Tashilhunpo Monastery

拉撒西南去八日，即后藏寺，名札什伦布，乃宗喀巴之大弟子根报敦珠巴所建。即头辈达赖喇嘛。其寺背山临河，殿宇宏敞，佛像庄严，亦甚壮丽，乃班禅喇吓坐床之所，凡学经成者，必至此受戒。

Eight days southwest from Lhasa is a monastery in Tsang called Zhaxilunbu. It was built by Tsongkhapa’s chief disciple Genbao Dunzhuba, who was the first Dalai Lama. The monastery has mountains behind it and a river in front; its halls are spacious and grand, its Buddhist images dignified, and it is also very magnificent. It is the place where the Panchen Lama takes his seat. All those who have completed their scriptural studies must come here to receive ordination.

仍仲宁翁结巴司大召西去八日，即后藏札什隆布地。其寺背山临河，院宇敞丽，佛像庄严，乃班禅喇嘛坐床之所。各处朝礼，番夷不绝于道。凡学经成者，必至此受戒，取名熬茶施众。考班禅乃金刚化生，第一世名桑吉年地楞桂，凡转生十三世。第十二世名班陈罗藏吉坚鲁入觐，世祖章皇帝，赠同五世达赖喇嘛。十三世名直俊罗桑益喜，我朝叠加恩礼。乾隆二年圆寂，转生十四世，乾隆六年坐床矣。

Eight days west from Rengzhongning Wengjieba Sidazhao is the place of Zhaxilongbu in Tsang. The monastery has mountains behind it and a river in front; its courtyards and buildings are spacious and splendid, and its Buddhist images are dignified. It is the place where the Panchen Lama takes his seat. People from every direction come to worship, and Tibetans and foreigners are ceaseless on the road. All those who have completed their scriptural studies must come here to receive ordination, in a rite called boiling tea and giving it to the assembly. It is recorded that the Panchen is a vajra incarnation. The first incarnation was named Sangji Niandi Lenggui, and there were thirteen incarnations in all. The twelfth was named Panchen Luozang Jijianlu; he entered court audience with the Shizu Zhang Emperor, who granted him honors equal to those of the Fifth Dalai Lama. The thirteenth was named Zhijun Luosang Yixi, and our dynasty repeatedly bestowed favor and ritual honors upon him. He passed into nirvana in the second year of Qianlong, was reborn as the fourteenth incarnation, and took his seat in the sixth year of Qianlong.

布达拉经簿云：达赖剌麻，宗喀巴之大弟子也，班禅额尔德尼，宗喀巴之二弟子也。头辈达赖剌麻名根敦珠巴，生于洪武二十四年辛未，在喀那木萨喀木青熙饶巴处出家。二十岁，又大戒，创建札什伦布庙，诵穆伦经。其时有博洞班禅在雪地修行，闻名信附，遂号根敦珠巴为汤彻清巴，寿八十六岁。

The Potala scripture register says: the Dalai Lama was Tsongkhapa’s chief disciple, and the Panchen Erdeni was Tsongkhapa’s second disciple. The first Dalai Lama was named Gendun Drub. He was born in the xinwei year, the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, and became a monk under Kanam Sakam Qing Xiraoba. At the age of twenty, he further received the full ordination, founded Zhaxilunbu Monastery, and recited the Mulun scriptures. At that time there was a Bodong Panchen practicing in the snowy region; hearing of his reputation, he believed in and attached himself to him, and therefore called Gendun Drub Tangche Qingba. He lived to the age of eighty-six.

又云：拉藏西南行九日，乃后藏也。寺名札什伦布，按通志此寺名仍仲宁翁结巴寺。头辈达赖，剌麻根敦珠巴所建。依山麓起阁，山形如蟹螯夹抱，其后山自西北来，蜿蜒隆突，如蜀栈之龙洞背也。楼高四廥，上有金殿三座，亦系金瓦，宏厂壮丽，为班禅额尔德尼坐床之所。其外来瞻礼布施者，与布达拉同。僧规谨严，戒律清净，藩僧必于此山朝礼，为受大戒。其地平严旷达，南北六七十里，东西百余里，远山为案。其北大山后又有崇岩峻岭，冬夏积雪不消。其东有大江，自南北流入东北山后。按伦今𦦉图，即雅鲁藏布江也。江在札什布山后，自西而冻，流至礼什伦布之东南，有年楚河，自江孜北流，至噶则城入江。又札什伦布之酉南，有当楚河，自隹玛并扪山北流入江。两河东西夹拱，北流至山后，入雅鲁藏布江。其西山势远互，西北达彭楚岭，西南入萨迦沟右札什伦布。

It also says: traveling nine days southwest from Lhasa reaches Tsang. The monastery is named Zhaxilunbu; according to the General Gazetteer, this monastery is named Rengzhongning Wengjieba Monastery. It was built by the first Dalai Lama, the lama Gendun Drub. Pavilions rise along the foot of the mountain. The mountain form embraces it like the pincers of a crab; behind it the mountains come from the northwest, winding and swelling, like the Longdong ridge of the Shu plank roads. The building is four stories high, and above it are three golden halls, also roofed with golden tiles, vast and magnificent. It is the place where the Panchen Erdeni takes his seat. Those who come from outside to worship and give alms are as numerous as at the Potala. The monastic rules are strict and the discipline pure. Tibetan monks must come to this mountain to worship and receive the great ordination. The land there is level, solid, broad, and open, measuring sixty or seventy li from south to north and more than one hundred li from east to west, with distant mountains forming its screen. Behind the great mountain to the north are further lofty cliffs and steep ridges, where accumulated snow does not melt in winter or summer. To its east is a great river, flowing from south and north into the mountains behind to the northeast. According to the Lunjin map, this is the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The river lies behind Zhaxibu Mountain; from the west it freezes, and when it flows to the southeast of Lishilunbu, there is the Nianchu River, which flows north from Gyantse and enters the river at Gaze city. Southwest of Zhaxilunbu there is also the Dangchu River, which flows north from Zhuima and Men Mountain into the river. The two rivers flank and embrace it from east and west, flow north to behind the mountain, and enter the Yarlung Tsangpo River. To its west, the mountain terrain extends far in interlocking ranges: northwest to Pengchu Ridge, and southwest into Sakya valley, to the right of Zhaxilunbu.

黄教之兴，以宗喀巴为鼻祖，有二大弟子：一曰根敦珠巴，八转世而为今达赖喇嘛；一曰凯珠布格埒克巴勒藏，六转世而为今班禅额尔德呢喇嘛。是二喇嘛盖递相为师，以阐宗风而兴梵教，则今之班禅额尔德呢喇嘛，实达赖喇嘛之师也。达赖喇嘛居布达拉，译华言为普陀宗乘之庙；班禅额尔德呢居扎什伦布，译华言为须弥福寿之庙，是前卫后藏所由分也。辛卯年，曾建普陀宗乘之庙于避暑山庄之北山，以祝厘也，亦以土尔扈特归顺也。今之建须弥福寿之庙于普陀宗乘之左冈者，则以班禅额尔德呢欲来觐，而肖其所居，以资安禅，且遵我世祖章皇帝建北黄寺于京师，以居第五达赖喇嘛之例也。然昔达赖喇嘛之来，实以敦请。兹班禅额尔德呢之来觐，则不因招致，而出于喇嘛之自愿来京，以观华夏之振兴黄教，抚育群生，海宇清晏，民物敉宁之景象，适值朕七旬初度之年，并为庆祝之举也。

The rise of the Yellow Teaching began with Tsongkhapa as its founder. He had two great disciples: one was Gendun Drub, whose eighth incarnation is the present Dalai Lama; the other was Kedrub Gelek Pelzang, whose sixth incarnation is the present Panchen Erdeni Lama. These two lamas, it seems, served successively as teacher to one another, propagating the lineage and flourishing the Buddhist teaching. Thus the present Panchen Erdeni Lama is in fact the teacher of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama resides at the Potala, translated into Chinese as the Temple of the Putuo Zongcheng; the Panchen Erdeni resides at Tashilhunpo, translated into Chinese as the Temple of Sumeru Felicity and Longevity. This is the reason for the distinction between former Ü and latter Tsang. In the xinmao year, the Temple of the Putuo Zongcheng was built on the northern mountain of the Mountain Resort to offer blessings, and also because the Torghuts had submitted. Now the Temple of Sumeru Felicity and Longevity is being built on the ridge to the left of the Putuo Zongcheng because the Panchen Erdeni wishes to come for audience; it imitates his residence, so as to provide for his peaceful meditation, and also follows the precedent of our Shizu Zhang Emperor, who built the Northern Yellow Temple in the capital to house the Fifth Dalai Lama. Yet the Dalai Lama’s earlier arrival was truly through earnest invitation. The present Panchen Erdeni’s coming for audience, however, is not due to summons, but arises from the lama’s own wish to come to the capital, to see the scene of China’s flourishing of the Yellow Teaching, nurturing of all living beings, peace throughout the realm, and tranquility among the people and things; it happens to coincide with the first year of my seventieth decade, and is also an act of celebration.

夫朕七旬不欲为庆贺繁文，已预颁谕旨，而兹喇嘛之来，则有不宜阻者。盖国家百余年，升平累洽，中外一家，自昔达赖喇嘛之来，至今亦百余年矣。且昔为开创之初，如喀尔喀、厄鲁特尚有梗化者；今则重熙休和，喀尔喀久为世臣，厄鲁特亦无不归顺，而一闻班禅额尔德呢之来，其欢欣舞蹈，欲执役供奉，出于至诚，有不待教而然者。则此须弥福寿之庙之建，上以扬历代致治保邦之谟烈，下以答列藩倾心向化之悃忱，庸可已乎？既为记，复作赞言。

As for my seventieth decade, I did not wish to engage in elaborate celebratory formalities, and had already issued an edict in advance. Yet the coming of this lama is something that should not be obstructed. For more than one hundred years the state has enjoyed repeated peace and harmony, and inner and outer realms have formed one family; from the earlier coming of the Dalai Lama to the present, more than one hundred years have also passed. Moreover, in the early founding period there were still those such as the Khalkha and the Oirat who obstructed transformation; now, however, layered brightness and blessed harmony prevail. The Khalkha have long been hereditary servants, and among the Oirat there are none who have not submitted. Once they hear of the Panchen Erdeni’s coming, they rejoice and dance, wishing to perform service and make offerings, out of utmost sincerity, doing so without waiting to be instructed. Thus the building of this Temple of Sumeru Felicity and Longevity above proclaims the plans and achievements by which successive generations brought order and protected the realm, and below answers the sincere devotion with which the various feudatories turn toward transformation. How could it be dispensed with? Having made this record, I further compose words of praise.

印度既迥遥，佛教亦式微。梵僧舍天竺，多临卫藏地。自唐代已然，是为法源处。一译犹云近，三乘无舛讹。

India is already far away, and the Buddhist teaching has also declined. Buddhist monks leave India, and many come to the lands of Ü-Tsang. This has been so since the Tang dynasty; it is the place from which the Dharma flows. Even in translation it may still be called near, and the Three Vehicles have no errors.

宗乘向东昌，诚如佛所记。

The lineage flourishes eastward, truly as the Buddha recorded.

卫藏虽徼外，实在震旦中。达赖及班禅，宗喀巴高弟，前后燃智灯。三车之纲领，真文与满字。于是溯轨躅。

Though Ü-Tsang lies beyond the frontier, it is in fact within China. The Dalai and the Panchen, eminent disciples of Tsongkhapa, light the lamp of wisdom one after the other. The guiding principles of the Three Vehicles, in the true script and in Manchu characters: from these one traces the path.

蒙古众林林，莫不倾心向。皈依三宝门，神道易设教。兹闻班禅来，如婴儿遇母。观化阐宗风，诚为吉祥事。

The Mongol multitudes, dense as forests, all turn their hearts toward it. They take refuge at the gate of the Three Jewels; through the spiritual way, instruction is easily established. Now, hearing that the Panchen is coming, they are like infants meeting their mother. To observe transformation and proclaim the lineage is truly an auspicious matter.

布达拉既建，伦布不可少，择向兴工作，亦以不日成。都纲及寝室，一如后藏式。

Since the Potala has already been built, Lunbu cannot be lacking. The orientation was chosen and the work begun, and it was completed in no great time. The monastic offices and sleeping quarters are all in the style of Tsang.

金瓦映日辉，玉幢扬风舞。自成动静偈，朗标色空喻。以是善因缘，资无碍法喜。祝嘏犹其小，所欣象教宏。

Golden tiles reflect the radiance of the sun; jade banners rise and dance in the wind. Of themselves they form verses of movement and stillness, clearly marking the analogy of form and emptiness. Through these good causes and conditions, they support unobstructed Dharma joy. The offering of blessings is still a small matter; what is rejoiced in is the broad flourishing of the Buddhist teaching.

举似西域居，无来亦无去。上人演法轮，蠢蠢普超度。佐我无为治，雨顺与风调。

It is raised to resemble his dwelling in the Western Regions: there is no coming and also no going. The eminent one turns the Dharma wheel, universally saving even the ignorant. He assists my rule through nonaction, with rains timely and winds harmonious.

众生登寿世，慧炬永光明。

All beings ascend into an age of longevity; the torch of wisdom shines forever bright.

合十作赞言，初非为一己。

With palms joined, I compose words of praise; from the beginning they are not for myself alone.

如悬大圆镜，遍照于十方。而镜本无心，回向亦如是。

It is like hanging a great round mirror, shining everywhere through the ten directions. Yet the mirror itself has no mind; dedication of merit is also like this.

四月初三日，辛丑福康安、惠龄奏言：臣等于十七日自前藏起程，二十二日行至朗噶，经过沿途地方，寨落相望，寺庙多系依山建盖，喇嘛及番民人等欢迎夹道。自朗噶以西，计行路三百余里，山势不甚高大。至江孜地方，村寨较大，番民稠密。该处地当孔道，为前后藏屏蔽，与帕克哩定结兴萨、喀尔达绂辖等处隘口均属相通。上年贼匪由撒迦春队至后藏，未至江孜抢掠，是以地方尚属繁庶。由江孜向西北行三百余里，于二十七日行抵后藏。该处东北南三面距山甚近，北面山势较高，东面有河一道，惟西面地稍平衍。上年贼匪即由西南一路前来滋扰，并无险隘可以堵御。扎什伦布庙宇在北面山坡建盖，徐南鹏所守之营官寨在扎什伦布东北里许土冈之上，寨房虽小，尚得地势，曾被贼匪攻扰数次，竟能固守。扎什伦布之南约及二里，均系民居寨落，未被贼匪焚毁。惟番民等避贼远去，逃散甚多。嗣因后藏一带传染出痘，一时未敢遽归，半存空寨。臣福康安到前藏时，即行出示晓谕，并饬令岁琫堪布及后藏营官第巴等，杳明人户，招集回寨，及时耕种，贸易营生，俾农商各归本业。兹臣等察看扎什伦布番民多已回寨，审地亦有翻犁者。近日痘症时气渐觉稍减，街市贸易，均已如旧，堪以仰慰圣怀。至扎什伦布庙宇臣等，一到后藏，即至庙内叩谒

On the third day of the fourth month, xinchou, Fuk’anggan and Huiling memorialized: We, your servants, set out from Ü on the seventeenth day and reached Langga on the twenty-second. In the places we passed along the route, fortified settlements faced one another, and most monasteries were built against the mountains; lamas, Tibetans, and others welcomed us along both sides of the road. West of Langga, the route totals more than three hundred li, and the mountains are not very high or large. On reaching the Gyantse area, the villages and forts are larger and the Tibetan inhabitants are dense. This place lies on a major route, serving as a screen for Ü and Tsang, and it communicates with the passes under the jurisdiction of places such as Phagri, Dinggye, Xingsa, and Karda Fuha. Last year the bandits went from the Sakya chundui to Tsang but did not reach Gyantse to plunder it, so the place remains fairly prosperous. From Gyantse we traveled more than three hundred li northwest and reached Tsang on the twenty-seventh. There, mountains are very close on the northeast, east, and south sides; the northern mountains are relatively high, and there is a river on the east, while only the western side is somewhat level and open. Last year the bandits came by the southwest route to create disturbance, and there were no strategic passes that could be used to block and resist them. Tashilhunpo Monastery is built on the northern mountainside. The garrison official’s fort defended by Xu Nanpeng stands on an earthen ridge about one li northeast of Tashilhunpo. Although the fort buildings are small, they occupy advantageous terrain; they were attacked several times by the bandits, yet were able to hold firm. For about two li south of Tashilhunpo, all are civilian dwellings and fortified settlements, which were not burned by the bandits. However, the Tibetan people fled far away to avoid the bandits, and many scattered. Later, because smallpox was spreading in the Tsang area, they did not dare return immediately, so half of the forts remained empty. When I, your servant Fuk’anggan, arrived in Ü, I immediately issued posted notices of instruction, and also ordered the Suibeng Khenpo and the Tsang garrison official depa and others to ascertain the households, summon them back to their forts, and have them plow and plant in time and engage in trade and livelihood, so that farmers and merchants would each return to their proper occupations. Now we, your servants, have inspected and found that many Tibetan inhabitants of Tashilhunpo have already returned to their forts, and that there are also people plowing the land. Recently the seasonal prevalence of smallpox has gradually somewhat lessened, and street-market trade has all resumed as before, which may comfort Your Majesty’s sacred concern. As for Tashilhunpo Monastery, as soon as we, your servants, arrived in Tsang, we went into the monastery to kowtow before and pay reverence to

圣容，亲赴各处杳看，并向岁俸堪布详悉询问。上年贼匪扰至后藏时，班禅额尔德尼当于八月十六日起程，将珠宝细软物件，带赴前藏，仲巴呼图克图押带班禅额尔德尼所有旧物及金银衣服、绸縀等项，奘载二百三十三捆，用牛䭾载，搬运过河，至东北山后，由托布嘉至东喀尔寺内藏匿。扎什伦布喇嘛二千余名，俱已逃散。贼匪一至庙内，玛末萨野，即在班禅额尔德尼坐静房内居住。大小头人分据名处，将庙内物件及塔上镶嵌，肆行劫掠。金银佛像抢去大半，装金木胎佛像亦间有被毁者。惟各佛殿镀金铜瓦并未拆动，房间门窗墙壁损坏亦属无多。其

the sacred image, personally went to every place to inspect it, and made detailed inquiries of the Suifeng Khenpo. When the bandits disturbed and reached Tsang last year, the Panchen Erdeni set out on the sixteenth day of the eighth month, taking jewels and small valuables with him to Ü. The Zhongba Khutughtu escorted the Panchen Erdeni’s old possessions, as well as gold and silver garments, silks and satins, and other items, loaded into 233 bundles and carried on oxen, transporting them across the river to behind the mountains in the northeast, and from Tobjia to Dongkar Monastery, where they were hidden. More than two thousand lamas of Tashilhunpo had all fled and scattered. As soon as the bandits arrived in the monastery, Mamosaye took up residence in the Panchen Erdeni’s meditation chamber. Leaders great and small occupied various places separately, and wantonly plundered the objects in the monastery and the inlays on the stupas. More than half of the gold and silver Buddhist images were seized, and some of the gilded wooden-core Buddhist images were also destroyed. Only the gilded copper tiles on the various Buddhist halls were not removed, and the damage to doors, windows, and walls in the rooms was also not great. Its

扎什伦布后层佛楼五处，供奉历辈班禅额尔德尼金塔三座，并班禅额尔德尼住房经堂，皆在其上。金塔外用木板围护，木板外包银皮，镶嵌珠宝珊瑚松石，背后一面，则系溜金铜皮包里。塔前各有供器一分，俱系金银铸造。贼匪滋扰时，东首系第十一辈班禅额尔德尼塔座，因楼门锁固，有贼匪二人登梯上房，从天窗越进，失足跌下，绊在石狮子及贮净水缸上，连毙二命。贼匪心怀畏惧，是以此塔及塔前供器均未被掠。中间系第十二辈班禅额尔德尼塔座，镶嵌银皮，间段挖去，尚未全损。其西首前辈班禅额尔德尼塔座内金塔有木板围护，尚未损动，而外面银皮镶嵌供器抢掠无存臣等查贼匪越墙攘窃，实有跌毙二命之事。可见第十一辈班禅额尔德尼护法默佑，尚有显应。现在庙宇

five rear Buddhist upper halls of Tashilhunpo, where three golden stupas of successive Panchen Erdenis are enshrined, together with the Panchen Erdeni’s living quarters and scripture hall, are all above. Outside the golden stupas there is wooden-board protection; the outside of the boards is covered with silver sheathing and inlaid with jewels, coral, and turquoise, while the rear side is lined with gilded copper sheathing. In front of each stupa there is a set of offering vessels, all cast in gold and silver. When the bandits caused disturbance, the eastern end was the stupa seat of the eleventh Panchen Erdeni. Because the door to the upper hall was firmly locked, two bandits climbed a ladder onto the roof and entered through a skylight, but lost their footing and fell, striking stone lions and a water-purification jar, and both died on the spot. The bandits felt fear in their hearts; therefore this stupa and the offering vessels in front of it were not plundered. In the middle was the stupa seat of the twelfth Panchen Erdeni; parts of the inlaid silver sheathing had been gouged away, but it had not yet been wholly damaged. At the western end, the golden stupa inside the stupa seat of an earlier Panchen Erdeni had wooden-board protection and had not yet been damaged, but the exterior silver sheathing, inlays, and offering vessels had been plundered and were gone. We, your servants, investigated: when the bandits climbed over the wall to steal, there truly was an incident in which two died by falling. This shows that the Dharma guardian of the eleventh Panchen Erdeni silently protected it, and there was still a manifest response. Now, in the monastery,

佛像两座金塔俱经岁琫堪布庄严修整。逃散之喇嘛人等，除出痘身故及避痘远赴山僻寺庙居住者一千余名外，其余陆续回寺，均得安禅栖止，梵诵如常。至仲巴呼图克图运出之各项物件，闻贼退去，俱已带回，并无遗失。再杳头辈班禅额尔德尼传留紫色石一块，镌刻梵字，此石名为诺尔布桑珀勒，坚润光莹，不似石质，亦经贼匪遗弃，于庙外树林内寻获。相传此石为镇山旧物，以石之去留，卜庙之兴废。当贼匪滋扰之后，此石仍未遗失。后藏僧俗人等，皆言佛力阿护，庙宇复兴，实为吉祥佳兆。因此人心益加镇定。虽所言难于尽信，然近年藏内多故，黄教之盛，稍逊往时。仰赖圣主护持佛法，卫藏辑宁，从此黄教振兴，定卜由衰而盛。前蒙

the Buddhist images and two golden stupas have all been solemnly repaired by the Suibeng Khenpo. Of the lamas and others who fled and scattered, apart from more than one thousand who died of smallpox or went far away to secluded mountain monasteries to avoid smallpox, the rest have been returning to the monastery in succession; all are able to settle peacefully in meditation, and Buddhist chanting proceeds as usual. As for the various objects transported out by the Zhongba Khutughtu, when he heard that the bandits had withdrawn, they were all brought back, with nothing lost. We further investigated a purple stone handed down from the first Panchen Erdeni, carved with Sanskrit characters. This stone is named Norbu Sangpole; it is firm, lustrous, shining, and glossy, unlike ordinary stone. It too was abandoned by the bandits and was found in the woods outside the monastery. Tradition says that this stone is an old object that stabilizes the mountain, and that the monastery’s flourishing or decline may be divined from whether the stone remains or departs. After the bandits’ disturbance, this stone was still not lost. The monks and laypeople of Tsang all say that through the secret protection of the Buddha’s power, the monastery’s revival is truly an auspicious sign. Because of this, people’s hearts are even more settled. Although what they say is hard to believe entirely, in recent years Tibet has suffered many troubles, and the flourishing of the Yellow Teaching has been somewhat less than in former times. Relying with reverence on the sagely lord’s protection of the Buddhist Dharma, Ü-Tsang is peaceful and tranquil; from now on the Yellow Teaching will be revived, and it may certainly be divined that it will turn from decline to prosperity. Earlier we received

训示及此，益见气数循环，实有至理，臣等曷胜钦服。

Your Majesty’s instruction on this matter, and this makes it still clearer that the cycles of destiny truly contain the highest principle. We, your servants, are overcome with reverent admiration.

欣忭之至。

We are filled with utmost joy and delight.