Reting Monastery, Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Lhünzhub County, Tibet, China.
Reting is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated in the mountains with multiple buildings constructed from clay and stone. The complex includes a large main hall with religious chambers and extends across a substantial site.
Dromtön, Atiśa's chief disciple, founded Reting in 1057 in the Reting Tsangpo valley, bringing relics of Atiśa with him; it was the first major monastery of the Sarma revival and seat of the Kadam lineage. In the 15th century Je Tsongkhapa's reform turned the Kadam into the Gelug school, and Reting became a Gelug monastery under the Reting Rinpoches. Red Guards destroyed it during the Cultural Revolution; it has been only partly restored.
The monastery holds sacred texts and religious artworks that remain central to faith in this region. Monks use the halls daily for prayers and ceremonies that shape the rhythm of life here.
Reting stands at 4,230 metres, 95 km from Lhünzhub county town and 160 km from Lhasa, so the drive takes most of a day. The site covers about 25 mu, with the assembly hall and the three-storey Reting Labrang on the west side and monks' quarters curving around it. Allow time to walk between the buildings at this altitude.
Around the monastery stand 108 stones, the largest called Reting Pangtang. From it comes the Pangtang Korkor festival, held every twelve years on the fifteenth day of the seventh Tibetan month, when the site's meadow fills with pilgrims making offerings and monks chant.
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