Tsupu Monastery

A Brief Introduction to Tsupu Monastery

Tsupu Monastery lies on the upper reaches of Tsupu River and northwest of Tulong Valley and is 60 kilometers west of Lhasa. It is on the elevation of 4,300 meters. Tsupu Monastery is the main monastery of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Karma Kagyu belongs to the White Teaching of Tibetan Buddhism. There has been a history of more than 800 years. It is said that the Karma Kagyu sect established the "Living Buddha's Reincarnation System". Now there are altogether 400 lamas in the Tsupu Monstery.

Legends of Tsupu Monastery

In Tibetan, the word "Tsupu" has many meanings. There are two clear and authoritative meanings. The first one is that Tuspu means "Feilai" (flying here). So the Tuspu Monastery is also called Feilai Monastery. According to the legend, the Tsupu Monastery flew here from India. This idea is similar to that of Feilai Peak in Hangzhou and is the mythologization of people's belief and mentality.

Another legend of the Tsupu Monastery goes that the founder of Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism-Dutsongqinba passed here and held that it was a treasure place and then set his mind on building the Tsupu Monastery. "Tsupu" here means extremely wealthy. Thus in the mind of the Tibetans, Tsupu Monastery is an auspicious and harmonious monastery.

History of Tsupu Monastery

In the year of 1189, the 80 years old first Karmapa-the leader of Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism came to the Tulong Valley and built the Tsupu Monastery. Then the Tsupu Monastery was called the "pure land on earth" and became the main monastery of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. At that time, the whole monastery could hold more than 1,000 lamas.

During the period of the second Karmapa, the Tsupu Monastery was expanded and the famous statue of the Buddha Lhachen Zamlinp Gyen was built.

In 1410, the Tsupu Monastery was destroyed in an earthquake. In 1414, the emperor of Ming Dynasty-Zhu Di earmarked for the reconstruction of the Tsupu Monastery. As a result, the monastery was rebuilt under the supervision of the fifth Karmapa.

In the following more than 500 years, the monastery was successively developed into a huge Manda.

Layout of Tsupu Monastery

The Main Hall of Tsupu Monastery is located among the valleys surrounded by many mountains, on the bank of the Tsupu River. The surrounding buildings include halls of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, halls of the successive Karmapas, the publishing center, the administrative center, the summer palace of Karmapas and so on. There are also two libraries of Tibetan scriptures, collecting many precious scriptures and guides of self-cultivation, the excellent works of different sects of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as ritual procedures and so on. The majestic back mountain is called the Thukje Chenpo and the front mountain is called as the Dharmapalas of Mahakala Mountain, while the middle mountain is called the merciful Maitreya Mountain.

Attractions of Tsupu Monastery

There are many precious treasures in the Tsupu Monastery most of which are still in good condition. They are collected in the statues of Buddha, the stupas and the showcases. The clay statue of Sakyamuni, the Sariputta of the Karmapas and many other Buddhism ritual instruments can be found here.

There is a stone tablet inside the main hall of the Tsupu Monastery with a height of 2.5 meters and a width of 0.5 meter. Ancient Tibetan words are engraved on the tablet which are valuable for the study of the politics, the economy and the religion of Tibet.

The treasure of the Tsupu Monastery is the silvery statue. Because it is said that the silvery statue once floated in the air for as long as 7 days, the silvery statue is also called Kongzhu (suspending in the air) Buddha.

The most precious cultural relics in the Tsupu Monastery is the Sariputta of the 16th Karmapa. The 16th Karmapa passed away in 1981 overseas and was burned also in a foreign country. One of his Sariputta was brought to the Tsupu Monastery. Surprisingly, a Buddha statue with a height of 0.25 centimeter appeared on this Sariputta several years later. It is a mystery in the Buddhist circle.