A gigantic pile of cut wood sits near the Main Assembly
Hall (right). In this wood-poor country, some pilgrims bring wood
as an offering. The Drepung Monastery was damaged by Chinese
troops during the Tibetan Revolt, and
has been largely rebuilt.
The
Drepung ("Heap of Rice") Monastery (left) was founded in 1416 by
Jamyang Choje, a disciple of Tsongkhapa.
It had
housed about 10,000 monks before the Chinese occupation, but now there are
fewer than 500. There had been four colleges of study, but only
two remain after the destruction wrought by the Red Guards in
1966. Ganden Palace at the Drepung was built in 1530 by the
Second Dalai Lama and had been the residence of subsequent Dalai
Lamas until the Great Fifth built the Potala. A gigantic pile of cut wood sits near the Main Assembly
Hall (right). In this wood-poor country, some pilgrims bring wood
as an offering. The Drepung Monastery was damaged by Chinese
troops during the Tibetan Revolt, and
has been largely rebuilt.
