Ornaments of the Jokhang Temple, Tibet 2024
Jokhang (Lhaden Tsuglakhang)(Jowokhang) ཇོ་ཁང་
Jokhang by Cameron Warner (July 22, 2010) Introduction The Jokhang (jo khang) is the largest temple in Lhasa and arguably the most important pilgrimage site in Tibet. Its most famous inhabitant, the Jowo Śākyamuni (jo bo shākya mu ne) is the most revered Buddhist statue in Tibet. It is customary for Tibetans visiting Lhasa to visit the temple for an audience with the Jowo Śākyamuni immediately upon arrival in the city and again on the way out of town. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Jokhang anchors the oldest neighborhood in Lhasa and functions as the center of religious life for many Tibetans as well as a popular tourist destination. Geographic Location The Jokhang anchors the Tibetan quarter of present-day Lhasa at a geomantically auspicious site chosen by Wencheng Gongzhu (Tib. rgya bza' kong jo). Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign consorts, Bhṛkutī and Wencheng Gongzhu built the temple on top of a small pond called the Milk Lake ('O thang mtsho), north of the right arm of the Kyichu River (Skyid chu) and southeast of the first Potala Palace on Mount Marpori. Early History Songtsen Gampo, the first emperor of Tibet, founded the Jokhang around 640 to house the Jowo Mikyö Dorjé statue (though this is disputed in present scholarship). According to most Tibetan historians, Bhṛkutī, a Nepalese princess of the Licchavi dynasty, brought the Jowo Mikyö Dorjé to Tibet as part of her dowry to become an imperial consort of Songtsen Gampo. The Nepalese connection is still evident in the South Asian layout of the central temple structure and the wood-carved lintels around the doorways of each chapel, most of which are original. After some initial difficulties in construction of the temple, Songtsen Gampo's Chinese consort, Wencheng Gongzhu, performed a divination to select the most auspicious site. Animals helped to fill-in a small lake north of the Kyichu (Skyid chu) river. One of the many names of the temple, Rasa Trülnang (Ra sa 'phrul snang), reflects some of its mythological origins. The name has been interpreted to mean the temple that was "magically-manifested" ('phrul snang) and constructed with earth (sa) transported by goats (ra). However, the etymology of "rasa" most likely refers to Lhasa's origin as a medieval walled-town (rawe sa) (Pommaret-Imaeda ed., 2003: 21). "Trülnang" recalls how Songtsen Gampo magically manifested 108 avatars of himself to assist in the construction of the temple. Much of the early history of the temple is shrouded in myth including how the Jowo Śākyamuni (jo bo shākya mu ne) came to be in the Jokhang. According to Tibetan ecclesiastical history, originally the Jowo Śākyamuni resided in another Lhasa temple, the Ramoché and was later moved to hide it from an invading Chinese army. The name "Jokhang" originally referred to the Jowo Śākyamuni's chapel in particular, the Tsangkhang Uma (Gtsang khang dbus ma), or Central Chapel. The small village of Rasa's name changed to Lhasa (the place of the gods) as it developed around the temple itself. Some of the other names of the temple reflect similar ideas such as Lhadan (Lha ldan) Tsuklagkhang. Middle History The majority of our knowledge of the history of the Jokhang comes from two different genres of Tibetan literature: ecclesiastical histories and catalogues of the temple (dkar chag), usually written to commemorate particular renovations. In the genre of ecclesiastical history, the most important text is the Vase-shaped Pillar Testament (Bka' chems ka khol ma), reputedly an autobiography written by Songtsen Gampo himself and hidden within the temple for the benefit of future generations. It includes accounts of both the construction of the temple and the early history of the Jowo Śākyamuni. However, the various extant recensions of the text date to no earlier than the late eleventh century and therefore it should be read as a document reflecting the concerns of Tibetans from that time period. Around that time, Zangkar Lotsawa (Zangs dkar Lo tsa ba 'Phags pa shes rab) from Ngari (mnga' ris skor gsum) moved the original image in the Central Chapel, the Akṣobhya Buddha (mi 'khrugs pa) to make room for renovations. He expanded the size of the chapel by moving the east-facing wall outwards and moved the Jowo Śākyamuni from his hiding place into the Central Chapel (KPGT II 448; Vitali, 1990: 78). The most authoritative account of Zangkar Lotsawa's work comes from the historian Pawo Tsuklag Trengwa (Dpa' bo Gtsug lag phreng ba) (1504-1566), in his Feast for Scholars: An Ecclesiastical History (Chos 'byung mkhas pa'i dga' ston). The history of the Jokhang cannot be separated from the political history of the Lhasa valley, Read more: places.thlib.org/features/15474/descriptions/236#ixzz1tQg...
Ornaments of the Jokhang Temple, Tibet 2024
Jokhang (Lhaden Tsuglakhang)(Jowokhang) ཇོ་ཁང་
Jokhang by Cameron Warner (July 22, 2010) Introduction The Jokhang (jo khang) is the largest temple in Lhasa and arguably the most important pilgrimage site in Tibet. Its most famous inhabitant, the Jowo Śākyamuni (jo bo shākya mu ne) is the most revered Buddhist statue in Tibet. It is customary for Tibetans visiting Lhasa to visit the temple for an audience with the Jowo Śākyamuni immediately upon arrival in the city and again on the way out of town. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Jokhang anchors the oldest neighborhood in Lhasa and functions as the center of religious life for many Tibetans as well as a popular tourist destination. Geographic Location The Jokhang anchors the Tibetan quarter of present-day Lhasa at a geomantically auspicious site chosen by Wencheng Gongzhu (Tib. rgya bza' kong jo). Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign consorts, Bhṛkutī and Wencheng Gongzhu built the temple on top of a small pond called the Milk Lake ('O thang mtsho), north of the right arm of the Kyichu River (Skyid chu) and southeast of the first Potala Palace on Mount Marpori. Early History Songtsen Gampo, the first emperor of Tibet, founded the Jokhang around 640 to house the Jowo Mikyö Dorjé statue (though this is disputed in present scholarship). According to most Tibetan historians, Bhṛkutī, a Nepalese princess of the Licchavi dynasty, brought the Jowo Mikyö Dorjé to Tibet as part of her dowry to become an imperial consort of Songtsen Gampo. The Nepalese connection is still evident in the South Asian layout of the central temple structure and the wood-carved lintels around the doorways of each chapel, most of which are original. After some initial difficulties in construction of the temple, Songtsen Gampo's Chinese consort, Wencheng Gongzhu, performed a divination to select the most auspicious site. Animals helped to fill-in a small lake north of the Kyichu (Skyid chu) river. One of the many names of the temple, Rasa Trülnang (Ra sa 'phrul snang), reflects some of its mythological origins. The name has been interpreted to mean the temple that was "magically-manifested" ('phrul snang) and constructed with earth (sa) transported by goats (ra). However, the etymology of "rasa" most likely refers to Lhasa's origin as a medieval walled-town (rawe sa) (Pommaret-Imaeda ed., 2003: 21). "Trülnang" recalls how Songtsen Gampo magically manifested 108 avatars of himself to assist in the construction of the temple. Much of the early history of the temple is shrouded in myth including how the Jowo Śākyamuni (jo bo shākya mu ne) came to be in the Jokhang. According to Tibetan ecclesiastical history, originally the Jowo Śākyamuni resided in another Lhasa temple, the Ramoché and was later moved to hide it from an invading Chinese army. The name "Jokhang" originally referred to the Jowo Śākyamuni's chapel in particular, the Tsangkhang Uma (Gtsang khang dbus ma), or Central Chapel. The small village of Rasa's name changed to Lhasa (the place of the gods) as it developed around the temple itself. Some of the other names of the temple reflect similar ideas such as Lhadan (Lha ldan) Tsuklagkhang. Middle History The majority of our knowledge of the history of the Jokhang comes from two different genres of Tibetan literature: ecclesiastical histories and catalogues of the temple (dkar chag), usually written to commemorate particular renovations. In the genre of ecclesiastical history, the most important text is the Vase-shaped Pillar Testament (Bka' chems ka khol ma), reputedly an autobiography written by Songtsen Gampo himself and hidden within the temple for the benefit of future generations. It includes accounts of both the construction of the temple and the early history of the Jowo Śākyamuni. However, the various extant recensions of the text date to no earlier than the late eleventh century and therefore it should be read as a document reflecting the concerns of Tibetans from that time period. Around that time, Zangkar Lotsawa (Zangs dkar Lo tsa ba 'Phags pa shes rab) from Ngari (mnga' ris skor gsum) moved the original image in the Central Chapel, the Akṣobhya Buddha (mi 'khrugs pa) to make room for renovations. He expanded the size of the chapel by moving the east-facing wall outwards and moved the Jowo Śākyamuni from his hiding place into the Central Chapel (KPGT II 448; Vitali, 1990: 78). The most authoritative account of Zangkar Lotsawa's work comes from the historian Pawo Tsuklag Trengwa (Dpa' bo Gtsug lag phreng ba) (1504-1566), in his Feast for Scholars: An Ecclesiastical History (Chos 'byung mkhas pa'i dga' ston). The history of the Jokhang cannot be separated from the political history of the Lhasa valley, Read more: places.thlib.org/features/15474/descriptions/236#ixzz1tQg...