Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Red Palace
PALACE
You start the tour of the main palace building from the top and descend through the bowels
of the building to exit on the ground floor. The gilded Buddhas, intricate mandalas and
towering funeral stupas you pass en route rank as the highlights of the Potala.
Third Floor
On the 3rd floor, the first room is the
Chapel of Jampa
(Jamkhang), which contains an
exquisite image of Jampa (Maitreya, or the Future Buddha) commissioned by the eighth
Dalai Lama; it stands opposite the Dalai Lama's throne. To the right of the throne, in the
corner, is a wooden Kalachakra mandala. The walls are stacked with the collected works
of Tsongkhapa and the fifth Dalai Lama. The chapel was unfortunately damaged in a fire
in 1984 (caused by an electrical fault) and many valuable thangkas were lost.
Next, the
Chapel of Three-Dimensional Mandalas
(Loilang Khang) houses spectacu-
lar jewel-encrusted mandalas of the three principal Tantric deities of the Gelugpa order.
These are essentially three-dimensional versions of the mandalas you see painted on
thangkas everywhere and act as meditation maps for the mind.
The
Chapel of the Victory over the Three Worlds
(Sasum Namgyal) houses a library
and displays of Manchu texts. The main statue is a golden thousand-armed Chenresig,
while the main thangka is of the Manchu Chinese emperor Qianlong dressed in monk's
robes, with accompanying inscriptions in Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian and Manchurian.
Next, the
Chapel of Immortal Happiness
(Chimey Dedan Kyil) was once the residen-
ce of the sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, whose throne remains; it is now dedicated
to Tsepame, the Buddha of Longevity, who sits by the window. Next to him in the corner is
the Dzogchen deity Ekajati (Tsechigma), with an ostrich-feather hat and a single fang.
In the northwest corner is the
Lamo Lhakhang
and the golden
tomb of the Seventh
Dalai Lama
(Serdung Tashi Obar Khang), constructed in 1757 and encased in half a tonne
of gold. To the right stands a statue of Kalsang Gyatso, the seventh Dalai Lama.
In the northwest corner, steps lead up into the small but important
Chapel of Arya
Lokeshvara
(Phagpa Lhakhang). Allegedly this is one of the few corners of the Potala
that dates from the time of Songtsen Gampo's 7th-century palace. It is the most sacred of
the Potala's chapels, and the sandalwood image of Arya Lokeshvara inside is the most
revered image housed in the Potala. The statue is accompanied on the left by the seventh
