|
The Samye Monastery located at the foot of the Habu Mountain on the north side of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Chanang County. Monastery was built in 762 AD and was completed in 779 AD. It is the first monastery in Tibet featuring Buddhist, laws and monks, where the famous debate of the doctrines between ancient Indian Buddhism and inland Buddhism happened. The monastery is modeled on the Odantapuri Temple in Bihar, India. After several dynasties’ extension, it now covers a large scale of more than 4,900 square meters.
In Samye Monastery’s center is the Wuce Hall, which is comprised of the Zulakang (Buddhist Shrine) and the middle and the large paths and which symbolizes the center of the world. The Hall of the Sun and the Hall of the Moon represent the sun and the moon; the red, white, green and black pagodas, the four heavenly Kings. The four facades of the Wuce Hall represent the characteristic features of the "Four Great Continents".
The Monastery is a circle fringed by a circular wall dotted with 1008 chortens. The building of the Samye Monastery greatly influenced the rise of Lamaism in Tibet.
|
