Pingtsolin Monastery

Brief Introduction of Pingtsolin Monastery

Pingtsolin Monastery is located in Pingtsolin Village of Lhatze County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet. It is at the altitude of 4100 meters. The building of Pingtsolin Monastery was directed by Duoluo Nata in 1615. At first, the Pingtsolin Monastery believed in Juelang Sect. In the period of fifth Dalai Lama, Pingtsolin Monastery was one of the thirteen monasteries which changed their sects. Hence, the Pingtsolin Monastery believes in Gelug Sect. On May 25th, 2006, the Pingtsolin Monastery, as the ancient building of Ming Dynasty, was listed as the sixth batch of important cultural relic sites under state-level protection by State Council.

Buildings of Pingtsolin Monastery

The Pingtsolin Monastery is located on west and faces with east. The whole Pingtsolin Monastery can be divided into main buildings and auxiliary buildings. The main building consists of assembly hall, Lakhang Dunzhu, outer scripture hall, relics of sect government, monks' dormitory, etc. There were 35 scripture halls and a large hall for chanting scripture in Pingtsolin Monastery. At the golden age of Pingtsolin Monastery, there were 3300 monks. The monks of Pingtsolin Monastery also built a Daye Lata Bedroom on the mountain top where Pingtsolin Monastery is located on. The Bedroom is 9 floors high, with 94 rooms.

Cultural Relics in Pingtsolin Monastery

The Pingtsolin Monastery is the only monastery of ancient Juelang Sect in Tibet. The Buddhism theoretical system of Pingtsolin Monastery is unique. It is with high value for researching the Juelang Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

The frescos in Pingtsolin Monastery are with distinctive style. They provide important material for researching the painting style of Nepal.

The Pingtsolin Monastery collects a large amount of ancient frescos and gilded Buddha Statues, such as Shengwei Buddha's Warrior Attendant, Shilun Buddha's Warrior Attendant, Shengle Buddha's Warrior Attendant, etc. In addition, the Pingtsolin Monastery treasures four precious articles. The first one is the walking stick of Tubuwa Xirao Jianzan. The walking stick is about 1 meter long. The second one is the staff of Daye Lata. It is said that the staff was presented by Mongolia. On the staff, there are patterns of Mongolian Language, Tibetan Language, dragon, etc. The staff is about 1.2 meters long. The third one is the magical cymbals of Duoluo Nata. According to legends, people can escape from the human world of woes and find salvation once heard the sound of magical cymbals. The fourth one is a pair of gemstones. One of the gemstones is in the shape of egg and in the color of white. On this gemstone, there are naturally formed incantation and patterns of Yingzhong. The other gemstone is in the shape of almond, and with a white line on it.

Activity in Pingtsolin Monastery

On December 27th in Tibetan Calendar in every year, the Pingtsolin Monastery will hold grand Religious Dance Festival. On October 8th in Tibetan Calendar, the Pingtsolin Monastery will hold the rite of Worshipping Tara. If you have Tibet tour in this period, you may enjoy the special scene of religious activities in Pingtsolin Monastery. It will make your tour more wonderful and worthwhile.