Tashi Lhunpo Monastery

– The Spiritual Seat For Panchen Lamas

The History Of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery

Tashi Lhunpo monastery was founded in 1447 by Gendundrup, a nephew of master Tsongkhapa, one of his foremost disciples and the first Dalai Lama (recognized retrospectively). Gendun Drup was entombed in Tashi Lhunpo, the only Dalai Lama (except also the sixth) whose remains are not enshrined in Lhasa.

Shortly after he assumed power in 1642, the fifth Dalai Lama declared that his teacher Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen (4th Panchen Lama), then the abbot of Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Shigatse. He was the manifestation of Buddha Amitabha and the fourth in a line of incarnate lamas starting with Khedrup Je, one of the two chief disciples of Tsongkhapa.

Tashi Lhunpo became the spiritual seat of the successive Panchen Lamas, who in turn became in varying degrees, the chief spiritual and temporal authority of Tsang. The Monastery is located on a hill in the centre of the city, the full name in Tibetan of the monastery means “all fortune and happiness gathered here”

Tashi Lhunpo monastery is one of the six great Gelugpa monasteries along with Ganden Monastery, Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Labrang Monastery, and Kumbum Monastery. The monastery is famous for its giant Jampa Buddha – Maitreya Buddha. The statue of Maitreya Buddha is the world’s largest gilded statue with 26 meters high. The statue was built during the reign of the 9th Panchen Lama in 1914. 

Travel Guide Of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery

Tashi Lhunpo monastery is the main attraction spot in the city of Shigatse. There are five main big buildings once we enter the gate. 

As the main spiritual seat for the successive Panchen Lamas, the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery also plays the role of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The monastery consists of not only the chapels but also the funeral tombs of the Panchen Lamas.

Beside the chapels and tombs, there is a seven-storey heigh of the red building house the world biggest Gold and Copper gilded image of the future Buddha – Maitraya.

The great Maitreya Chaple:

• The great Maitreya chapel was newly built by the ninth Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Nyima between 1914 and 1918.
• The Buiding is seven storeys in height.
• The state of the Maitreya Buddha is 26.2 metres in height and the lotus seat is 3.8 metres.
• The statue is made of 279 kilograms of gold and 230,000 kilograms of copper. 
• The statue is adorned with numerous precious stones including eyes beads, turquoise, corals and pearls.