caption : The Ganden Monastery 2009 - 甘丹寺
Ganden Monastery sits on top of the mountain with a stupendous
view of the surrounding Kyi-chu valley. And if you are already
monastery sick, Ganden offer you a fascinating mountain trail
circuits that gives you a different view.
A little history of this monastery before moving on. The
Ganden monastery was founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa, a revered
reformer of the Gelugpa order (Dalai Lama sect). After his death in
1411, the abbotship was passed on to his disciples who was to
earn it by his scholarship merit rather than his lineage.
Today, this practice still passes on.
caption : The Ganden Monastery before the Chinese
Invasion
The Ganden monastery soon became one of the greatest
monastery University in his time. It had more than 200
building structure during its golden era. But because of its
political influence, Ganden suffered the most in the hands of the
Red Guards. It was throughly destroyed by the Red Army artillery
fire and bombing during the 1959 uprising and 1966 Red Guard
Culture Revolution.
caption : The Ganden Monastery in 1985 with its first
reconstuction in the middle of the picture
In 1966, the Red Guards destroyed the original tomb of its
founder and the preserved body was burned. However a lama
managed to salvage fragments of Tsongkhapa skull and today it is
encased in the newly build silver-gold chorten in the monastery.
Whatever building you see (some 50 units) here on the top picture
is no older than me.
