GANDEN MONASTERY

Cross the bridge in Lhasa and follow the main road towards Mazogongar. Half way, turn right and just 2 km further, again right. A épingle road offers a superb panorama on the valley, and the monastery is gradually discovered at the top. Wait the last hundred meters to take the picture. Tsonkhapa established his main monastery in 1417 on Mount Drokri that he renamed Ganden (the paradise of joy), the pure earth of the Buddha of the future. He chooses Gyeltsab I to succeed him and gives him the title of Ganden Tripa which will therefore be the highest title in the order gelugpa. It is a five-year term and can be attributed only to a geshe, already abbot de Sera or Drepung. In 1959, the monastery had 5 000 monks and 70 buildings. During the Cultural Revolution, Tibetans themselves were forced to demolish it. This symbol of the gelougpa power was razed. Reconstruction began in 1984, thanks to private funds and continued spectacularly until the last few years. Three temples and many residential buildings that can accommodate the 270 monks, stand again in a magnificent site.

Ganden's main interest is its eagle's nest position at the top of the mountain. Its ruins in which some new buildings are now drawing testify to the grandeur of its past. The visit is pretty fast. It is sometimes hard to imagine that the walls are not more than ten years old when you enter these obscure rooms where the characteristic atmosphere of the oldest places reigns. Everything was redone, identical to the past, as if the time had been deleted. Not even the reliquary that contained the fragrant body of Tsongkhapa could not be saved from Red Guards. It is reported that once a year, a tiny parcel of the mummy was taken to make them sacred pills, and that the mummy reconstituait itself. One day, one discovered that the body had not resumed as usual and definitively closed the reliquary. A few years ago, the pilgrims were offered the empreinte of a dent tooth in a mandala. It is no longer visible. Attention, access to the protective hall is forbidden for women. After the visit of the monastery, you should not miss the tour of the Drogri (pasteurs mountain) on foot, by the left. This journey of approximately an hour offers a unique panorama on the plain where five rivers converge.