Jampa Ling Monastery
Overlooking the town of Chamdo, the monastery of Chamdo Jampa Ling (chab mdo byams pa gling) is situated on a hill above the confluence of the rivers Dza Chu (Mekong) and Ngom Chu. It was founded as one of the earliest Gelugpa institutions apart from Ue-Tsang. A local legend has it that when Tsongkhapa traveled from Amdo to central Tibet and came through Chamdo in 1373, he predicted that the Buddhist Doctrine would thrive there one day. This prophecy came true some seven decades later, in 1437, when one of Tsongkhapa's disciples named Jangsem Sherab Sangpo laid the foundations for a big lamasery.
Sherab Sangpo was a native of Kham who first studied at Sera monastery in Lhasa. As he was very much impressed with the high standard of spiritual and intelectual attainments on the part of many scholars there, he once thought to himself, 'On my return home I should like to do something similar for the welfare of the people.' Byan[g]-chub-hbum, an important personage at Sera, read his mind and invited him to his own room. The guest was given many gifts and was told, 'I understand you will soon return to Hsi-khang [= Kham] to propagate the doctrine, hence these small gifts.' The guest was surprised, saying: 'I did not speak of returning to Hsi-kang. Do I understand that I am not welcome here? I shall ask Rgyal-tshab-rje about this. Maybe he will let me stay.' He went to Dgah-ldan [Ganden] to see him. But strange enough, this senior disciple of Tson[g]-kha-pa did not persuade him to remain in Tibet either, but instead encouraged him to go to Chab-mdo ... and gave him many gifts. Consequently, in 1437 he built the monastery Byams-pa-glin[g] at Chab-mdo, the first in Hsi-kang. |
