|
monastery is
that it is the only monastery that houses monks from different
orders. The monks from the Gelugpa, Sakyapa and Kahdampa
orders stay in this monastery with harmony. Although they once
quarreled and fought, the different orders eventually
discovered a way to get along with each other. As a result,
its oblation, architecture style, deities enshrined and murals
are very special. The main Assembly Hall of Palkhor Monastery,
Tshomchen, was built between the end of the 14th century and
the beginning of the 15th century. It is a three-storey
structure. The ground floor has a chanting hall with 48
columns that are ornamented with old silk "thangkas".
It also houses an eight-meter high bronze
statue of Maitreya Buddha, which is gilded and made from 1.4
tonnes of bronze. On the second floor of monastery there are
chapels belonging to "Bodhisattva Manjushri" and "Arhats" from
the Ming dynasty. Among these the Arahat chapel is quiet
popular throughout Tibet. The roof of monastery also holds
chapels which preserve a collection of 15 "mandala" murals.
These are three meters (ten feet) in diameter. There are also
some other attractive features in monastery like the
collection of about 100 robes and costumes worn in Tibetan
opera. These costumes are made of silk, embroidery and
tapestry and belong to the era of Ming dynasty and the Qing
dynasty.
The Palkhor Monastery is also popular for its tower, Palkhor
Tower, also called the Ten Thousand Buddha Tower. It is the
calling card of Palkhor Monastery and the most important
building in this monastery. The tower houses about 100 family
halls for worshipping Buddha, 10,000 figures of Buddha in the
Buddhist shrines and murals which provides it the name of the
Ten Thousand Buddha Tower. Another significant feature of
Palkhor Monastery is "Kumbum Stupa" which is considered as the
symbol of the monastery. This pagoda style stupa consists of
hundreds of chapels in layers and houses about a hundred
thousand images of various Buddhist icons. The stupa has more
than 3000 statues in it of many legendary icons from Divine
Buddha to famous King Songtsen Gampo, so it is also called
"Myriad Buddha Stupa". It was an important centre of the
Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism and still considered as one
of the most outstanding and sacred places of Tibet. This
graceful structure is one of the most visited places and a
favorite tourist destination in Tibet. |
