The Treasury of Lives

Harry Staunton. The Tibet Album. 'Drepung monastery from a distance' 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum.

Drepung is one of the three major Geluk monasteries of Lhasa. It was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choje Tashi Pelden, a disciple of Tsongkhapa.  It contains the Ganden Podrang residence which served as the seat of the Dalai Lamas until the seventeenth century. The entire monastery was initially administered from the office of the Drepung Throne holder; since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama the custom has been that the senior abbot of the two principle colleges, Gomang or Loseling, has served as head of Drepung. Of the seven colleges that were once part of the monastery, only four survive, the two others being the Ngakpa Dratsang and Deyang.

Sources

Akester, Matthew. 2016. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's Guide to Central Tibet. Chicago, IL: Serindia Publications, pp. 109-113.

Gyurme Dorje. 2009. Tibet Handbook. Bath: Footprint, pp. 127-132. 

Drepung Monastery

Incarnation Lines

Abbots & Officers

Throne Holder

1. First Throne Holder Jamyang Choje Tashi Pelden 1416 - 1449
2. Second Throne Holder dpal ldan seng+ge 1449 -
3. Third Throne Holder rgyal mtshan bzang po -
4. Fourth Throne Holder Lobzang Nyima -
5. Fifth Throne Holder blo bzang nyi ma - 1492
6. Sixth Throne Holder shAkya rin chen -
7. Seventh Throne Holder Monlam Pelwa 1481 -
8. Eighth Throne Holder legs pa chos 'byor -
9. Ninth Throne Holder yon tan rgya mtsho -
10. Tenth Throne Holder Gendun Gyatso 1517 - 1535
11. Eleventh Throne Holder Paṇchen Sonam Drakpa 1535 - 1551
12. Twelfth Throne Holder Sonam Gyatso 1564 -
13. Thirteenth Throne Holder Yonten Gyatso -
14. Fourteenth Throne Holder Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen -
15. Fifteenth Throne Holder Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso -
Throne Holder bstan pa bstan 'dzin -
Throne Holder pad+ma rgyal mtshan 0 -

སྣང་བརྙན།

The Demoness of Tibet

The Demoness of Tibet is a close copy of a well-known image located in the Tibet Museum in Lhasa. The landscape of Tibet is shown as the mythical demoness of Tibetan legend. Important Buddhist temples and monasteries are located across her body, spanning from the Ngari region in the west to Kham in the east. 

The Potala Palace and the Main Monuments of Lhasa

This painting shows major sites of Lhasa including the Jokhang, Potala Palace and Lukhang. The monasteries of Sera, Drepung, and Sangpu Neutok are also pictured. It is possible that the image depicts activities during Losar festivities.

 

 

Biographies

There are 153 related biographies