The Treasury of Lives

The Trandruk temple, founded by Songsten Gampo  in the seventh century, is possibly Tibet's earliest geomantic temple, which suppresses the left shoulder of the supine demoness of Tibetan mythology. While the Jokhang may predate Trandruk, there is no clear consensus as to which site is the oldest.  Later, Trandruk was revered as one of Trisong Detsen's three royal temples together with Samye and Jokhang. It is part of the Yarlung pilgrimage circuit known as "three sanctuaries, three chortens." During the period following the collapse of the Tibetan Empire, it is likely that religious activity may have quietly continued in the area, and toward the end of the eleventh century Trandruk was revitalized. Since around that time, it has been associated with the powerful Gyer clan, of which the Negu, Begu and Khangsar families form branches.  It was converted to a Geluk institution in the seventeenth century and eventually grew to have twenty-one temples.

Sources

Gyurme Dorje. 2004. Tibet Handbook. Bath: Footprint, pp. 201-203.

Sørensen, Per K., and Guntram Hazod. 2005. Thundering falcon: an inquiry into the history and cult of Khra-ʹbrug Tibetʹs first Buddhist temple. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 

Images

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. 

Biographies

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