was it given its present name ‘Jokhang’, the shrine of the Jowo. (Akshobhya statue changed places with the Jowo and house in Ramoche).
The Jowo statue was part of the Chinese princess’s dowry. It was initially given to her father, T’ai-Tsung, the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, by the king from Bengal.
Tibetans believe that the statue of Jowo was made by the celestial artist Vishvakarman at the Buddha’s time and blessed by Buddha Shakyamuni himself; because of that, the figure is considered Buddha.
