At the southern foot of Genpei Uz Mountain on the western outskirts of Lhasa stands Drepung Monastery (Drepung Monastery), the largest monastery in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1416 by Jamyang Chöjé, a disciple of Tsongkhapa, at its height it housed over ten thousand monks, served as the mother monastery of the Dalai Lama, and was one of Gelug's political and religious centers.

"Drepung" (འབྲས་སྤུངས་, Drepung) means heap of rice — because the monastery is built into the mountain, its white buildings piled high look from afar like heaps of rice. The name is plainly almost homely, yet it explains everything: it is a monastery built for many people.

In 1416, Jamyang Chöjé Tashi Palden (Jamyang Chöjé), a disciple of Tsongkhapa, founded the monastery at his teacher's command. Legend has it that Tsongkhapa gave him a conch shell, saying: build the monastery where the conch's sound is heard, and the Dharma will spread widely.

Jamyang Chöjé found a site on the slope west of Lhasa and built Drepung there. Over the following centuries it grew into the largest monastic community in Tibet — at its height over ten thousand monks, from all parts of the Tibetan regions, Mongolia, the Han lands, and even farther.

Drepung's connection with the Dalai Lama began with the Second Dalai Lama, Gendün Gyatso. Thereafter every Dalai Lama took Drepung as his mother monastery, and within it established the Ganden Phodrang (དགའ་ལྡན་ཕོ་བྲང་) — the Fifth Dalai Lama established his regime there, and the famous "Ganden Phodrang regime" of Tibetan history takes its name from this.

This history shows one thing: Drepung was not only a place of study; it was also the political center of Tibet. That Gelug became the dominant school is inseparable from the strength of this monastery.

To understand Drepung's scale, one must understand its organizational structure.

Beneath the monastery are several dratsang (གྲྭ་ཚང་, colleges), each with its own curriculum, assembly hall, and administration, emphasizing respectively exoterics, tantra, medicine, or Kālacakra. After entering, a monk joins a dratsang according to his inclination and home region.

Each dratsang is further divided into several khams tshan (ཁམས་ཚན་) — basic units organized by the monk's home region. A monk from Kham enters the Kham khams tshan, living, studying, and practicing with his compatriots. The khams tshan is both a living unit and a mutual-aid network, responsible for settling and caring for new monks.

This two-tier "dratsang–khams tshan" structure is the key by which great Tibetan monasteries can hold thousands of monks in good order: it cuts a vast, unfamiliar crowd into many small communities bound by geography and affection.

Seen today, this mode of organization remains illuminating: the key to scale is not concentrating people, but making everyone belong to a small unit that can be seen.

Drepung's most famous annual event is the thangka unveiling of the Yogurt Festival (ཞོ་སྟོན་, Shoton).

"Shoton" originally meant "yogurt feast." By Gelug custom, monks observe a months-long summer retreat, remaining inside to avoid harming life; when the retreat ends, lay followers offer yogurt, gradually evolving into a festival. Later the Yogurt Festival added Tibetan opera performances and thangka unveilings, becoming Lhasa's grandest summer festival.

The thangka unveiling takes place on the hillside behind Drepung: monks slowly unfurl a giant appliqué thangka, covering the entire slope. Followers pour in from all sides to prostrate before it and toss khata scarves. For a moment, the whole valley falls silent.

The meaning of this ritual is to present the most sacred image publicly, all at once, to everyone. On ordinary days the buddha-image is enshrined in the hall; on this day it belongs to all who come to see it.

After the mid-twentieth century, Drepung met a fate similar to other great Tibetan monasteries: its monks dispersed and its buildings were damaged. It has since been gradually restored; today it remains one of Lhasa's most important religious sites, with several hundred monks and its study and practice proceeding as usual.

Meanwhile, the exiled community rebuilt Drepung Monastery in southern India (Mundgod, Karnataka), beside Ganden and Sera. The rebuilt Drepung restored its full curriculum and debate system, with a monk population now in the thousands, and established its two great dratsang, Loling and Gomang.

Drepung today, whether in Lhasa or in India, is doing the same thing: having a body of people read the Five Great Treatises one by one, by the curriculum set down six hundred years ago. It sounds plain, yet it is precisely why Gelug has not scattered for six hundred years.

The true scale of a monastery has never lain in how many halls it has, but in how many people are willing to put a lifetime into the same curriculum.

Q: Why is Drepung called the "Rice Heap"?

A: The Tibetan name "Drepung" ('bras spungs) means "rice heap." Built against the mountain, its white halls rise tier upon tier, and seen from afar they look like piled-up white rice, hence the name.

Q: What is its relation to the Dalai Lamas?

A: From the Second Dalai Lama onward, Drepung became the mother monastery of the Dalai Lamas, and each Dalai established a residence there called the Ganden Phodrang. The Fifth Dalai Lama founded his government there—the historically famed Ganden Phodrang regime.

Q: When is the Shoton Festival?

A: It falls at the beginning of the seventh Tibetan lunar month, roughly August in the Gregorian calendar. At that time Drepung unveils giant thangkas, and Tibetan opera is performed across Lhasa.

Q: Can one visit it?

A: Yes. Drepung is open to visitors and is especially lively during the Shoton Festival, but the crowds are very large then, so it is best to plan ahead and take care for safety.

• Colourful Drepung Monastery.jpg · Stephen Anthony Rohan / CC BY-SA 4.0
• Lhasa-Drepung-32-Klostergebaeude-2014-gje.jpg · Gerd Eichmann / CC BY-SA 4.0

Return to the parent page: The Sacred Sites of Gelug.