Yangpachen Monastery

A Brief Introduction to Yangpachen Monastery

Yangpachen Monastery is located in the Damxung County of the Yangpachen Town which is 93 kilometers away from the Lhasa city. To the east of Yangpachen Town is Lhasa city and to the west of it is the back Tibet area while to its north is Amdo. Yangpachen Monastery is the main monastery of the Red Hat school of Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

History of Yangpachen Monastery

Yangpachen Monastery has a history of more than 500 years. It was the second seat of the Shamarpas, from the time of the 4th Shamarpa (1453 -1524) through the time of the 10th Shamarpa (1742 - 1792). It was originally built in the year of 1490 by the fourth ling Buddha-Quezhayixi. Since then to the year of 1791, during the three centuries of living Buddha's incarnation, Yangpachen Monastery was successively repaired and rebuilt, expanding to a large-scaled monastic architectural complex with a great mount of cultural relics treasured up in it. According to the record of 1791, there are altogether 1,135 rooms (including 778 storied houses and 357 monks' houses), 103 monks and 9 monars inside the monastery. The Red Hat school of Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism died out in 1791.

Yangpachen Monastery was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution but was rebuilt later.

Attractions of Yangpachen Monastery

There are many monks' frocks, hangings, gold and silvers, coppery and irony wares as well as the women's jewelries with high values collected in the Yangpachen Monastery. Therein, the most famous is the statue of Shamarpa.