Palpung Monastery (Tibetan: དཔལ་སྤུངས།, Wylie: dpal spungs dgon pa[1]) is the name of the congregation of monasteries and centers of the Tai Situpa lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the name of the Tai Situ's monastic seat in Babang, Kham (modern Sichuan). Palpung means "glorious union of study and practice". It originated in the 12th century and wielded considerable religious, political, and economic influence over the centuries.[2]
The 12th Tai Situpa, Pema Tönyö Nyinje, has established a new monastic seat in exile at Palpung Sherabling Monastery in the state of Himachal Pradesh near the city of Baijnath. Palpung Yeshe Rabgyeling Nun Monastery is near the city of Manali in the town Bunthar about 3 hours drive from the Palpung Sherabling Monastery (Wylie: shes rab gling[6]).
History
Palpung Monastery is the historical seat of the successive incarnations of the Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpas in Kham. It is also the mother monastery of the Karma Kagyu in Kham and evolved into the center of the Rimé movement. The seat in exile, outside of Tibet, Sherabling Monastery, is in India. The congregation has monasteries and centers around the world.
Palpung in Tibet
Palpung Monastery is characterized by a number of rock paintings and shrines.
Palpung originated in the 12th century and wielded considerable religious influence over the centuries.[2] Palpung Monastery was founded by the 8th Tai Situpa "Situ Panchen" in 1727 and developed into a preeminent center of learning and scholarship on the eastern Tibetan plateau. The monastery once hosted more than 1000 monks and had one of the most leading monastic universities of the area. It is the seat of various lines of incarnate lamas, the best known being the Tai Situpa[5] and the Jamgon Kongtrul.
Palpung was known for its huge library with more than 324,000 texts and an art collection of more than 10,150 thangkas. It was also leading in the fields of spiritual painting and the Situ Rinpoche is the founder of Karma Gadri painting style. At the time of the 11th Tai Situ Rinpoche, Palpung was already famous for spiritual, studious and artistic excellence and authority.
Social turmoil from the late 1950s to 1976 brought destruction of some monastery buildings and neglected maintenance to Palpung's main temple. Construction and repair, initially funded by the government, then later by the 12th Tai Situpa and others, commenced in the late 1980s. Palpung’s main temple was recognized in 2013 as a national cultural heritage site, having previously been a provincial-level site. It was named to the World Monuments Watch list in 1998 and 2000.[7]
There are an estimated 800 monks residing in the monastery itself and a larger number resident in the surrounding region.
Palpung Sherabling Monastery currently has approximately 1,000 monks; 250 are enrolled in the monastic university curriculum on the premises. Palpung Yeshe Rabgyeling Nun Monastery is located near the city of Manali, in the Bunthar town has about 200 nuns. The Monastery also offers the traditional Kagyu three-year retreat for both monks and nuns on the compound.
Palpung Congregation
The Palpung congregation[8] consists of more than 180 monasteries and temples throughout some Chinese and Tibetan districts. Palpung Congregation also has branch institutions in Europe, USA, Canada Oceania and Asia altogether about 300 branches world wide. Its European Seat is Palpung Yeshe Chökhor Ling Europe, Palpung Europe[9] which was established and is under the direction of Chöje Lama Gelongma Palmo.
