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It is said that his disciple had been presented with a white conch and an auspicious token which Jamyang Chojey Tashi-pelden unearthed from a hill behind Ganden Monastery as some hidden treasures. It was quite coincidence that Tsongkhhapa had prophesied at the same period that &quot;You shall establish a magnificent monasery and this offspring monasery shall become more extensive than its mother one.&quot;</p> <p>The monasery was also patronized by Neupon Namka-zangpo, the political leader of Central Tibet at that time. As a result, the monastery was founded in the year 1960, according to the Theravadin system which begins after the Parinirvana of Buddha, or in 1416 A. D as in the Christian system. The time was also the year when Jamyang Chojey was thirty-eight.</p> <p><strong>Expansion</strong><br /> Beginning with a single small building serving both as a place for giving and receiving teachings and as a residence, the monastery gradually expanded to the scale of today. More extensive newer buildings were added, including an assembly hall, tantric hall, representations of Buddha&rsquo;s body, speech and mind, and monks&rsquo; quarters. All the materials was donated by Neupon Namka-zangpo, at the request of Tsongkhhapa.</p> <p><strong>Usage</strong><br /> The monastery had been maintained as a great institution for 32 years. the founder himself would give extensive discourses on the Three Baskets with respect to sutra studies and on the four classes of tantra with respect to tantra studies, which attracted a great number of monks to gather there. Furthermore, they divided themselves into seven groups, and each group would have the teacher of its own to give the members discourses. Thus,&nbsp; the seven great colleges were established and they are Gomang (sGo-mang), Losel-ling, Deyang, Shagkor, Gyelwa (rGyal-ba) or Tosamling (Thos-bsam gling), Dulwa, and Ngagpa.</p> <p>Neupon Namka-zangpo made grand religious offerings from time to time. He also provided the monks with essentials, for example, clothing and tea, if necessary. All the teaching, practicing and studying, as well as the increasing monk population helped it become one of the most famous, also of the greatest Gelug monaseries in the Lhasa area.</p> <p><strong>The Colleges </strong><br /> Gradually, Dulwa, Shagkor, and Gyelwa Colleges merged into other colleges. However, abbots holding the lineages of their thrones continued to be appointed from either Gomang or Losel-ling Colleges, despite the fact that they were no longer separate colleges.</p> <p>Later came the time of specialization of the remaining colleges. Gomang and Losel-ling gradualy specialized mostly in sutra studies and practice, while Ngagpa mostly in tantra, and Deyang equally practiced sutra and tantra at the same time.</p> <p>An abbot is the one who is responsible for the teaching, studying, and practice. Each college will have one abbot of its own. There is also a general abbot, or the throne-holder for the entire monastery. He is usually the lineage for which has come from Jamyang Chojey. In later times, the custom changed to one the eldest retired abbot of each individual colleges is supposed to be the throne-holder of the entire monastery.</p> <p><strong>The Monastery and Dalai Lamas</strong><br /> Gyelwa Gendun-drub, the first of the line of Dalai Lamas, received many sutra and tantra teachings from Tsongkhhapa at Drepung. Later, he founded Tashilhunpo Monasery near Shigatse, which is in Tsang province. The Tashilhunpo Monasery becomes the fourth largest monasery in Central Tibet, with the other three, that are Drepung, are in U (dBus) province. Form him on, each of the next Dalai Lamas, from the second until the fifth, when held the position of the Throne-holder of Drepung, also made Drepung as his permanent residence.</p> <p>Gyelwa Gendun-gyatso, the second Dalai Lama, at the age of four, said, &quot;Now it is time for us to go to Drepung. The messengers to invite me shall soon be coming.&quot; Like him, the succeeding members of the lineage of the Dalai Lama have built a special connection with this monasery, which may recall them the memories of the past.</p> <p>Due to this special connection, the Dalai Lama or Gyelwa Rinpoche was even referred to as the Drepung Tulku at that time. Even the name of the Tibetan Government, Ganden Podrang, comes after the name of the Dalai Lama&rsquo;s residence at Drepung.</p> <p>The Third Dalai Lama built a new residence despite the fact that he had an old one called Ganden Podrang. Also, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama built the general assembly hall at Drepung as his wishes.</p> <p>Because of the fact that the Dalai Lamas was regarded as both the temporal and religious ruler of Tibet from the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, the monastery at Drepung was no longer suitable as their permanent residence. However, the Dalai Lamas always kept the special bond with Drepung. Whenever someone of the Dalai Lama lineage formally entered the monasic community or took his Geshe examination, or at the time when there was some formal function of the religious-temporal government, the Dalai Lama would returned to&nbsp; Drepung and stayed at his Ganden Podrang there.</p> <p><strong>Influences</strong><br /> A popular saying is that the number of monks at Drepung is 7760,but this is not the whole story: there were actually several thousand more than the number. The teachings and practice of the Three Baskets were what most of them got involved. Many of them also sticked to the practice of reinforcing their mental ability. There were also those who took interested in menial labour to pursue for the economic welfare of the monasic community. Some well-learned ones who had completed their studies at the main monasery, would go to offspring monasteries, devoting themselves as abbots. In such way, Drepung actually nourished those offspring centers, and it served as the main site for the Buddha's teachings.</p> <p><strong>Later Events</strong><br /> The flourish of the monastery continued until 1959 A. D, when Tibet as a whole underwent a terrible catastrophe. In such condition, the monasery gradually lost its facilities to continue existing in Tibet. Several thousand of its monks, together with the Tibetan refugees, fled to India. The lost of conducive place, time, or conditions resulted their inability to assemble, not to mention to carry out only religious activities.</p> <p>On the other hand, several hundred monks were able to continue practice and study at Buxaduar in West Bengal for nine years, with the assistance of the ration aid program. Nevertheless, when they found the necessity of being situated closer to the Tibetan settlement camps in order to obtain the stability and continuity, they moved to Mundgod Karnataka State in South India at the year of 1970. There, they started their new life by clearing the thick jungle, making fields for growing food, and constructing makeshift buildings. Four years after they have moved there, they had made the place rather like home. Now they are even following the traditional course of study and practice as they used to do in Tibet.</p> <p>They do a lot to maintain the Tibetan tradition. They take the responsibility for preserving the religious activities every year. They also administer vows to those Tibetan youths who aspire to become monks. They admit them to the monasery, and make available the opportunities for their study and practice according to their wishes. All in all, they try all their efforts to keep all the tradition form disappearing.</p> <p>People have also write down all those information and now they are available. Those people hold a positive hope that this new Drepung Monasery will become a home for the Buddha's teachings in the future.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="pagebreak">page:<strong><a href="../Html/200751215445-1.Html">[1]page</a>&nbsp;</strong></div> <div id="txtBottom"> <span>[<A href="javascript:doPrint()"> Printing</A>] [<A class=black href="javascript:window.close()">Closure</A>]</span> </div><!--/ txtBottom--> <div id="next" style="margin-left:20px;"> <div> <p> <span style="font-size:12px; font-weight:bold;">More Information Related to Drepung Monastary</span></p> <ul> <xoYu_CMS_CODE:NEWS:NEWS_TOP><a title="Drepung Monastery - PHOTO GALLERY" href="../Html/201031633142-1.Html">Drepung Monastery - PHOTO GALLERY</a><p><a title="What to see in Drepung Monastery" href="../Html/2010315235741-1.Html">What to see in Drepung Monastery</a><p><a title="The Protection of Cultural Relics at Drepung Monastery" href="../Html/2007512151521-1.Html">The Protection of Cultural Relics at Drepung Monastery</a><p><a title="Cultural Background of Drepung Monastery" href="../Html/200751215445-1.Html">Cultural Background of Drepung Monastery</a><p><a title="Famous Buddha Show in Drepung Monastery" href="../Html/200751214275-1.Html">Famous Buddha Show in Drepung Monastery</a><p><a title="Drepung kora" href="../Html/200751214955-1.Html">Drepung kora</a><p><a title="Drepung Monastery" href="../Html/2006324123317-1.Html">Drepung Monastery</a><p></xoYu_CMS_CODE:NEWS:NEWS_TOP></ul> </div> </div> </div> <!--/ leftMainContent--> </div><!--/ leftMain--> <div id="rightMain"> <div id="thisformdiv"> <form action=" http://www.tibettravel.org/tibettravel/order/order_save.asp" method="post" id="thisform" name="myform" onSubmit="return check()"> <fieldset> <legend>Want a Quick Answer?</legend> <p><label for="name" accesskey="9">Name:&nbsp;</label> <input type="text" id="name" name="Fullname" tabindex="1"></p> <p> <label for="email">Email:&nbsp;</label> <input type="text" id="email" name="Email"tabindex="2"></p> <p> <label for="request">Your Request</label> <input type="text" value="3" name="type1" style="display:none" /> <input type="text" value="Quick Book" name="title" style="display:none" /> <label> <textarea name="content" id="text1" rows="3" onBlur="if (value ==''){value='Question not answered? 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