Yarlung Valley

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This article is missing information about the history and geography of the Yarlung region. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (January 2025)

The Yarlung Valley is formed by Yarlung Chu, a tributary of the

It was originally well-forested and suitable for agriculture. The Tsetang district is famous for its apples and pears.[3]

The Yarlung and the adjoining

The valley, often referred to as the "cradle of Tibetan civilisation", is only 72 km (45 mi) long, but contains a number of important castles, monasteries, temples, meditation caves, peaks and stupas. There are three renowned power places (ne-sum), Sheldrak, Tradruk, and Yumbu Lagang or (Yungbulakang Palace). Also, there are three major stupas which serve as receptacles for sacred relics (ten-sum): Takchen Bumpa, Gontang Bumpa, and Tsechu Bumpa.^[4]

Just below the town of

"To the north of the town was the Gonpi ri, one of the favourite resorts of Chenrezig (

Avalokitesvara

), and where, according to tradition, the monkey king and the goblin raised their family of monkeys, from which ultimately descended the Tibetan race.

There are four lamaseries around Tse-tang, and in the town are some fifteen Nepalese, twenty Chinese, and ten Kashmiri shops, besides native traders from all parts of Tibet. Mutton and butter were abundant, but barley, though cheap, is of inferior quality."[7]

This section needs expansion with: The tentative UNESCO listing for Yarlung lists several additional notable natural and cultural sites. You can help by adding to it. (January 2025)

• Cultural Revolution
  but was reconstructed in 1983.

• geomantic temples of Tibet, was built during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo. Also known as Changzhu Monastery, is one of the earliest geomantic temples in the Yarlung Valley, possibly predating the Jokhang in Lhasa.

  

  .
• Samye Monastery, also called Samye Mighur Lhundrub Tsula Khang, is the first Tibetan Buddhist and Nyingma monastery, established under King Trisong Deutsen. Construction began around 763 by Shantarakshita, with Guru Padmasambhava completing it in 779, and it became the site of Tibet’s first monk ordinations. Though it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, it was rebuilt after 1988.
• Mindrolling Monastery, meaning “Place of Perfect Emancipation,” is one of the Six Mother Monasteries of the Nyingma school in Tibet. Founded by Rigzin Terdak Lingpa in 1676.

• Mount Sotang Kangbori (
  Avalokitesvara) incarnated as a red monkey and impregnated a sinmo, or white ogress, conceiving six sons who were the ancestors of the original six clans of Tibet. In the cave may be seen a naturally occurring image of a monkey and paintings of simian figures. It is said that within the mountain is a beyul or 'hidden land'.^[8][9]
• Sheldrak Monastery: Above the village of Sekhang Zhika, bypassing a sacred burial ground with a
  Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339 CE).^[10][11]
• The Sheldrak Caves in the Pema Tskeri range at the entrance to the Yarlung Valley above Sheldrak Monastery:

• Sheldrak Drubpuk (Shel brag) faces east and was Guru Rinpoche or
  Boudhanath Stupa near Kathmandu and a crescent moon.^[12]
• Tsogyel Sangpuk (mTsho rgyal gsang phug) faces northeast and is the secret meditation cave of Yeshe Tsogyal, Padmasmabhava's consort. Its location is indicated by a prayer flag to the south of the cave.
• Pema Shelpuk or Padma Shepuk (Padma shel phug or yar-(k)lung shel-gyi brag-phag - 'Crystal Cave/Rock') faces west. This is where the famous Orgyen Lingpa (1323-circa 1360) discovered the terma Pema Katang (The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava) and many other important works. It is a vital Nyingma site.^[13][14][15]

• Lhabab Ri (Lha bab ri) - 'The Hill of Divine Descent' is the highest of three hilltops at the southern end of the Pema Tsekpa range, below the Sheldrak Caves. It is where the first king,
  Licchavi state in modern Bihar, and that he was descended from the Buddha.^[16][17]
• Tsechu Bumpa Stupa (Tse chu 'bum pa) is just south of the turnoff to Sheldrak. It is one of the three sacred stupas of Yarlung and its circumambulation usually marks the beginning or end of a pilgrimage to Sheldrak. It is said to have at its centre a rock crystal image of the Buddha brought from India and given by the translator Chokrolui Gyeltsen to King Trisong Detsen. Another legend says it contains the armour of King Songtsen Gampo. The site also contains a large number of mani stones.^[18]
• Gongtang Bumpa Stupa (dGon thang 'bum pa), one of the three main stupas of the Yarlung Valley, is situated at the centre of the entrance to the fertile Chongye Valley, protecting the Yarlung Valley from the approach of demons or hostile forces. It is said to have been built on the advice of the famous translator Vairocana, one of Padmasambhava's foremost students and holder of the Dzogchen lineage, to settle a boundary dispute. It was about 6–8 metres high. A new temple to the west has images of Hyagriva with Padmasambhava and Lhodrak Longka Geling on either side.^[19][20]
• Bairo Puk (Bairo phug) - Vairocana's Cave. The meditation cave of Vairocana, one of Padmasambhava's main disciples, is three metres deep facing a dry waterfall. Only the copper base of the original statue remains, though the imprint of Vairocana's hand in the rock and some rock-inscriptions remain.^[21][22]
• Riwo Choling Monastery. South of Tradruk Temple and east of Tsharu village are immense ruins of what was once a
  Gelugpa monastery founded in the 15th century by Panchen Lama I, Khedrup Gelek Pelzang (1385–1438), Je Tsongkhapa’s foremost disciple.^[23] The monks from here once acted as caretakers of the Yumbu Lagang Palace.^[24]

• Podrang Village (Chogyel Potang; Chos rgyal pho brang), about 5 km south of Yumbu Lagang, is said to be the oldest village in Tibet.^[25][26]
• Takchen Bumpa Stupa (rTag spyan bum pa), is the first of the three major stupas of Yarlung. It is named after Sadaparudita (Tib. Taktu Ngu), a bodhisattva mentioned in the Prajnaparamita literature. It is on a pass on the old route to Eyul to the east. The chorten is of a very ancient design, with a dome-shaped bumpa (vase) and steps leading up to a window near the top of the dome. A lamp is left burning in the window. The structure was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution but is now fully restored.^[27][28]
• Next to the Takchen Bumpa Stupa is Takchen Bumoche, a small
  Kadampa period. When Keith Dowman visited this monastery in 1985 or 1986 there were about a dozen monks in residence.^[29][30]
• Chode O has an Assembly Hall with three storeys. It was founded by the
  Medicine Buddhas.^[31]
• Chode Gong is older than Chode O, being founded in the 11th century by
  Bodhisattvas.^[32]
• Yabzang Monastery, presently mainly in ruins, was founded by Gyurme Long in 1206 was the seat of the small Yabzang Kagyu school tracing its descent through his teacher Geden Yeshe Chenye who was a disciple of Phakmodrupa.^[33]
• The main peak of Mount Yarlha Shampo is 24 km past Yarto township. The highest peak (6,636 m or 21,772 ft) is the abode of the protector Yarlha Shampo. The road leads over the Yarto Drak La pass (4,970 m or 15,715 ft), which marks the end of the Yarlung Valley, to the Nyel Valley and on to the Indian and Bhutanese borders.^[34]

Footnotes

1. ^ Dowman (1988), p. 173.
2. ^ Dorje (2009), pp. 219, 940.
3. ^ Stein (1972), pp. 20, 24.
4. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 190.
5. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 186.
6. ^ Das (1902), p. 228.
7. ^ Das (1902), pp. 229-230.
8. ^ Dowman (1988), pp. 174-175.
9. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 186.
10. ^ Homage to Yeshe Tsogyal by Gyurme Dorje
11. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 190.
12. ^ Dorje (1999), pp. 190-191.
13. ^ Dorje (1999), pp. 190-191.
14. ^ Dudom Rinpoche, et al. (1999), Vol. 1, p. 775.
15. ^ Dowman (1988), pp. 174-175.
16. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 191.
17. ^ Dowman (1988), pp. 189-190.
18. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 191.
19. ^ Dowman (1988), pp. 188-189.
20. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 194.
21. ^ Dowman (1988), pp. 187-188.
22. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 194.
23. ^ Hilton (2000), p. 58.
24. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 194.
25. ^ Dowman (1988), p. 183.
26. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 195.
27. ^ Dowman (1988), pp. 183-184.
28. ^ Dorje (1999), pp. 195-196.
29. ^ Dowman (1988), p. 184.
30. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 196.
31. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 196.
32. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 196.
33. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 196.
34. ^ Dorje (1999), p. 196.

See also

• List of Tibetan monasteries
• Valley of the Kings (Tibet)

References

• Buckley, Michael and Strauss, Robert. Tibet: a travel survival kit. (1986) Lonely Planet Publications, Victoria, Australia.
  ISBN 0-908086-88-1
  .
• Das, Sarat Chandra. (1902). Lhasa and Central Tibet. Reprint: (1988). Mehra Offset Press, Delhi.
• Dorje, Gyurme (1999). Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan. Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England.
  ISBN 0-8442-2190-2
  .
• Dorje, Gyurme (2009). Tibet Handbook. Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England.
  ISBN 978-1-906098-32-2
  .
• Dowman, Keith. (1988) The Power-Paces of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London & New York.
  ISBN 0-7102-1370-0
  .
• Dudom Rinpoche and Dorje, Jikdrel Yeshe (1991). The Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism Its Fundamentals and History. 2 Vols. Translated and edited by Gyurme Dorje with Matthew Kapstein. Wisdom Publications. Boston.
  ISBN 978-0-86171-087-4
  .
• Hilton, Isabel. (1999). The Search for the Panchen Lama. Viking. Reprint: Penguin Books. (2000).
  ISBN 0-14-024670-3
  .
• Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005) Tibet. 6th Edition.
  ISBN 1-74059-523-8
  .
• Stein, R. A. (1972) Tibetan Civilization. Stanford University Press.
  ISBN 0-8047-0901-7
  (ppk).