Kumbum and Labrang

CHAPTER 2 The Holy Places of Amdo: Kumbum and Labrang

The monastery is known in everyday speech among the Tibetans and the Mongols by the name Kumbum, but among the Chinese as Ta-si (the Monastery of the Stupa). In written works it has a fuller title—Kumbum Jambalin, i.e., the World of the Maitreya with the Hundred Thousand Images. It is situated at the top of the river or, more accurately, the deep ravine called Tsongkha, the Gorge of the Wild Onion. The guide to the holy places or directory of this monastery, a volume of which we made use, is divided into four parts. The first tells about the foundation of the monastery; the second lists the names of its abbots with short bio- graphical data; the third contains a list of the most noteworthy shrines; and the fourth indicates the benefit derived from worshiping at them. Without going into the minutiae of the third part of the guidebook, we shall say that, judging by the detailed register of objects and statues, all the temples contain statues of deities and holy lamas; suburgans (stupas) containing the remains or the hair [the hair was venerated by those who believed their teacher achieved Nirvana; his body disappeared leaving only the hair behind] of celebrated lamas; items of their robes; thrones; articles used in the homes of distinguished lama clergy- men; and so on. Precious copies of various books are kept in the temples. The tales of the foundation of this monastery are linked to the name of the great reformer of Lamaism, Tsongkhapa, whose surname might be translated as “the man from Tsongkha” or “from the place of the wild onion.” It is said that the great Tsongkhapa was born in 1357 on the very spot where the chief shrine, the great suburgan of the monastery, now stands and here blood was spilled from his navel. Three years later on this place a sandalwood tree (tsen-den) began to grow, and on its leaves one could see images of the deities: the Lion-voiced, Mañjuśrī, Yamāntaka, Mahākāla, and others. Then, when Tsongkhapa was already in central Tibet, his aged mother longed to see her son and sent a letter summoning him to come and visit her. In reply to his mother’s letter, Tsongkhapa informed her that if she were to construct a suburgan above the tree already mentioned which would bear 100,000 images (hence the name Kumbum) of Buddha the Lion-voiced, then that would be as effective as their meeting, and great benefit would result from it for living beings. The mother carried out her son’s wish. In 1560 lama Rinchen-Tsöndü-Gyatso built a small cell near the suburgan and in it he installed about ten of his disciples, whose numbers then swelled to thirty.

In the fifth year of the reign of the Ming emperor Wan-Li, in the year of the Fire Cow (i.e., 1577) a temple was constructed and within it they set up a statue of the twelve-year-old ‘savior’ Maitreya (in Tibetan, Jampa-gönpo) which was made of medicinal clay. This fact gave rise to the second part of the full title of the monastery given above. This temple stands to the right of the suburgan as one looks [away] from the suburgan. In 1583 the third Dalai Lama Sönam-Gyatso, making his second journey to Altan Khan, ruler of the Tumetu Mongols, advised the lama Tsöndü-gyeltsen- sanbo and the local secular rulers to build a monastery and so it was done. Then the fourth, Mongolian-born, Dalai Lama Yonten-Gyatso on his way to Tibet (in 1604 to be precise) evicted the lay inhabitants from the monastery. The monastery founded in this fashion is located at the top of a deep northward-running gorge, which is in turn formed by two ravines that join at the southern edge of the monastery. All the communal buildings—with the exception of the garden used for debates in summer, which lies on the right- hand side—are situated on the left side of the gorge. Among these one should regard the most important shrine as being the suburgan above the tsen-den tree already referred to. It is now enclosed in a special brick building faced with green fa-lang enamel on a foundation of regularly hewn grey granite. The tree, known as serdon-chenmo, i.e., “the great golden tree,” stands in the empty space within the suburgan. This building, with its extraordinary two-colored exterior, has a gilded double roof. Formerly the temple was simply called Lhakhan-chenmo, or the Great Temple, and it got the name Serden-chenmo only after its roof was gilded some fifteen years ago. The suburgan itself is faced with hammered silver and draped with yellow Chinese satin. In the upper part of its bumpa, set in a recess, there is a gilded statue of Tsongkhapa about one arshin in height. The suburgan is over three sazhens tall. On the low rectangular base of the suburgan, and also on separate stands, there are groups of numerous statues and small suburgans containing the remains of celebrated lamas from this monastery. In front of the suburgan on a long blue board one finds an inscription, in Chinese alone, set in a richly carved and gilded frame. Here too there is a table (or bench) with large, con- stantly burning lamps on it. One of these is made of gold, two of silver, one of stone, and the rest of brass. Besides this, devout pilgrims continually place lamps, which they buy ready for use right here at five Chinese chokhs each (less than a Russian kopeck), in front of the shrine. The building has three doors facing the east with an awning constructed above them beneath which, on the smooth wooden floor, the pilgrims perform their prostrations stretching out full length on the ground. About two sazhens from the doors stands another tree which, it is believed, shares a single root