Drikung Thil Monastery

"The Serkhang Chojé" - an important statue of Kyobpa Rinpoché enshrined in the Golden Temple at Drikung Thil Monastery       

Situated about 150 kilometers to the northeast of Lhasa, in the valley of Zhorong Tsangpo River (the principal northeast tributary of the Kyichu River) is Drikung Thil Okmin Jangchup Ling ('bri gung mthil 'og min byang chub gling) - the main seat of Drikung Kagyu Lineage. Drikung Thil was established as a monastic community in 1179 by Kyobpa Jikten Sumgön (1143-1217), thus fulfilling many prophecies of the benefit and glory that will radiate from the innumerable great beings who will appear at this sacred place.

Several different explanations are extant regarding the name "Drikung." One legend has it that Kyobpa Rinpoché was led to this location by a dri (the female of a yak) and thus he named this place Drikung. Another explanation of the name Drikung ("back of a dri") points to the distinctive contour of the cliff and ridge that resembles the back of a dri. On the other hand, the 14th century history, The Clear Mirror, compiled by Sakyapa Sonam Gyeltsen (1312-1375) asserts that Drikung was named after King Songtsen Gampo's minister Dri Seru Gongton who was given this area by the king.

Prior to the destruction that began in 1959 and continued through the so-called Cultural Revolution, there were fifteen main shrine-halls and many other smaller hermitages scattered all over the mountain ridge. At the height of the development of Drikung Thil, the grandeur of the many temples and shrines at this monastic community is said to outshine all other monastic centers in Central Tibet. Thus, an old Tibetan saying advises pilgrims to Central Tibet to go to Drikung Thil last since seeing Drikung Thil first will render all the other monasteries rather plain and unimpressive. However, two major devastations brought upon Drikung Thil (the complete destruction in 1290 under the hands of Mongol troops following political intrigues involving Drikung, Phakmo Dru and Sakya secular powers and the Chinese Communist persecutions starting in 1959) have left their negative impact on the welfare of the monastery.  

After the Chinese authorities relaxed their policies on religious practice in the early 1980s, the monastery began to rise up again from the ashes. Today, seven of the fifteen main shrine-halls have been rebuilt and altogether there are now over fifty buildings; most of them being hermitages for the use of retreatants. A new building that did not exist at Drikung Thil before but has been recently established is a modest monastic college (shedra) that now has a khenpo teaching the major philosophical treatises. 

As the Tibetan Meditation Center is a formal branch of Drikung Thil Monastery and since 2008 has an official representative from Drikung Thil in residence at the center (in the person of Khenpo Konchog Choephel), this website will try to provide more information on Drikung Thil as they become available. We aspire to highlight the distinctive traditions of Drikung Thil on this website while promoting them in practice at the center. 

To see the annual and monthly schedule at present-day Drikung Thil, click here.