One of the few monasteries in Tibet to weather the stormy seas of the Cultural Revolution, Tashilhunpo remains relatively unscathed. It is a real pleasure to explore the busy cobbled lanes twisting around the aged buildings. Covering 70,000 sq metres, the monastery is now the largest functioning religious institution in Tibet and one of its great monastic sights. The huge golden statue of the Future Buddha is the largest gilded statue in the world.
From the entrance to the monastery, visitors get a grand view. Above the white monastic quarters is a crowd of ochre buildings topped with gold – the tombs of the past Panchen Lamas. To the right, and higher still, is the Festival Thangka Wall , hung with massive, colourful thangkas during festivals. Circumnavigating the exterior of the compound is a one-hour kora that takes you into the hills behind the monastery.
As you start to explore the various buildings, you’ll see a lot of photos of the ninth, 10th and 11th Panchen Lamas. The ninth Panchen Lama is recognisable by his little moustache. The 11th Panchen Lama is the disputed Chinese-sponsored lama, now in his early 20s.
Morning is the best time to visit because more of the chapels are open. Monks start to lock chapels up for lunch after 12.30pm.
Severe restrictions on photography are in place inside the monastic buildings. The going cost for a photograph varies but be prepared for a pricey ¥75 per chapel, and as high as ¥150 in the assembly hall. Video camera fees are an absurd ¥1000 to ¥1500 in some chapels.
Chapel of Jampa (Jamkhang Chenmo)
Walk through the monastery and bear left for the first and probably most impressive of Tashilhunpo’s sights: the Chapel of Jampa. An entire building houses a 26m figure of Jampa (Maitreya), the Future Buddha. The statue was made in 1914 under the auspices of the ninth Panchen Lama and took some 900 artisans and labourers four years to complete.
The impressive, finely crafted and serene-looking statue towers high over the viewer. Each of Jampa’s fingers is more than 1m long, and in excess of 300kg of gold went into his coating, much of which is also studded with precious stones. On the walls surrounding the image there are a thousand more gold paintings of Jampa set against a red background.
Victory Chapel (Namgyel Lhakhang)
This chapel is a centre for philosophy and houses a large statue of Tsongkhapa flanked by Jampa and Jampelyang (Manjushri).
Tomb of the 10th Panchen Lama (Serdung Sisum Namgyel)
This dazzling gold-plated funeral chörten holds the remains of the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989. His image is displayed atop the tomb. The ceiling of the chapel is painted with a Kalachakra (Dukhor in Tibetan) mandala, with a mural of the deity on the left wall, and the walls are painted with gold buddhas in various mudras . From here you can normally head upstairs to proceed through a line of upper chapels.
Tomb of the Fourth Panchen Lama (Kundun Lhakhang)
The gold-roofed chapel holds the tomb of the Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Choekyi Gyeltsen (1567–1662), teacher of the fifth Dalai Lama. This was the only mausoleum at Tashilhunpo to be spared during the Cultural Revolution. The 11m-high funerary chörten is inlaid with semiprecious stones and contains 85kg of gold.
Kelsang Temple
The centrepiece of this remarkable collection of buildings is a large courtyard, which is the focus of festival and monastic activities. It's a fascinating place to sit and watch the pilgrims and monks go about their business. Monks congregate here before their lunch-time service in the main assembly hall. A huge prayer pole rears from the centre of the flagged courtyard and the surrounding walls are painted with buddhas.
The assembly hall is one of the oldest buildings in Tashilhunpo, dating from the 15th-century founding of the monastery. The massive throne that dominates the centre of the hall is the throne of the Panchen Lamas. The hall is a dark, moody place, with rows of mounted cushions for monks, and long thangkas, depicting the various incarnations of the Panchen Lama, suspended from the ceiling. The central inner chapel holds a wonderful statue of Sakyamuni (Sakya Thukpa), while the chapel to the right holds several images of Drölma (Tara).
You can also visit the huge new Tomb of the Fifth to the Ninth Panchen Lamas (Tashi Langyar), built by the 10th Panchen Lama to replace tombs destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. The central statue is of the ninth Panchen Lama. The 10th Panchen Lama returned to Shigatse from Běijīng to dedicate the tomb in 1989. He fulfilled his prediction that he would die on Tibetan soil just three days after the ceremony.
There are a dozen other chapels in the complex on this floor. Follow the pilgrims on a clockwise circuit, ending up in a tangle of chapels above the assembly hall. Here in the far left (upper) corner chapel you’ll find views of the two-storey Jampa statue below and, to the right, the tombs of the first and third Panchen Lamas and first Dalai Lama, with a fine mural of Buddha descending to earth (as celebrated in Tibet's Lhabab Dechen festival). Then descend to the middle floor and do another clockwise circuit, taking in the interesting printing press .
Tantric & Philosophy Colleges
As you leave Tashilhunpo, it is also possible to visit the monastery’s two remaining colleges, the Tantric College and the brown Philosophy College. They are on the left-hand side as you walk down towards the main gate. Neither is particularly interesting but you might be lucky and find yourself in time for debating, which is held in the courtyard of the Philosophy College.
