Palyul, Buddhist monastery in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China
Palyul Monastery, also called Palyul Namgyal Jangchub Choling, occupies an entire hill on the northern slope of Baiyü County town in Sichuan, at an average elevation of 3,030 metres. Its halls and small dwellings are packed tightly together up the hillside, surrounded by mountains near the Jinsha River. The complex includes a three-year retreat centre, a tantric college and a six-storey scripture library begun in 2003.
A meditation cave and reliquary stupa left by the 9th-century monk Jutog Rinchen Gyeltsen Tsangpo Wangpo mark the site as Kham's first Nyingma center. In 1675, the Derge king sponsored a temple on the rock castle above that cave; Rigzin Kunzang Sherab became its throneholder and the king's teacher. The monastery was razed during the Cultural Revolution and reopened in the early 1980s, with 268,000 yuan in government funds supporting reconstruction led by Tusum.
The monastery holds the Nam Chö Terma of Terton Mingyur Dorje and keeps the skull of Zongla Pema Rinchen, on which a Buddha image and the seed syllable "A" are said to appear. Its annual calendar includes the Karma festival from the 5th to 16th of the fourth Tibetan month and the Chöpa festival in the fifth month, each with cham ritual dances.
Palyul Monastery stands on the northern slope above Baiyü county town, surrounded by mountains near the Jinsha River, at an average elevation of 3,030 m. The buildings occupy a whole hillside, so expect steep walking between halls and quarters. The site was reopened in the early 1980s and rebuilt over the following decades, with roads and bridges funded by the monastery.
The monastery maintains a collection of wooden printing blocks used to reproduce Buddhist texts following centuries-old techniques passed down through generations. This traditional method of text production remains an important part of the site's spiritual practice.
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