Pasho

Pasho lies in the deep mountain valleys of eastern Tibet. The surrounding ranges cast a rain shadow over parts of the district, giving its sheltered gorge a drier climate than many eastern Tibetan valleys. Pasho Monastery became a Gelug centre of worship and learning in this country of steep slopes and high passes. The monastery was founded in 1473 by Lhopa Gyeltsen Sengge, a disciple of Tsongkhapa. It became the seat of the Tatsak Jedrung incarnation lineage, whose members were eligible to serve as regents during the minority of the Dalai Lamas. In 1794 a regency temple, Kundeling, was founded in Lhasa, linking the Pasho lineage to the government of central Tibet.