Chupzang Nunnery
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
Dear friends around the world,
Chupzang Nunnery has had a rich history and culture. It is an interesting and beautiful nunnery with their practice intact for hundreds of years. They have many sacred Buddhist treasures such as self arisen images of holy beings that are a great blessing. They have a ‘Terma Buddha’ which was discovered naturally hidden in the environment and found by 5th Dalai Lama and installed in the monastery for all to see. This monastery of nuns practices primarily Vajrabhairava (Yamantaka) and Vajra Yogini as their main yidams. How blessed they are to be focused on these sacred practices. Even His Holiness the great Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche Dechen Nyingpo gave his famous Lam Rim discourse there for one month in the last century. I am most happy to share this beautiful place with you and may you be blessed.
Tsem Rinpoche
Chupzang Nunnery (Chupzang Gön)
by José Ignacio Cabezón
Copyright © 2006 by José Ignacio Cabezón and THL.
Location and Layout
The phrase chu bzang means “good waters,” indicating that this was probably the site of a spring in former times. Chupzang Nunnery is located in the foothills of the northern section of the suburb of Nyangdren, directly north of Lhasa and northwest of Sera. It takes about forty minutes to walk from Sera to Chupzang. The hermitage (ritrö) faces south in the direction of Lhasa.
The site can be divided into three major areas:
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Farthest north (and uphill) one finds a field of stūpas and large boulders with carvings or self-arisen images (rangjön).
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Directly below (south of) the field of stūpas in the northernmost area of the hermitage are the main temple complex, the dharma courtyard (chöra), and the secondary temple.
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Below the temples, farther south on the hillside is the residential (and by far the largest) area of the nunnery that contains dozens of private nuns’ huts.
The two temple complexes are located just below the stūpa field. These are:
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The upper (main) temple, where the nuns gather for communal rituals. To the left of the main temple there is a small butter-lamp offering house (chömé khang, built in 2004), and a kiosk where tourists and pilgrims can buy snacks and religious memorabilia. The main temple has a two-wheel mani [wheel] temple (mani lhakhang) at its southwest corner (access to which is from outside the temple). The principal figures on the main altar of the assembly hall (dukhang) are Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) and his two disciples. At the northwest corner of the temple (entrance through the assembly hall) there is a protector deity chapel (gönkhang) that contains a small statue of Nechung, as well as statues of Lhamo, Six-Armed Mahākāla (Gönpo Chakdruk), Dharmarāja (Damchen Chögyel), Dorjé Yudrönma, and of the two tutelary deities (yidam) of the nunnery, Vajrabhairava (Dorjé Jikjé) and Vajrayoginī (Dorjé Neljorma).
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West of the main temple complex one finds the dharma enclosure (chöra), an area where nuns sit when they want to memorize texts outdoors. Inside this courtyard there is also a small chapel to the protector deity Dorjé Yudrönma.
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The reception room and the secondary (building) temple – located south (downhill) from the dharma enclosure – share a courtyard. This temple contains the stone image (doku) of the Buddha said to have been “discovered as treasure” (terné tönpa) by the Fifth Dalai Lama.
History
Trinlé Gyatso (d. 1667), considered the founder of Chupzang, was a student of the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lozang Gyatso (Dalai Lama Kutreng Ngapa Ngawang Lozang Gyatso). Trinlé Gyatso served as regent (desi) of Tibet from 1665 until his death in 1667, and he hailed from Nyangdren, the suburb of Lhasa to the west of Sera where the hermitage is located. Trinlé Gyatso is arguably best known as the uncle of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s famous student (and the next regent of Tibet), Desi Sanggyé Gyatso (1653-1705), who, like his uncle, was also born in Nyangdren.
In the latter part of his life, Trinlé Gyatso decided to build a hermitage in the foothills above Nyangdren. He requested permission for this, and invited the Fifth Dalai Lama to perform a “site investigation” (satak) to determine the most auspicious location on which to build. The Dalai Lama chose the site that is presently Chupzang. He is also the one who provided the institution with this name. It is perhaps at this time as well that the Fifth Dalai Lama made the treasure (ter) discovery of the self-arisen stone image of the Buddha that still resides in Chupzang’s lower temple.
The site was originally founded as a monks’ hermitage with eight monks. Some sources say that later there developed a tradition of maintaining a group of sixteen fully-ordained monks in residence at the hermitage – eight from each of the Jé and Mé Colleges (Dratsang Mé) of Sera. This served as the ritual core of the monastic community. Today the nuns can still point to a set of ruins that they say is the original residence of those eight/sixteen monks.
Seven years after its founding, the hermitage passed into the hands of Chupzang Yeshé Gyatso (1789-1856), who built a four-pillar temple with rear chapel and porticos at the site. After that, the hermitage came under the aegis of the sixty-ninth throne-holder of Ganden (Ganden tripa), Jangchup Chöpel (1756-1838). Eventually, it seems, the hermitage became the property of Trijang Kutreng Sumpa Lozang Yeshé, the junior tutor to the present Dalai Lama.
Among contemporary Gelukpas, Chupzang is perhaps best known as the place where, in 1921, Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo (1878-1941) gave the “graded stages of the path” (lamrim) teachings that would eventually be compiled into his most famous work, Liberation in Our Hands (Namdröl Lakchang).
Informants tell us that in the 1950s the site began to be used as a retreat by elderly Lhasans, who constructed small huts in which they could live out the final years of their lives in intensive Buddhist practice. The area around Chupzang thus became a kind of religious retirement community. During the Cultural Revolution, Chupzang was simply used by lay people as residences. Nuns began repair work at the site and started moving there in 1984. Today it is one of the largest nunneries in the Lhasa Valley.
Chupzang, however, is not a typical nunnery, but rather something more like a communal living situation for nuns. Nuns get together for rituals only on special holy days (on the new and full moon, and on the eighth, tenth and twenty-fifth of the lunar month) or when there is a sponsor. The houses are owned individually by the nuns and are not the property of the nunnery itself. Despite this, Chupzang has many of the traits of a standard monastic community. It has an administrative body, a site for communal gathering, and a well-defined group of deities that are worshipped and propitiated. The tutelary deities of the nunnery are Vajrabhairava (Yamantaka) and Vajrayoginī, and the two protector deities are Pelden Lhamo and Dorjé Yudrönma.
Originally, the hermitage portion of the site – the part that contained the monastic residence and the temple – appears to have been the property of Sera as a whole (Sera chiso). Given its historical ties to Pabongkha Rinpoché, however, some sources count it as one of the hermitages that belongs to Sera Mé (Pabongkha Rinpoché’s home college). Today Chupzang is an autonomous institution with minimal ties to Sera.
His Holiness Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche
Vajrabhairava or Yamantaka
Source: http://www.thlib.org/places/monasteries/sera/essays/#!essay=/cabezon/sera/herm/chupzang/all/
For more interesting topics:
- Getting Closer to Vajrayogini
- Kechara Forest Retreat’s Vajra Yogini
- 10,000 Nuns here!
- The Miraculous Vajrayogini of Ditsa Monastery
- TOO MANY MONKS!
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Lhasa is known as the center of Tibetan Buddhism and for it’s large number of monasteries. This article has explored much into the establishment of Chupzang Nunnery.
The many self arising images of holy beings since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama tells a lot about this powerful place.
Thank you for the sharing the historical site of Chupzang Nunnery. This nunnery holds a lot of memories of Buddhism greatest practice and teaching of Yamantaka and Vajrayogini.
I truly enjoyed readingthis very interesting article about Chupzang Nunnery has had a rich history and culture. It is an interesting and beautiful nunnery with their practice intact for hundreds of years. They have many sacred Buddhist treasures such as self arisen images of holy beings that are a great blessing. They have a ‘Terma Buddha’ which was discovered naturally hidden in the environment and found by 5th Dalai Lama and installed in the monastery for all to see. This monastery of nuns practices primarily Vajrabhairava (Yamantaka) and Vajra Yogini as their main yidams. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for sharing this very blessed write up?????
Amazing place and beautiful nunnery located in the foothills of the northern section of the suburb of Nyangdren, directly north of Lhasa and northwest of Sera .Chupzang monastery has a rich history and culture with the Fifth Dalai Lama to determine the most auspicious location , to build the Nunnery.The Fifth Dalai Lama even discovered the stone image (doku) of the Buddha as treasure.It was a home to many nuns as a place for retreats and kind of religious retirement community.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
It is truly wonderful we get to see the hermitage that the Great Pabongka Dechen Nyinpo gave his 24 day teaching of the Lamrim which eventually transcribed by his heart student Trijang Rinpoche into what would be the book called ‘Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand’.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this information about Chuzang Nunnery. I can see that although it is not a big Nunnery, the place is really cozy and nicely kept.
Chuzang is also well known for being the place where His Holiness Pabongka Rinpoche had give the 24 day Lam Rim teaching which stayed influential till today.
Humbly,
Chris Chong
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the article about the Chupzang Nunnery in that we can now relate this place to the well known discourse by the Great Pabongka Rinpoche, to which we have this holy Dharma Guide today known as, Liberation in the Palm of your Hands.
We can also rejoice that this location has also been the place where the elderly would spend the later part of their lives in intensive Buddhist retreat.
Similarly I presume that too would be one of the visions for Kechara Forest Retreat (KFR) where hundreds if not thousands will congregate daily to engage in retreats and at the same time tap into the divine energies within the KFR
However such visions and missions would be thwarted by the ban on Shugden that thousands if not millions of people are waiting for HH The Dalai Lama to lift. Pray that this ban which causes so much suffering to be lifted soon
Wow! I have read some chapters of Lamrim, but this is the first time I know where the Lamrim was originated!
In the history of Buddhism, nuns are having difficult times to do their practice due to a male dominant society (unfortunately), therefore, it is great rejoice to see such a huge nun community for female practitioners.
By living in community and to focus on practice of Vajrayogini, how beneficial! I am now kinda living in Kechara Forest Retreat, which is a community of Buddhist practitioners. I pray we too can focus our practice of Vajrayogini very soon!!
I like how the nuns live in a communal way rather than as an institution. In an instance like this, the unspoken rules are adhered to, so that it can function without anyone having to police another. This shows me that there is a heightened sense of awareness and mindfulness for the harmony and the place and way of live to continue.
Another, point is that, this the the holy site of the famous one month Lamrim teaching by Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche Dechen Nyingpo. This makes the teaching very tangible as I can put a picture of the place in my mind and focus on that.
Thank you for the sharing. Love the pictures and the description of the temple complex.
By reading this article only found out about this Chupzang Nunnery, which is a beautiful nunnery with rich history. I am happy to learn that His Holiness the great Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche Dechen Nyingpo has given his famous Lam Rim discourse in this nunnery for one month in the last century. Very blessed and holy place.
It is good that the Chupzang hermitage site did not fall into disrepair after being taken over by a group of retirees for retreats and by laypeople. This beautiful place has such a rich historical past, with the discovery of the self-arisen image of a Terma Buddha. It was also made famous by the Lamrim teaching given in 1921 by Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche.The sacred place will now witness the nuns’ chanting and practice and the air will now be blessed once more.
As much as I enjoy this post on Chupzang Nunnery and appreciate the detailed introduction of it, I can’t help but notice there was no mentioned of Dorje Shugden in the protector chapel although Pabongka Rinpoche had given His 24-day lamrim course here. This property also once belonged to H.H. Trijang Dorje Chang who is the heart son of Pabongka Rinpoche. Both Pabongka Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche are very prominent Dorje Shugden practitioners as well as highly attained lamas. The Dorje Shugden lineage was carried and spread by them to many. Many Gelug masters today are their direct or indirect students due to the influence of these two lamas. So, logically speaking, these nuns would be Dorje Shugden practitioners.
Professor José Ignacio Cabezón is a Professor of Religious Studies of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Professor Cabezón was appointed first holder of the Dalai Lama Chair in 2001 of the university. This chair was created in honour of His Holiness for the Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies to preserve and learn from the traditions of Tibetan culture. The linkage between Professor Cabezón and His Holiness is an obvious one. It might make sense if Professor Cabezón avoid mentioning Dorje Shugden, perhaps even replace it with Nechung, so to be on the good sides of His Holiness.
I admire Professor Cabezón’s scholarship very much and I believe a scholar should have good ethics to seek truth rather than taking sides for any reasons.
What a beautiful nunnery and I am sure the simple ancient structure must be deeply infused with the energy of the lamas, blessed nuns and practicing layfolks. Its incredibly humble of a location for Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche to have chosen this site to give his famous discourse.
I can imagine that it would be swarmed by lamas, geshes and simple monks at that time. I love the statues, they are made well in the old way, which is not perfect but somehow it has some kind of appeal. I would very much like to travel there when I do make it to Tibet.
Dear Rinpoche,
Indeed the Chupzang Nunnery has a rich history and it is amazing that it is so well used again in our days. On top it is the place where Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche taught his famous Lam Rim discourse.
The many self arising images of holy beings since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama tells a lot about this powerful place.
With Vajra Yogini and Yamantaka as the main deities and the protectors Pelden Lhamo and Dorje Yudrönma, this is for sure a very special place and we can rejoice for everyone coming across Chupzang Nunnery.
Thank You for the beautiful pictures and the precious information about this nunnery
Chupzang Nunnery is just such a beautiful place and a spiritual home to many nuns. It is very nice to see that the nuns have their own place where they can do their practices. More over, it is also such a holy place to have holy teachers to come to the place to bless and teach. To be a nun living in that nunnery is just a blessing, just imagine the kind of merits you will need to be there.
I wish that I will be able to visit the nunnery soon.
It is just very nice to see that these nuns live in a communal living situation and they are independent about it. What they have reminds me a lot of Kechara Forest Retreat. It would be beautiful to have people write about KFR in the same manner in the future.
Amazing place, most significantly, Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche chose this nunnery, and not other monasteries, to give his famous 24-day Lam Rim discourse which is now called “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand”. There must be something special about this nunnery, the practitioners must be pure and sincere, that made this nunnery so holy to host one of the greatest Buddhist discourse in history.
It seems the seeds for Chupzang to blossom into a place of spiritual practice were planted a long, long time ago. It must be pretty special if attained being after attained being chose to teach and practise there.
While it is sad how little support Tibetan nuns in general get from the religious establishment, it also points to their indomitable spirit where the harsh conditions do not faze them (this post summarises it very well! – https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=77761).
Chupzang seems to have a spirit of endurance which traumatic social and historical events cannot stomp out. Even after the Cultural Revolution, the opportunity to practise in that very spot still remained. Women are much stronger than society gives them credit for 😉
Chupzang monastery is such a beautiful spiritual home to many of the nuns who live there, not only does it have a rich history of Buddhism but also the journey of it becoming a nunnery is pretty fascinating. It’s a very huge inspiration to women who choose to be different ie, becoming a nun. Compared to olden days, nuns are slightly more acceptable in the sense of practising and upholding the Buddha dharma.
They have a very little beautiful community there who live and work together hand in hand to maintain the place, it pretty much reminds me of Kechara Forest Retreat hehe…
Incredible holy monastery! I would definitely love to visit such a holy place one day. I’m sure this place is imbued with powerful blessings otherwise there will not be a self-arising Buddha Shakyamuni.
It is again blessed when the famous great Pabongka Rinpoche gave His famous Lamrim discourse in this monastery. What I find most curios is that if this monastery became the property of Trijang Kutreng Sumpa Lozang Yeshé, the junior tutor to the present Dalai Lama, which means Trijang Rinpoche, so I wonder if the nunnery actually does Dorje Shugden although the article does not mention Dorje Shugden but it says there is a statue of Nechung.
I also found it interesting that there is a communal living situation for the nuns, where by they will come together to pray and do rituals during special holy days, but they live in their own houses which is their own and not belonging to the monastery. I find that interesting and I wonder what is the benefit of such living arrangements? Perhaps it is to instil a sense of responsibility in the nuns and being independent. In general this nunnery feels very blessed and holy.
Beautiful article about Nunnery. Reading the article makes wants go live there such a beautiful place all the nuns live together and practice dharma. what a beautiful way to live in a dharma community..
Thank you for this post. I like how the nunnery is actually more like a community and the nuns choose to live together but mostly engage in their own practice and activities.
One thing that stood out is how the gongkhang in the main temple houses worldly protectors such as Dorje Yundronma and Nechung (although Trijang Rinpoche has said that Nechung is in fact a supra-mundane protector emanating as a munda protector). I would not have thought much about this except some people make so much fuss about Dorje Shugden accusing him to be a mundane deity (which is not true of course) that has no place in Dharma, and yet here we see statues of worldly protectors alongside statues of Buddhas.
What a wonderful short article on this such a holy site. There are two very striking points regarding Chupzang Nunnery that really stand out for me.
The first is its rich history, founded by Trinle Gyatso and especially as the site for the Lam Rim discourse given by Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche. For me this makes the nunnery extra special since the Lam Rim text is the core text studied at Kechara. It’s very nice to read more about the current state of this holy place.
The second point is that this nunnery is unlike other ordained institutions in that the nuns own their own property, yet the community still functions like an ordained institution, in which an individual does not own any property. This goes to show that the practice of the nuns and their dedication to their practice as ordained individuals is very strong.
Dear RInpoche
Thank you for this beautiful article about Chupzang Nunnery. I first read about Chupzang hermitage in Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography, Illusory play, Now I can put pictures in my imagination hehe
What a historical place – Pabongka Rinpoche taught Lamrim in that place and his teachings have since transformed a lot of people’s lives
Very beautiful!
Valentina
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing information on this nunnery. What stood out to me more is that this nunnery as said in the article is special because the nunnery are like a community of nuns staying together. The private houses of the nuns are not owned by the monastery. However, there are still administrative bodies, and a place to gather for religious activities just like a monastery.
I had also read that the main tantra practices they do at the nunnery are Yamantaka and Vajrayogini. How wonderful for them to be practicing the most effective tantra of this age.
Humbly,
Chris