Samye Monastery

A Brief Introduction to Samye Monastery

Samye Monastery is located in the Samye Town of Lhokha prefecture in Tibet. It is under the Habu Mountain in the north bank of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Samye Monastery was originally built in the Tobo Kingdom period in the 8th century. It is the first monastery of Tibet with Buddha, Buddha dharma and monks, thus it is called "the First Monastery of Tibet".

Legend of Samye Monastery

There is an interesting legend about the origin of the Samye Monastery. According to the legend, the then king-Trisong Detsen was quite eager to watch the monastery although the monastery was still not completed. So Padmasambhava showed his fascinating power and made an unreal look of the monastery in his palm. The King Trisong Detsen was so surprised that he shouted out "Samye" (in Tibetan, the word Samye means beyond one's expectation), thus the monastery was called Samye Monastery because of the king's exclamation.

History of Samye Monastery

Samye Monastery was begun to be built in 762 by King Trisong Detsen during the Tubo Kingdom period, under the auspices of the Buddhist master Padmasambhava. The site of Samye Monastery was chosen in the birthplace of King Trisong Detsen.

The construction work of the monastery was completed in the year of 779. Trisong Detsen ordained seven descendants of blue blood to cultivate in the monastery. They became the first group of monks to live in the monastery and later the so-called "Seven Enlighten Disciples of Samye". Since then, Buddhism has become widespread within Tibet and forms a branch of splendid culture.

In1997, the Samye Monastery was listed as one of the national cultural relic protection unit by the State Council. In 2005, Samye Monastery was listed as the national AAAA tourist attraction.

Layout of Samye Monastery

The whole construction of Samye Monastery is very spectacular and complicated. It replicates the universe described in the sutras exactly. The central world Mount Meru is represented by the majestic Wuzi Hall. The Sun and Moon chapels stand in the north and south as the sun and moon in the universe. Four larger halls and eight smaller halls are distributed around all sides of the central hall, symbolizing the four large continents and eight small ones. In the four corners lie the Red, White, Black and Green Pagodas guarding the Dharma like the Heavenly Kings. A circular wall surrounds the monastery as if marking the periphery of the world. The layout of Samye Monastery resembles the Mandala in the Esoteric Buddhism.