Sanga Monastery

Sanga Monastery is a small Buddhist monastery located in the vicinity of Lhasa, Tibet. Sanga or Sangha is a word in Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as monastic "association" or "assembly" - possessing some high degree of realization, referred to as the "arya-sangha" or noble sangha. Sanga Monastery was built amid the ruins of the castle (or fort) Taktse (also Dagtse) Dzong (formerly Dechen Dzong) on the hill top [The Tibet Guide: Central and Western Tibet by Stephen Batchelor, Wisdom Publications, 1998, p.129] [Trekking in Tibet: A Traveler's Guid by Gary McCue, Mountaineers Books, 1999, p.51] . Dagtse Dzong overlooks the roads to Yerpa and Ganden Monastery on th east [Footprint Tibet Handbook : The Travel Guide by Gyurme Dorje, Footprint Handbooks, 1999, p.68] [Tibet by Bradley Mayhew & Michael Kohn, Lonely Planet Publications, 2005, p.122] .

Sanga Monastery together with Ganden Monastery belong to the Geluk (Gelug-pa) order (also known as Yellow Hat Sect, lit. 'Virtuous'). The Yellow Sect rose and prospered primarily because of the personal prestige of its founder Tsongkhapa (Tsong Khapa or Lobsang Drakpa, also known as Jé Rinpoché, 1357-1419) who is identified as manifestation of Mañjushri, bodhisattva of Wisdom. He earned a high reputation as a writer and teacher, and was later warmly received in the Lhasa region. He was strongly scholastic in orientation and encouraged the study of the great Indian masters of philosophy and logic: Nagarjuna, Asanga, Dignaga, "et al". In 1409 Tsongkhapa founded his first monastery, Ganden Monastery. The two other great monasteries were later founded, Drepung in 1416 and Sera in 1419. Several of his disciples were able to evolve in distinct school separate from Geluk. From those disciples also came the line of Dalai Lamas such as the 2nd Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso (see the statue of His Holiness The Fifth Dalai Lama Lobsang Gyatso in Sanga Monastery on your left).

In the sixteen century the Geluk-school begun its rise to political preeminence when it came to enjoy the favor of a new generation of Mongol khans. In 1642, Gursi Khan installed Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682), the Fifth Dalai Lama, as virtual leader of Tibet under overall Mongol protection [The Buddhist Handbook by John Snelling, Barnes & Noble, NY, 1991, pp.178] .

See also

* List of Tibetan monasteries
* List of Buddhist temples

References