Gonchen Monastery

Dege Gönchen or Gönchen Monastery (Tibetan: chen dgon dgon ) is a monastery of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism in the region Dege / Derge ( sde dge ) of the eastern Tibetan cultural region of Kham. It is situated near the east bank of the Jinsha Jiang ( Yangtze River / Dri Chu ). Previously it was a Nyingmapa monastery and later became a Sakya monastery. It also served as the seat of the kings of Dege ( sde dge thu'u si).

The monastery is located in the east of today's circle Dege ( Dege ) Autonomous Prefecture Garzê ( Ganzi ). The monastery of Derge was the cultural center of the eastern Kham.

As a founding date of the monastery Thangtong Gyelpo is the year 1448, it was from the first Derge King ( Tusi ) Bothar Trashi Sengge ( bo thar bkra shis seng ge) and the famous monk and for his iron chain bridge structures well-known " Leonardo Tibet " ( thang stong rgyal po, 1361-1485 ) founded. It has seven branch monasteries, in its heyday it had reached more than 700 monks.

The grounds of the monastery consists of four parts: the main hall ( Dukhang ) Balenglong (八 冷 隆), Tangyel Lhakhang ( Thangtong - Gyelpo Chapel ) and printing (see Dege Park Slope ).

Monastery printing

Attached to the monastery is a famous printing house called Dege park slope, in the first half of the 18th century by the king of Derge TENPA Tshering ( bstan pa tshe ring; 1678-1738 ) was established. '; (" Translation of the textbooks " gyur (see also Buddhist canon ) printed in Derge Monastery famous editions of the Kanjur were ( Tib: bka ' Tib bstan ) gyur " translation of the words ( of the Buddha) " ) and the Tanjur ', important works of Tibetan medicine and other writings.

Cultural Revolution and monuments

During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, the monastery suffered severe damage.

Since 1996, the Dege Printing Parkhang is on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China ( 4-183 ).