Samyé: Difference between revisions
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==The monastery== | ==The monastery== | ||
Samye Monastery is laid out on the shape of a giant [[mandala]], with the main temple representing the legendary [[Mount Meru]] in the centre. Other buildings stand at the corners and cardinal points of the main temple, representing continents and other features of the Buddhist universe. | Samye Monastery is laid out on the shape of a giant [[mandala]], with the main temple representing the legendary [[Mount Meru]] in the centre. Other buildings stand at the corners and cardinal points of the main temple, representing continents and other features of the Buddhist universe. | ||
==Internal Links== | |||
*[[Samyé Debate]] | |||
Revision as of 11:18, 28 July 2008
Samyé (Tib. bsam yas) - the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet, built during the time of King Trisong Detsen. The name means ‘inconceivable’. See pages 32-33 in A Great Treasure of Blessings.
History
The great abbot Shantarakshita made the first attempt to construct the monastery but the building would always collapse after reaching a certain stage. Terrified, the construction workers believed that there was a demon in a nearby river making trouble. However, when the great Guru Padmasambhava arrived from northern India, he was able to subdue the demons obstructing the building of Samye.
Samye Monastery was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution and renovated beginning in the 1980s. Today it is still an active monastery and important pilgrimage destination.
The monastery
Samye Monastery is laid out on the shape of a giant mandala, with the main temple representing the legendary Mount Meru in the centre. Other buildings stand at the corners and cardinal points of the main temple, representing continents and other features of the Buddhist universe.