Lhasa 拉萨市 - Gandan Monastery 甘丹寺

About 40 kilometers to the northeast of Lhasa, Gandan was the first monastery of the Gelugpa order. It has remained the main seat of the major Tibetan Buddhist order ever since. Established in 1409 by Tsong Kha-pa, the revered creator of the Gelugpa order, Gandan is one of the three major Gelugpa monasteries in the region. The others are the Drepung and Sera monasteries. Of all the great monasteries in Tibet, Gandan suffered most during the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976). Most of its buildings including the Assembly Hall, the Golden Tomb of Tsong Kha-pa, the Jiangtse College and the Shrtse College were demolished. Gandan has taken on a completely new look thands to extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. Some 500 monks live in the monastery, of whom, about 200 monks belong to the Shartse College, and the others the Jiangtsw College. The two colleges used to hold chanting gatherings separately. Nowadays, they hold the gatherings together in the Assembly Hall, which is good for them as it makes them more united. Most of the monks in Gandan are from Tibet, with two from Gansu Province, two from Sichuan Province and a dozen from Qinghai Province. Most of the space inside the main assembly hall was occupied by red cushions and clusters of colourful flags hunt down from the ceiling.

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