drathang monastery: millenium-old murals

while major portions of the religious and artistic heritage of tibet were destroyed during the fervor of the cultural revolution, a great deal also escaped destruction. this image is one instance of wall painting that has survived, and is located at the monastery of drathang in central tibet, one of the sites we will visit during the site seminar. the building in which the mural is housed was used as a granary during the cultural revolution.

the monastery itself was founded nearly a thousand years ago, in the late 11th century. its founder was a rather ‘eccentric’ figure, a nyingma monastic practitioner of tantra born to one of the highest of tibet’s aristocratic families, the chimpu (mchims phu). this highborn monk, drapa ngonshe (grwa pa mngon shes) later gave up his monastic vows, left the area and eventually came to be known in the nyingma tradition as an important tantric master and revealer of 'treasure texts.'

now in ruins, the monastery lies on a rich and fertile plain on the south bank of the tsangpo river in central tibet, not far from samye monastery. like samye, drathang’s main monastic building was three stories high, with the ground floor following tibetan style, the second following chinese and the top floor indian, according to descriptions of those who visited it before it was destroyed during the cultural revolution. this main structure was said to have been surrounded by satellite temples and three concentric rings. today only the ground floor remains.

images are from the paris-based shalu association which is working to protect tibet's cultural heritage and restore some monastic sites in tibet. although the artistic and religious treasures here have survived many centuries thus far, they did so under the care of active monastic communities. many are located in sites that no longer house a community with the commitment and resources to protect and maintain those treasures.