Ramoche Temple
Ramoche Temple is located about 500 meters north of Barkhor street in the chengguan district of Lhasa, it is the sister temple to the Jokhang temple. It is said that the two temples were started at the same time to worship the life-size statues of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Ramoche Temple was built in the Tang dynasty (641 in the middle of the 7th century AD), where enshrine and worship the 8-year-old life-size statue of Shakyamuni Buddha and many other statues of Buddha and thangka, as well as many precious cultural relics. It was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit in 2001. It is said that the Jokhang Temple and the Ramoche Temple were started at the same time and completed at the same time. Princess Wencheng laid the foundation of the temple. In order to express Princess Wencheng’s longing for her hometown, the gate was built to the east. The temple has undergone several fires in its history, and most of the existing buildings of the temple were restored later, while the lower floor is the early building. The 10 pillars of the hall are faintly visible Tubo architectural style: carved with lotus, flowers and plants, cirrus, jewelry, and six-character mantra. The main building of Ramoche Temple has three floors, the lower floor has three sections: the gate, the sutra hall, and the Buddhist hall. On the top floor is the golden tiles of the Han dynasty, shining with gold, which can be seen from all directions in Lhasa.
Princess Khri b’Tsun of Nepal and Princess Wencheng of the Tang dynasty came to Lhasa one after another with the historical mission of peace-making marriage with Songtsen Gampo. From Kathmandu, Princess Khri b’Tsun brought an 8-year-old life-size statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, and from Chang ‘an, Princess Wencheng brought a 12-year-old life-size statue of Shakyamuni Buddha. More than 1, 200 years after Sakyamuni Buddha nirvana, the two buddha statues have miraculously met again in Lhasa. In order to place and enshrine the two statues, Songtsen Gampo and the two princesses built Jokhang Temple and Ramoche Temple together.
Walking into the solemn hall, the lamas sit on long benches, and the crowd mutters words and inflections, all of them stare at each other and recite the incomprehensible Buddhist language. The scene is rare. The chanting sounds bursts like the waves of the river. You can hardly imagine the scene and experience the feeling of awe if you are not there.
There is a little Hall on the left, you can donate merits, 5 yuan can choose a small bracelet or hanging ornaments as a souvenir, which is a very good gift and the master will also pray for blessings! The murals in the temple are obviously with the combination of Han and Tibetan style, it is very exquisite. In the courtyard, you can see thousands of butter lamps for the worshipers, dim yellow room, full of lights shining, very shocking! In the attic of the back hall of Ramoche Temple, you can far view the golden roof of Jokhang Temple and the Potala Palace.
Highlights
Although the size and reputation of Ramoche Temple are not as good as the Jokhang temple, there is also a large number of worshippers. Compared with the Jokhang Temple, the 8-year-old life-size statue of Shakyamuni Buddha can be seen up close at the Ramoche Temple, while the 12-year-old life-size statue of Shakyamuni Buddha can only be seen from a distance at the Jokhang temple. The 8-year-old life-size statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, sitting in the silver throne surrounded by two dragons. It is kind and holy.
As a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Ramoche temple is founded on the basis of common faith, has been carrying the mission of cultural exchanges among Tibet, Nepal and Tang Dynasty since their establishment. Nowadays, it has been one of the popular tourist attractions in Lhasa.
