Tsurphu

Tsurphu Monastery lies in the Tölung valley northwest of Lhasa and is the principal seat of the Karmapas, leaders of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The First Karmapa, Düsum Khyenpa, established his main seat here in 1189. His successor Karma Pakshi enlarged the monastery and commissioned a great image of the Buddha. The recognition of successive Karmapas helped establish the Tibetan tradition of identifying reincarnate religious teachers, or tulkus.

In the seventeenth century the fortunes of the Karmapa were caught up in the struggle for control of Tibet. In 1642, as the forces of Güshi Khan defeated the ruler of Tsang, the Tenth Karmapa Chöying Dorje fled south to Lhodrak and subsequently spent many years away from central Tibet. After his death, his remains were brought to Tsurphu with the permission of the Fifth Dalai Lama, and a funeral ceremony was held at the monastery.