Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
palm trees and dhotis (Indian-style loincloths). Scholarly opinion varies on whether the
murals date from the 13th and 14th, or 15th and 16th centuries.
The main statues here are of the past, present and future buddhas (all of recent origin),
and there's also a footprint of Rinchen Zangpo. The lower walls of the inner area have
murals depicting the life of the Buddha and the founders of the monastery. Murals of the
protectors Dorje Jigje (Yamantaka) and Namse (Vairocana) decorate the main entry.
White Chapel (Lhakhang Karpo) BUDDHIST, CHAPEL
The entry to this side chapel is marked by a finely carved deodar (cedar) doorframe that
originated in India. Inside are detailed 15th- and 16th-century murals, somewhat affected
by water damage though mostly restored with Swiss assistance. The central statue is an old
Sakyamuni Buddha (his hands are new). Lining the sides are the eight medicine buddhas
in various states of destruction. Male deities line the left wall; female bodhisattvas the
right. The far-right-corner murals depict a gruesome sky burial.
Yeshe Ö's Mandala Chapel (Nampar Nang Lhakhang) BUDDHIST, CHAPEL
Once the main building in the Thöling complex, Yeshe Ö's Mandala Chapel was also
known as the Golden Chapel. All the images have been destroyed but the four chörtens re-
main along with a few remaining torsos, disembodied heads and limbs, scattered around
the chapel like the leftovers from a sky burial. The mood created by the senseless loss of
such magnificent art hangs heavy in the air.
Before its destruction in the Cultural Revolution, the square main hall had four second-
ary chapels at the centre of each wall. Figures of the deities were arrayed around the wall
facing towards a central image atop a lotus pedestal, in the form of a huge three-dimen-
sional Tibetan mandala (a representation of the world of a meditational deity).
You enter the Mandala Chapel through the Gyatsa Lhakhang and finish off a visit by
walking around an interior kora of chapels. Most are closed and devoid of statues but a
few open to reveal broken legs and plinths.
Tsaparang
The citadel of Tsaparang (Gǔgé Gǔchéng; joint admission ticket with Thöling ¥200, optional guide
per person ¥10) , 18km west of Zanda, has been gracefully falling into ruin ever since its
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