Below the main assembly hall, the rather innocuous-looking Nyare Kangtsang houses a controversial statue of the deity Dorje Shugden, worship of which has been outlawed by the Dalai Lama for its alleged dangerous Tantric practices. The statue is in the third chapel, in the far right corner, with a red face and third eye, wearing a bronze hat and riding a snow lion.
In 2006 monks stormed the building and smashed the statue, leading to the arrest of two monks. The statue was replaced in 2007 with the support of the Chinese government, seemingly more than happy to fan the flames of a sectarian split between local monks and the Dalai Lama. The standoff remains tense and around two dozen Chinese soldiers remain barracked in the main chapel.
