Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sculptures of interest in the main hall include a two-storey Jampelyang (Manjushri), ac-
companied by the moustached 13th Dalai Lama; Sakyamuni; a statue of Tsongkhapa that
is said to have spoken; Jamyang Chöje, in a cabinet to the right; the seventh Dalai Lama;
and to the right Sakyamuni, flanked by five of the Dalai Lamas. At either end of the altar
you will find a group of eight
arhats
(literally 'worthy ones'). Look for the two-storey
statue of Jampa in the back room to the right. Pilgrims walk under the long cabinet on the
eastern wall, which holds a huge building-sized thangka that is unveiled during the Shötun
festival (there's a photo of it at one end).
Back by the main entrance, steps lead up to the 1st and 2nd floors. At the top of the
stairs is the
Hall of the Kings of Tibet
, featuring statues of Tibet's early kings, as well as
Lobsang Gyatso (the fifth Dalai Lama), and a chapel containing the head of a two-storey
Jampa statue. Pilgrims prostrate themselves here and drink from a sacred conch shell.
Continue moving clockwise through the Sakyamuni Chapel, stuffed with chörtens, and
then descend to the
Miwang Lhakhang
. This chapel contains the assembly hall's most
revered image, a massive statue of Jampa, the Future Buddha, at the age of 12. The statue
rises through three floors of the building from the ground-floor chapel you saw earlier, and
it is flanked by Tsongkhapa to the left and Jamyang Chöje to the right.
Next is the
Drölma Lhakhang
. Drölma is a protective deity, and in this case the three
Drölma images in the chapel are responsible for protecting Drepung's drinking water,
wealth and authority respectively. There are also some fine examples of gold-inked
Tibetan Kangyur scriptures here. The central statue is a form of Sakyamuni, whose amulet
encases one of Tsongkhapa's teeth.
Exit the building from the western side of the 2nd floor.
Ngagpa College
BUDDHIST, CHAPEL
Ngagpa is one of Drepung's four
tratsang
(colleges), and was devoted to Tantric study.
The chapel is dedicated to bull-headed Dorje Jigje (Yamantaka), a Tantric meditational
deity who serves as an opponent to the forces of impermanence. The cartoon-style Dorje
Jigje image in the inner sanctum is said to have been fashioned by Tsongkhapa himself.
Walking clockwise, other statues include Palden Lhamo (first clockwise, riding a horse),
Nagpo Chenpo (third), Drölma (fourth), Tsongkhapa (fifth), the fifth Dalai Lama (seventh)
