Thrangu Monastery
Encyclopedia
Thrangu Monastery is located about 7 km south of Jyekundo in Kham, in what is now the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province of China.
on 16 April 2010 (see next section), the monastery, which was magnificently located on grasslands backed by a huge wall of granite, consisted of two buildings about 70 metres apart, known as the upper and lower monasteries. The monastery was approached from the road past a row of eight stupas (Tib.Chorten).
The "lower monastery" had a renovated assembly hall with 80 pillars, gilded images of the 'Buddhas of the Three Times', and murals showing the previous 16 Karmapa
Lama
s. There were also images of Milarepa
, a four-armed Avolokiteshvara, Padmasambhava
and Shakyamuni seated on a throne.
The "upper monastery", completely destroyed in the 2010 earthquake, had been restored in 1998, and had an image of Shakyamuni Buddha, flanked by the 'Thousand Buddhas' and an image of Vajradhara
. The fine Repkong-style murals depicted the 'Twelve Deeds of Shakyamuni'. The outlying buildings were used by people from the neighbouring village to store grain.
About 10 km northwest up a side road one comes to the rock inscriptions in both Tibetan and Chinese at Bida, some of which are claimed to have been naturally produced, linking the region with the Chinese Princess Wencheng
who is said to have stayed here for one month on her way to marry king Songtsen Gampo
, circa 640 CE, in Lhasa. There is a large engraved image of Princess Wencheng on a cliff behind the monastery. The Tibetan name for the site is Nampar Nangdze Lhakang. There is a temple here which was previously under the care of the Drigung Kagyu school but, more recently had been looked after by the monks from Thrangu.
. Many monks and thousands of laypeople died. A report filed on 16 April 2010 stated:
The earthquake struck on April 14, 2010, and registered a magnitude of 6.9Mw
(USGS, EMSC
) or 7.1Ms
(CEA
, CENC). It originated in Yushu, Qinghai
, China
, at local time. According to the Xinhua News Agency
, 2,698 people have been confirmed dead, 270 missing, and 12,135 injured of which 1,434 are severely injured. The epicenter
was located in Rima village (日玛村/日麻村), Upper Laxiu township (上拉秀乡) of Yushu County, in remote and rugged terrain, near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region
. The epicenter is about 30 km from Jyekundo or Gyêgu town, the seat of Yushu County, and about 240 km from Qamdo. The epicenter was in a sparsely populated area on the Tibetan plateau that is regularly hit by earthquakes.
, on 25 July 2010 by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
, the worldwide leader of Thrangu Monasteries.
The Assembly Hall of the new monastery contains a four-metre tall gold-plated statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, "filled with precious offerings including scriptures, scrolls and sacred stones and pebbles from 108 different countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Canada. The shrine hall can comfortably accommodate up to 500 people."
Description
Prior to the huge earthquakeEarthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
on 16 April 2010 (see next section), the monastery, which was magnificently located on grasslands backed by a huge wall of granite, consisted of two buildings about 70 metres apart, known as the upper and lower monasteries. The monastery was approached from the road past a row of eight stupas (Tib.Chorten).
The "lower monastery" had a renovated assembly hall with 80 pillars, gilded images of the 'Buddhas of the Three Times', and murals showing the previous 16 Karmapa
Karmapa
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
Lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s. There were also images of Milarepa
Milarepa
Jetsun Milarepa , is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.- Life :...
, a four-armed Avolokiteshvara, Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
and Shakyamuni seated on a throne.
The "upper monastery", completely destroyed in the 2010 earthquake, had been restored in 1998, and had an image of Shakyamuni Buddha, flanked by the 'Thousand Buddhas' and an image of Vajradhara
Vajradhara
Vajradhara is the ultimate primordial Buddha, or Adi Buddha, according to the Gelug and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism.In the evolution of Indian Buddhism, Vajradhara gradually displaced Samantabhadra, who remains the...
. The fine Repkong-style murals depicted the 'Twelve Deeds of Shakyamuni'. The outlying buildings were used by people from the neighbouring village to store grain.
About 10 km northwest up a side road one comes to the rock inscriptions in both Tibetan and Chinese at Bida, some of which are claimed to have been naturally produced, linking the region with the Chinese Princess Wencheng
Princess Wencheng
Princess Wencheng was a niece of the powerful Emperor Taizong of China's Tang Dynasty, who left China in 640, according to records, arriving the next year in Tibet to marry the thirty-seven year old Songtsän Gampo the thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet, in a marriage of...
who is said to have stayed here for one month on her way to marry king Songtsen Gampo
Songtsen Gampo
Songtsän Gampo Songtsän Gampo Songtsän Gampo (Tibetan: སྲོང་བཙན་སྒམ་པོ་, Wylie: Srong-btsan sGam-po, 569–649?/605–649? was the founder of the Tibetan Empire (Tibetan: Bod; ), by tradition held to be the thirty-third ruler in his dynasty. In the Chinese records, his name is given as 'Sōngzàngānbù'...
, circa 640 CE, in Lhasa. There is a large engraved image of Princess Wencheng on a cliff behind the monastery. The Tibetan name for the site is Nampar Nangdze Lhakang. There is a temple here which was previously under the care of the Drigung Kagyu school but, more recently had been looked after by the monks from Thrangu.
2010 Yushu earthquake
Thrangu Monastery in Tibet and the surrounding areas, including nearby Jyekundo or Gyêgu town, the regional capital, were severely damaged in the 2010 Yushu earthquake2010 Yushu earthquake
The 2010 Yushu earthquake struck on April 14, 2010, and registered a magnitude of 6.9Mw or 7.1Ms . It originated in Yushu, Qinghai, China, at local time. According to the Xinhua News Agency, 2,698 people have been confirmed dead, 270 missing, and 12,135 injured of which 1,434 are severely injured...
. Many monks and thousands of laypeople died. A report filed on 16 April 2010 stated:
- "Khenpo drove to Thrangu monastery yesterday, after I spoke to him on the phone, because he heard that the damage was so severe there. He said that there were a lot of people digging in the ruins there but the monastery is in very bad shape. None of the monks’ housing there is still standing. The MahakalaMahakalaMahākāla is a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, and a deity in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Vajrayana school. He is known as Daheitian in Chinese and Daikokuten in Japanese...
shrine building collapsed. The main lhakang [Assembly Hall] is still standing but is heavily damaged and will have to be rebuilt. He asked people there how many monks had died and was told that no one knows yet. One monk told him sixty to seventy monks had died and another told him at least thirty. There are also two villages very close to Thrangu monastery and he said that they are completely destroyed without a single house still standing so a lot of people must have died there as well. He said that Aten Rinpoche has two cousins who were killed at Thrangu monastery."
The earthquake struck on April 14, 2010, and registered a magnitude of 6.9Mw
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
(USGS, EMSC
European Alert System
The European Alert System is an earthquake warning system for member states of the Council of Europe's EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement....
) or 7.1Ms
Surface wave magnitude
The surface wave magnitude scale is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to describe the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements in Rayleigh surface waves that travel primarily along the uppermost layers of the earth...
(CEA
China Earthquake Administration
The China Earthquake Administration , is mandated by the Law of the People's Republic of China on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters of PRC to enforce the earthquake administration in the nation under the administration of State Council of the People's Republic of China.Some...
, CENC). It originated in Yushu, Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, at local time. According to the Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
, 2,698 people have been confirmed dead, 270 missing, and 12,135 injured of which 1,434 are severely injured. The epicenter
Epicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
was located in Rima village (日玛村/日麻村), Upper Laxiu township (上拉秀乡) of Yushu County, in remote and rugged terrain, near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
. The epicenter is about 30 km from Jyekundo or Gyêgu town, the seat of Yushu County, and about 240 km from Qamdo. The epicenter was in a sparsely populated area on the Tibetan plateau that is regularly hit by earthquakes.
New Thrangu Monastery opens in Canada
Thrangu Monastery, Canada's first traditional Tibetan Buddhist monastery, was officially opened in Richmond, British ColumbiaRichmond, British Columbia
Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...
, on 25 July 2010 by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche was born in 1933 in Kham, Tibet. He is a prominent tulku in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, the ninth reincarnation in his particular line. His full name and title is the Very Venerable Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Tulku, Karma Lodrö Lungrik Mahamadarchod Maway Senge...
, the worldwide leader of Thrangu Monasteries.
The Assembly Hall of the new monastery contains a four-metre tall gold-plated statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, "filled with precious offerings including scriptures, scrolls and sacred stones and pebbles from 108 different countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Canada. The shrine hall can comfortably accommodate up to 500 people."