Drepung lies 8 kms west of Lhasa on a main road, then 3 km north on a steep , unpaved road. Its name means Riceheap, after its jumble of white buildings piled up against Mount Gyegbuwudze. This was the biggest and richest monastery in Tibet. Its lamas, who helped to train each young Dalai Lama, could guess how a new God –King would rule- as a leader or as a tool of the Regent. Drepung housed the nechung, the state Oracle. In a bizarre ceremony, the oracle, in a trance, would utter prophecises on which the rulers based vital decisions.

Drepung was founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong Khapa, with a noble family as patron. The fifth Dalai Lama enlarged it and ruled there monks. It governed 700 subsidiary monasteries and owned vast estates. In 1959, 6000 monks lived there. Half including all the high lamas, fled with Dalai Lama. The rest went home, took up trades and married. A handful of elderly monks stayed on at the monastery, labouring on 20 hectare farm that the Chinese let them keep. Today, about 400 monks and novices live there, and their orchards make them a profit.

The monastery was divided into four tantric colleges which at the highest level, specialized in different branches of knowledge. Each had its own chanting hall, dormitories, kitchen and offices. The entire monastic community assembled only for special ceremonies and festivals. The chanting halls are all built on a similar plan, facing south with a big murals that typically include the four heavenly kings and the wheel of life. These are worth a good look. The chanting hall hung with thankas and victory banners, has closely spaced pillars with rows of cushions between, each holding a monks robe and cap. Murals decorate the walls. Stairs on the left go to the roof. The north wall is a long altar. Behind it are elaborate chapels. The chanting hall should be walked through in a clockwise direction. It is often dart so bring a flashlight. The roof contains a hollow pavilion whose windows illuminate the chanting hall beneath. It is surrounded by a painted gallery. Higher roof levels hold chapels. The top level supporting the golden finials, has a splendid view.

Sera lies on the northern edge of lhasa at the base of Tatipu Hill. Sera means Merciful Hail, denoting its rivalry wit the Rice Heap since hail destroys rice. Sera was smaller than Drepung with 7000 monks but was very rich and comparable in power. Today it has about 300 monks and some of its buildings house a farm. Sera was founded in 1419 by one Tsong Khapas eight disciples. It became famous for its Tantric teachings while Drepung drew fame from its governing role. The monks of sera were considered clever and dangerous. Its small army of warrior-monks, the dob dobs were admired as athletes but feared. Seras rebelliousness sometimes posed a threat to the state. In 1947, its leaders planned to kill the Regent and install a rival. The plot failed, but witnesses recount that shop in lhasa were barricaded and the nobles armed their servants for fear of rampaging monks

A central lane and fairly simple layout make sera easy to visit. Stalls by the main gateway sell soft drinks and snacks. A long driveway leads upto the monastery. Sera had three colleges like those at Drepung but the chanting halls and chapels seem dark and more demonic. Near the west side of the lane is the chanting hall of the Gyetazang college. Its holy west chapel contains an awesome, horse-headed demon-god, ayaguriba, whose origins go back to the pre Buddhist Bon religion. Behind this building is the Debating Garden, novices can be seen preparing for monastic examinations by staging mock debates in the ritual way. Some sit croll-leged under the trees, while others run from group to group giving vigorous hand claps to end a statement or make a point. Masters and dignitaries sit on the raised tiers when a real examination takes place.

It means heap Of Glory, was the seat of the Panchen Lamas. It lies at the foot of Dromari or taras Mountain, on the west side of Shigatse and is today one of Tibets most active monasteries. It was founded in 1447 by Tsong Khapas youngest disciple, who was his nepjew and the main organizer of the Yellow Hat sect. the early abbots, posthumously named the first , second and third panchen Lamas, were learned scholars who often had to flee to the province of U from their fierce Red Hat opponents in Tsang.

The enlargement of it took place mostly under the fourth, fifth and sixth Panchen Lamas, after the yellow hat sect had been firmly established as Tibets official religion. But it still had troubles. When the broad-minded sixth Panchen Lama died of smallpox in Peking, his brother, the treasurer of Tashilhunpo, stole his entire huge fortune. He refused to distribute it to the monastery or share it with his other brothers and he thereafter became the governor of Tsang. Another brother, who lived in Nepal, led an army of Gurkha warriors to Sigatse in 1791, where they sacked and looted tashilhunpo. The Chinese drove out te Nepalese and at the same time strengthened their influence over Tibet.

This hsd over 4000 monks and was ogranised like Lhasas great monasteries. It had four Tantric colleges, each with its own abbot. After the death of a Panchen Lama, these four abbots led the search for his infant reincarnation, and one of them always acted as the prime minister of Tsang, under the control of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa.

This was disbanded as a monastery bu the Chinese army in 1960 while the Panchen lama was absent. Less physical damage was inflicted than on many other sites and a handful of caretaker monks was allowed to remain. Today there are 610 monks of whom 110 are youngs.

The most remarkable object on the monastery grounds is an enormous Thanka wall, nine storeys high, which stands like a huge drive in movie screen, clearly visible from the city. This structure is used most of the year for storing three gigantic banners bearing images of the Buddha which are displayed on the wall for only three days a year during summer festivities. The monastery itself, facing south, is one of the most spectacular in Tibet for the salmon rose colour of its main buildings, set off by the ecclesiastical red-brown of the parapets and clear black and white trim. The buildings form a horizontal line: a gigantic maitraya temple on the west, the panchen lamas palace in the middle and on the east a cluster of buildings around a big courtyard that includes the main chanting hall, a sutra hall and chapels.

A path runs orth from the main gate between white stone buildings and courtyards that house smaller chanting halls, the debating Garden, dormitories and workshops. Pilgrims coming to this monastery brings a bag of tsampa as offering, rather than yak butter as in Lhasa.

This small monastery lies 22 km south of sigatse. For centuries it was renowned as a centre of scholarly learning and psycic training, and its mural paintings were considered to be the most ancient and beautiful in Tibet. Shalu still had 100 monks in this century and its reputation lasted up to its destruction in the 1960. a small part of it, housing six monks, seven novices and a few superior murals, is still standing. Shalu was founded in 1040 near a flourishing, long-vanished market town. It was the first of the major monasteries to be built by noble families of Tshang during tibets great revival of Buddhism. Shalus monks kept in close touch with sakya monastery founded soon afterwards, which was bigger and politically more powerful.

The monastery stands in a small valley facing east. It is mostly destroyed, only the outer wall and the main building with damaged roofs are still standing, along with a few adjacent tumble down structures. The few remaining murals in a good condition are in a chapel on the south side of the roof, which is reached by an exterior stone staircase.

The mud brick ruins lie 15 km west of sigatse beside the main road. Founded in 1153 by one of the Atishas disciples, narthang was the fourth great monastery of Tsang, with shalu, sakya and Tashilhunpo. Like sakya, it was a big, square, walled compound in the Mongolian style. Parts of the high fortress walls are still standing. This was first famous for its scriptural teachings and monastic discipline. After the 14th century it gained great eminence as the oldest of tibets three great printing centres. The fifth panchen lama took narthang under the control of tashilhunpo and it coutinued printing the Buddhist scriptures, the Kanjur and tenjur, up until 1959. a few of the ancient woodblocks and early editions might have survived in the collection at Tashilhunpo.

The monastery is located behind Gyantses mountain ridge on the west. Only four buildings remain: the Khumbum; the main, three storey chanting hall; a dormitory for the 17 monks and a thanka wall where giant Buddha banners were displayed once a year.

Palkor was founded in 1365 and housed about 1,000 monks, prospering from its fertile lands and good location for trade. It suffered much damage in recent times. Current restoration is poor but some original art remains in the chanting hall and some fine Boddhisattva statuary exists in the north and west chapels. At the lower roof level, the walls of one chapel are lined with lacquered statues of seated saints showing marked Indian influence. On the top roof level, the north chapel has a superb collection of 15 mandala murals, all 3 m in diameter and in good condition.

Tibets first monastery is located north of the Yarlung Tsangpo River about 30 km from Tsedang as the crow flies. However a visit there takes a full day. To reach Syame, travelers leave their car at a ferry stop 36 km. west of Tsedang and cross the river in an open, flat-bottomed boat propelled by a converted tractor. The monastery, surrounded by a village, is in a green valley among barren mountains set back from the Yarlong Tsangpo. Haiburi, its small holy mountain, stands just to the east. Five ancient white stupas perched on crags overlook an early part of the trail from the ferry to Syame.

Syame monastery was founded in 779 by Trisong Detsen, tibets second religious king, after he had invited prominent Buddhist to Tibet from India, the most famous of whom were Padmasambhava, the magician saint, and santarakshita, his personal tutor. The two teachers helped him found syame as a school to train Tibetan monks, modeling it after a monastery in Bihar, India. Legends say padmasambhava magically compelled Tibetan demons to haul stone and wood from rivers and forests each night so men could build the monastery by day, and forced the nagas the water serpent deities to give up their gold to finance the operation.

The first Tibetan monk, a yarlong aristocrat who had attended a Buddhist university in India, was ordained by santarakshita and installed as the first abbot of syame. Santarakshita then ordained seven more nobles whom the king selected for their intelligence to receive this honour. Would be monks came from far and near to be trained by them. The king enacted new religious laws placing monks above the royal law. Syames abbot, entitled head of the superiors, received more privileges than a minister of state. Certain landowning families of Yarlong were made subject to the monastery rather than the king and were obliged to provide the monks with frood, income, butter, cloth, paper and ink, each according to his rank and degree. Anyone doing harm to a monk was severely punished- to a point where even a dirty look could mean having an eye put out.

In 791 king trisong detsen proclaimed Buddhism the official religion of Tibet, upon which two of his five queens and 300 other people promptly took religious vows and joined holy orders. Yet most of the aristocrats of yarlong clung tenaciously to the old Bon faith. They hated the newly privileged class of Buddhist monks, which they saw as a mortal threat not only to the power of the nobility but to the monarchy itself. History proved them entirely correct. King trisong detsen grappled continually with the nobles. When he demanded that one of them build a stupa at syame as an act of piety, the reluctant lord made it black, the colour of Bon.

Two divergent streams of Buddhism clashed at syame. Chinese influence was as strong as that brought by padmasambhava and santarakshita from India.781 onwards, china sent two monks to syame and replaced them every two years. Chinese chan Buddhism, a forerunner of zen, sought salvation through meditation and sudden insight, laying little store in ritual or good works. The Indians, on the other hand, embraced a moral code of good and bad deeds repayable in a future life, a slower route to salvation.

A great debate took place in the kings presence from 791 to 793. two learned monks, one from china, the other from India, carried on a profound discourse whose text has been preserved. The Indian view triumphed and was adopted as the future course for Tibetan Buddhism to follow. Nonetheless, Chinese elements were incorporated into Lamaism. Many translations and catalogues of Buddhist texts were produced at samye, and much scholarly writing was done during Trisond Detsens time. But the esoteric teachings of Lamaism were always transmitted by word of mouth, in the context of a strong, personal bond between teacher and pupil.

It took over a decade, 775-787, to build samye, at the site of a temple founded by Trisong Detsens father. Offering from chief ministers and his five queens helped to pay the costs. At the centre was a large, three storeyed hall surmounted by gold roofs, enclosed inside a protective cloister with elaborate gates at the cardinal points. Opposite the corners stood four big stupas, built by individuals in different pagoda styles, coloured red, white , green, and black. Many surrounding buildings and temples completed the monastery. The whole was originally enclosed by a zigzag wal that was destroyed by fire. It was replaced in the 10th century by a great circular wall in circumference. The architecture of the Great hall combined styles that expressed the borrowing and mergings typical of Tibetan Buddhism. The lower part was constructed in the Tibetan manner, with two roofs, by builders from Khotan beyond Kunlun mountains. The middle part was made in Chinese style with three roofs, by the Chinese carpenters. The upper part also with three roofs, was built in Indian style by Indian craftsmen.

All that remains today is the great hall without its third storey and roofs and the surrounding cloister, which houses 34 monks-18 of them novice. The great hall faces east. The square cloister compound is entered by the east portal with its two stone elephants and giant bronze bell. Just inside is a huge prayer wheel under a canopy.

The main chanting hall has altar statues of five ancient historical figures, from left to right, a foremost translator of scriptures into Tibetan, an afaghan sage invited by the king to give guidance on samyes construction, in the middle, with jwelled breastplate and popping eyes, an Indian exorcist, colleague of padmasambhava, who rid the region of ghosts, king trisong detsen, and last, his ancestor king songtsen Gampo. Butter and tsampa sculptures in glass cases, made at the Tibetan new year, display excellent workmanship and show that this art form is still alive.

The west chapel has a very large central figure of sakyamuni that is made of stone beneath its garments. It dates from the 8th century. Only the head, recently destroyed, has been restored in clay. Pious Buddhists believe that the figure was formed naturally from Mount Haiburis rock.
The north chapel is a dark chamber whose three demon deities are considered so frightening that their heads are hidden under white scarves. Samye monastery belongs simultaneously to three sects of Buddhism- the orthodox Yellow hat sect and two of the unreformed Red Hat sects. The later still contains strong elements of magic and demonology derived from the pre-Buddhist Bon faith, as is demonstrated here.
The south chapel, with a separate entrance outside , has a memorable statue of Chenrezi with multiple deads and armas and 10,000 hands, in front of whom sits a fierce image of Padmasambhava. Two upper levels of the chanting hall still contain some rare murals in spite of much damage. At the top, a pillared hall holds three statues of which padmasambhava are familiar. The left-hand statue is said to have come from the temple founded by King Trisong Detson father on this site before the samye was built. The modern pattern on its lap robe adds an unexpectedly light hearted touch.

The roof offers a grand view over the village and countryside. A red, rounded structure to the southwest is the base of samyes destroyed red stupa, which was considerably taller than the monastery.

The cloister has living quarters for the monks on the upper tier. Below the gallery are remarkable murals, some damaged, some restored. To the left of the portal on entering, beyond a row of prayer wheels, is a marvelously executed scheme of samye monastery as it was in the 8th century, complete with zigzag wall. Beyond it is a depiction of Chimphu cave, an important Tantric centre northeast of samye and still a sacred destination for pilgrims.

Tibets only remaining Red Hat monastery lies 54 km west of Tsedang, a drive of one and half hour. A small, sandy road turns south off the main road,44 km. west of tsedang. The right hand road at a fork in the first village leads into a side valley where the monastery stands.

Nyingmapa means the ancient ones. It is the oldest, most unreformed sect of Tibetan Buddhism, founded in the 8th century by the Indian saint, magician Padmasambhava. It contains many elements of the pre Buddhist Bon faith. As other sects proliferated and gained influence, they remained strictly anti establishment with no pretensions to political power. Their lamas were often married and lived in very small groups as hermits, tantrists, yogis and sorcerers. They called themselves madmen and endeared themselves to the common people bu their quizzical approach to life, their gibes at the excesses of the mighty, and their love of folklore and poetry. As madmen they sought access to the treasury of the mind, their source of inspiration and creativity. They scorned books and declared learning useless, yet they produced an extensive literature.

Mindroling, meaning place of perfect emancipation, was founded in 1676 by Dieda Linba, whose ancestor was a famous Nyingmapa finder of revelations. The teachings of this visionary had been carried on by his direct descendants for 300 years. Some of their doctrines were kept secret, are known to have studied these methods with nyingmapa teachers. Dieda linba became a tutor of the Great fifth DaLAI Lama who may have influenced him to found mindroling as an orderly, monastic teaching centre. When the great fifth made the Yellow Hat sect supreme in Tibet by crushing rival sects, the Nyingmapas were ignored. Whether because it lacked wealth and posed no political threat, or because of the Dalai Lamas personal interest Mindroling flourished.

Descendants of the revelation finder became abbots of Mindroling, succeeding one another from father to son, not by way of reincarnation. One son of the abbot would become a monk, vowed to celibacy, while another son, destined to be abbot, was expected to marry and continue the line. If he died, the monk brother was obliged to marry his widow. This has continued for over 20 generations, the present abbot lives in India.

The monastery in Tibet plays a vital role in the life of Tibetan people, its culture and religion. Previously were the seat of the governments and its head were the ruler of their community and their state.