Samye Monastery

Samye Monastery(桑耶寺sāng yē sì ) is regarded as the first Tibet Monastery, more specific, the first monastery completed with the three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With these unique features, this splendid monastery has become a hot attraction for visitors from home and abroad.

In the Tibetan language, "Samye" means "edgeless", therefore this monastery is also called "edgeless temple". It combined the Han, Tibetan and Indian architectural styles perfect together and mingled the ancient Tibetan culture, the civilization of the Central Plains and the civilization of India.

History

The monastery was built by the Trisong Detsen (reigned 742-798) of the Tubo Kingdom and was presided over by the Buddhist master Padmasambhava. The Detsen contributed a lot to the project. First, it was said the name (meaning surprise in Tibetan) originated from an exclamation he made. When the temple was completed, Detsen took part in the foundation ceremony and then ordained seven descendants of blue blood to cultivate in the temple. They became the first group of monks to live at the temple and later the so-called Enlighten Disciples of Samye. Since then, Buddhism had become widespread within Tibet and forms a branch of splendid culture. Now, the temple is listed as one of the cultural relics of national importance under the protection of the state.

Layout

The whole construction of the temple is very grandiose and complicated. It replicates the universe described in the sutras exactly. The central world Mount Meru is represented by the majestic Wuzi Hall. The Sun and Moon chapels stand in the north and south as the sun and moon in the universe. Four larger halls and eight smaller halls are distributed around all sides of the central hall, symbolizing the four large continents and eight small ones. In the four corners lie the Red, White, Black and Green Pagodas guarding the Dharma like the Heavenly Kings. A circular wall surrounds the temple as if marking the periphery of the world. The layout of Samye Monastery resembles the Mandala in the Esoteric Buddhism.

Attractions

The Samye Monastery is renowned for the characteristic art of its buildings and the vivid murals as well as other ancient relics stored within them. The three-story Wuzi Hall is the soul of the whole monastery. Its design is very special. All of the layers follow different styles, the bottom Tibetan, the middle Han and the top Indian. Hence the monastery is also called the three-styled Temple. There are also many substantial murals here. On the porch of the middle story is inscribed the reputed gainted Historical Records of Tibet, which extend 9.2 m. (10 yd.) and contains the religious history of Tibet as well as many related legends. Besides these, the murals depicting the historical Records of Samye Monastery and the geography of Padmasambhava on the other two levels are also of high aesthetic value.

There are four gates to the Wuzi Hall. The eastern gate leads to the front entrance of the hall. In front of the gate is a nine-story hall, however, only three stories remain standing. On the January 5 and May 16 of the Tibetan Calendar, the large embroidery of Sakyamuni is hung on the wall for people to make homage to, hence the name hanfo Dian(Buddha Unfolding Hall). There is also an ancient stele and a bell made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) along with a pair of stone lions. On the stele Trisong Detsent edicts for establishing Buddhism as the state religion in 779 are recorded. The bell was the first one made in Tibetan history and is said to memorize the third concubine of the Detsen who led 30 aristocratic women to renounce the world and who later became the first group of nuns in Tibet.

Travel tips

The Samye Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Haibu Rishen, north of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. You can travel there by a regular bus from Lhasa to Samye Ferry and cross the river by boat or bridge. Then you can take the special monastery bus to get there. The mountain top is also the best place to photograph a panoramic view of the monastery.

For dining and accommodation, the monastery includes a restaurant and guest house. Alternatively there are other restaurants outside the Eastern Gate and guest houses in the nearby village. When visiting the monastery, bring a flashlight as it is quite dark in the halls.


The trip takes about 3 hours and fare 27 Yuan per capita. You can also take bus from Zedang Town to get off at Samyedukou, the fare is 27 Yuan also. Afterwards, you take a mobile boat to cross the Brahmaputra for fare 360 Yuan per boat.

Because the trip is quite long, so you can lodge for a night in a small hostel inside the monastery for about 15 to 40 RMB Yuan per capita.

The monastery treasured various kinds of religious articles that Master Lianhuasheng----the founder of the monastery - used for Buddhism ceremonies.