Chubu Monastery Through the Seasons: Eight Centuries of Tradition
Preface: Eight Centuries of Ancestral Tradition. At Chubu Monastery, pilgrims arriving see a large stele standing in front of the main hall. The 15th Karmapa, Khakyab Dorje (1870–1922), used to instruct monks at Chubu Monastery with these words: ཞག་གསུམ་བསྡད་ན་སྡོད་མི་དྲན། ལོ་གསུམ་བསྡད་ན་ལོག་མི་དྲན། — 'After three days, one wishes to leave; After three years, one longs to stay.
More than eight centuries of history have weathered the ancient monastery that now stands where the temple once did, its predecessor having long since disappeared. A stele records the temple's founding, bearing the inscription: "Shang Tsabong Dazang Nyetö presided over the construction of the temple at Jangbu of Tod (སྟོད་ཀྱི་ལྕང་བུ་), now recorded in stone." In the Karma Kagyu tradition—one of the four principal schools within the "Four Major and Eight Minor" Kagyu lineages—this monastery is known as the "Upper Monastery" (སྟོད་ཀྱི་དགོན་).
That monastery was constructed on a spot enveloped by mountains from three sides, similar to a fruit resting in a basket. Together with Karma Monastery in Chamdo (ཀརྨ་དགོན་; founded in 1185) and Palpung Monastery in Derge (དཔལ་སྤུངས་དགོན་; founded in 1727), it is venerated as one of the "Three Upper, Middle, and Lower Ancestral Seats of Karma Kagyu." Furthermore, in line with the "Five Sacred Principal Monasteries" doctrine, where each monastery corresponds to body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity, it is held in additional reverence as the "Monastery of the Mind" (ཐུགས་ཀྱི་དགོན་).
Sangye Rechen Paldrak (1148-1218), a principal disciple of the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193), extolled Chubu Monastery by emphasizing the symbolic significance of its surrounding landscape, remarking: “With one small opening, the fruit may benefit all beings.”
Three concentric zones generally make up the "Chubu Monastery landscape complex": the innermost zone is the monastery’s architectural complex, the middle zone covers the surrounding natural scenery as well as the Karmapa's summer retreat nearby, and the outer zone comprises Nechung Monastery (གནས་ནང་དགོན་) together with the sacred sites located between the two monasteries.
Nevertheless, to properly articulate how the 'Chubu Monastery landscape complex' was classically conceived, three categories of texts must be examined: panegyrics devoted to the monastery, biographical writings from the Kagyu tradition, and pilgrimage guides to sacred sites.
Following the Tibetan literary tradition of "sacred landscapes," which dates back to the 11th century, the "Eulogy of Chubu"—composed by the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339), in both long and short versions—is among the earliest and most substantial surviving eulogies on the "landscape of Chubu Monastery.
Secondly, it reveals the sacred essence inherent in the landscape through depictions of changing scenery, devoting extensive passages to the seasonal views of Chubu Monastery. Firstly, it juxtaposes physical landscapes with their idealized versions—merging the sacred and the worldly, with the latter referring to both divine realms and historical Buddhist holy sites—for instance, comparing the central mountain (དབས་རི་) to Tusita Heaven, the pure land of Maitreya, where the deity abides in serenity.
In the eulogies of the 4th Shamarpa (1453-1524), this same perspective is likewise echoed.
From the Rubin Museum Collection, this mid-to-late 19th-century detail—titled "The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje"—depicts the Third Karmapa. By narrating historical origins, from Buddhism's introduction to Tibet to the changing fortunes of local teachings in the Chubu region, and by linking this with the monastery's construction history and its existing monastic festivals, which engage the secular world, the image emphasizes the temporal order within the "sacred landscape." It also stresses the monastery's intellectual lineage and doctrinal transmission, holding all Karmapas to be incarnations of Avalokiteshvara, and in this way imparts spiritual blessings to the landscape.
These eulogies, however, frequently omit a significant element: the architectural history itself. Consulting extensive biographical accounts—such as the lives of successive Karmapas and their disciples' lineages—along with later pilgrimage guides, for instance the field records of figures like Kathok Situ and Khyentse Wangpo (which vary in their level of detail), can only partially bridge that gap.
Focusing only on architectural forms may make historical sources appear limited. However, by linking the temporal-spatial imagery of "Chubu's Four Seasons" (from the "Eulogy of Chubu") with the lineage transmission of Chubu's Black Hat - the Karmapa succession - new research dimensions might emerge. In the two subsequent articles, the author will use that imagery as a starting point, combining textual and visual historical materials to trace the 800-year construction history of Chubu Monastery.
Like summer's abundance, the era from the 4th Karmapa, Rolpe Dorje (1340-1383), to the 9th Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje (1556-1603), saw flourishing development. It was during this time that the Fourth Karmapa founded the great Kagyu Dharma encampment, ensuring the teachings spread far and wide. In contrast, the earlier period spanning from the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, to the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, can be compared to spring's germination. Although "Chubu's chronology" and Tibet's reincarnation system were established then, the monastery remained small in scale, and all ventures were still at an exploratory stage.
From the Tenth Karmapa, Chöying Dorje (1604-1674), through to the Thirteenth Karmapa, Dudul Dorje (1733-1797), the lineage resembled a harvest at autumn's peak. Despite political shifts causing repeated upheaval at Chubu Monastery, the Tenth Karmapa nonetheless bequeathed an exceptional artistic heritage within Tibetan art history. Earlier, the Fifth Karmapa, Dezhin Shekpa (1384-1415), had performed remarkable works at Nanjing's Linggu Temple, earning widespread acclaim throughout both Chinese and Tibetan regions.
With extraordinary resolve, these four Karmapas guided the Dharma lineage through times of turmoil. The period from the Fourteenth Karmapa, Thekchok Dorje (1798-1868), up to the present has been a passage from winter into spring. Today, with temples rebuilt and the sangha assembled, the scene resembles tender shoots emerging from branches still in winter, all together awaiting the full arrival of spring. Translated from SuolangWangqing's blog, this article presents that account.