Kegya Monastery

Kegya Monastery – Introduction

Kegya Monastery is located in Kegya which is about 100 kilometers away from southeast of Pulan County, Ngari. Kegya Monastery is very famous in Ngari. The statue of Manjushri which is enshrined in the Kegya Monastery was ever blessed by Renqin Sangshi who was an eminent monk. The Kegya is near to Nepal. It is located on south of the Himalayas. It is with warm and moderate climate and pleasant scenery. It is a folk passage from Nepal to Tibet.

The Kegya Monastery means "settle down" in Tibetan language. It belongs to Sakya Sect. The scale of Kegya Monastery is very small. Due to bad maintenance, the appearance of the monastery is a little shabby. From other viewpoint, it also exudes a king of ancient flavor. There is a hirst and beautiful red reeds in front of the monastery. The Kegya Village is a small village with special pastoral, with the feeling of heavenly place.

Kegya Monastery – Origin

The legend about origin of Kegya Monastery and a story about Prince Luosang is the most ancient and most well-know legend in Pulan. The story happened in the period of Dela King of Pula Kingdom in 12th century. At that time, the Buddhism started to prosper. The Dela King built the main scripture hall with real monastery meaning and enshrined the precious silver statue of Manjushri which came from India. At that time, seven Indian monks came to Pulan. They lived in the area on east of Gar and preached to local people. When they bided farewell to the king of Pulan, they gifted their seven bags of tael to Dela King. The Dela King who was surprise by the action of Indian monks consulted the eminent monk Zhanlin Bazha what should he do with the tael. Zhalin Bazha said that the tael is the gift of Buddhism. It should be used to develop Buddhism and accumulate merits.

Then, Dela King built a palace and a Sekang Hall. The tael from Indian monks was enshrined in the Sekang Hall. Later, the tael was moved to Xiagachanglin when the silver statue of Manjushri was made.

After the Buddha statue completed, Dela King invited Renqin Sangbu to get this Buddha statue blessed. Then, Dela King moved this Buddha statue from Xiagalin to Gar by cart. On the way, the cart did not stop for a second. When the cart reached Jimatang, it was stopped for stones. When Dela King and other people were worrying about the cart, the statue of Manjushri said that "I will settle there since I attach to there". Since then, the Jimatang was named "Kegya".

After that, people built the earliest Kegya Monastery on that stone and enshrined that silver statue of Manjushri on that stone. Then, the fame of Kegya Monastery spread far and wide. Many pilgrims came here to worship.