collectionnine hundred and eighty-onetwo hundred and fourJokhang Temple, also known as Zulakang or Juekang (meaning Buddhist temple in Tibetan), is located in the center of the old urban area of Lhasa. It is a Tibetan Buddhist temple built by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. The reason why Lhasa is known as a holy land is related to this Buddha statue. The temple was originally called Lhasa, but later it became the name of the city and evolved into the current Lhasa. After the completion of the Jokhang Temple, it underwent repeated modifications and expansions during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties to form its current scale. [2-3]The Jokhang Temple has a history of over 1300 years and holds a supreme position in Tibetan Buddhism. Jokhang Temple is the most brilliant existing architecture in Xizang during the Tibetan period, as well as the earliest civil structure building in Xizang, and has created a Tibetan style temple city regulation. The circle of the Shakyamuni Buddha Hall in the center of the Jokhang Temple is called Nangkuo, the outer wall of the Jokhang Temple is called Bakuo, and the street radiating from outside the Jokhang Temple is called Bakuo Street or Bajiao Street. The large circle that includes the Potala Palace, Yaowang Mountain, and Xiaozhao Temple, centered around the Jokhang Temple, is called Lin Kuo. These three rings from the inside out are the routes for Tibetan people to perform the ritual of turning scriptures. [4-5]The Jokhang Temple integrates architectural styles from Tibet, Tang Dynasty, Nepal, and India, becoming a timeless model of Tibetan religious architecture. [4] The temple is surrounded by incense all day long, and the believers devoutly worship on the blue stone floor in front of the door, leaving deep marks of kowtowing. Ten thousand butter lamps remain bright, leaving traces of time and pilgrimage.
|