Place · Tibetan Buddhist temple · China
Jokhang Temple, Lhasa
Also known as Jokhang, Tsuglagkhang
The Jokhang in central Lhasa is the holiest temple in Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Songtsen Gampo in 652 CE to enshrine the Jowo Shakyamuni — a Buddha image his Chinese wife Princess Wencheng brought from Chang'an as her dowry, traditionally said to have been consecrated by the Buddha himself. Pilgrims circumambulate the temple on the Barkor (inner kora) and the Lingkhor (outer kora encompassing the Potala as well). The monastery was severely damaged in the Cultural Revolution (1966-69) and rebuilt from 1972; it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 as an extension of the Potala. The large pot of yak-butter-tea offered in the daily puja is lit by pilgrims from across Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, Ladakh, Nepal and India.
- Function
- Religious institution & practice
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 29.653, 91.131
Connections (3)
- Site withinLhasa
Jokhang is one of the great monasteries of greater Lhasa — the political and religious capital of Tibet from Songtsen Gampo's 7th-century reign to the Chinese annexation of 1950. Lhasa carries the Potala, the Jokhang and the three great Gelug seats (Drepung, Sera, Ganden) in its immediate landscape.
- Life routeTenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
The Jokhang in central Lhasa — the holiest temple in Tibetan Buddhism — is the Dalai Lama's primary ritual temple; he presided over the Great Prayer Festival (Mönlam Chenmo) here every January from his enthronement in 1940 until his flight in 1959.
- Capital siteTibet (Bod)
The Jokhang is the central temple of Lhasa, the capital and spiritual centre of Tibet.
On these journeys
Sources
Standard reference.
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