Situated at the foot of the Mountain Gambo Utse, 5 kilometers from Lhasa, Drepung Monastery is considered one of the ‘Three Great Monasteries, the other two are the Jokhang Monastery and the Sera Monastery.
The temple was named “Drepung”, literally “Rich Heap” in Tibetan language, symbolizing the “prosperity”. Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries. It was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Chojey, a direct disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa School.
Drepung Monastery was known for the high standards of its academic study, and was called the Nalanda of Tibet, a reference to the great Buddhist monastic university of India. Numerous famous monks have learnt there, and there were once almost 10,000 Buddhist monks in the monastery, making it the largest monastery in the world at that time.
The existing building was built mainly during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. A great number of ancient Tibetan documents and scriptures are housed in the Drepung Monastery.
Tibet Tours
6 Day Beijing Lhasa Train Tour train from Beijing to Lhasa and back to Beijing by flight
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15 Day Beijing Tibet and Yangtze River Cruise Tour
