Drigung

Drigung Thil stands on the south slope of a long mountain ridge in central Tibet, overlooking the Shorong valley. The monastery lies at 4,465 metres, roughly 180 metres above the valley floor and about 120 kilometres northeast of Lhasa. Three other monasteries of the Drikung Kagyu order are nearby at Yangrigar, Drikung Dzong and Drikung Tse. The high, exposed position gives the establishment a commanding view of the surrounding country. Jigten Sumgön founded Drigung Thil in 1179 as the principal seat of the Drikung Kagyu tradition. Its early influence joined religion and politics. Mongol armies attacked in 1240, but the monks managed to defend the monastery. Rivalry brought its destruction in 1290, when a Mongol force under the Sakya general Aklen stormed the site. The ninth lineage holder, Chunyi Dorje Rinchen, rebuilt it with help from the Sakya and the emperor. The revived community concentrated on contemplation, with meditators using caves in the vicinity, while lamas carried its practice to colonies at Mount Kailash, the Lapchi caves and sacred Tsari Mountain. Drigung later lost precedence to the rising Gelug order, though it remained important in Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty.