Joseph F. Rock: Labrang Lamasery, 1926 Labrang Lamasery (拉卜楞寺) is one of the six great monaster
Joseph F. Rock: Labrang Lamasery, 1926 Labrang Lamasery (拉卜楞寺) is one of the six great monasteries of the Geluk (Yellow Hat) school of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in Xiahe County in Gansu province, at the strategic intersection of four major Asian cultures - Tibetan, Mongolian, Han Chinese, and Chinese Muslim - and was one of the largest Buddhist monastic universities housing thousands of monks by the time Joseph Rock visited it on his exploration to the eastern Tibet areas in 1925-26. The monastery was founded in 1709 by the first Jamyang Zhaypa, Ngawang Tsondru. The monastic complex dominates the northern part of Xiahe (夏河) with its white walls and golden roofs featuring a blend of Tibetan and Han architectural styles. The monastery contains 18 halls, six institutes of learning, a golden stupa, a sutra debate area, and houses nearly 60,000 sutras. Labrang is Tibetan Buddhism’s most important monastery town outside of the Tibetan Autonomous Region and still holds more than 1000 monks. 1. The Gungthang stupa 2. The lamasery overlooking the Daxia River 3. & 4. Jo Khang or Lord’s House and private apartments for living Buddhas 5. The Great Sutra Hall 6. Inside the Hall, each (red) column is 14 meters high 7. A living Buddha 8. Lamas standing next to massive wooden kettles (center) and tea buckets (right) in the kitchen 9. Yak caravan preparing for a trip to a neighbouring monastery Most of Joseph F. Rock’s images can be found here -- source link
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