Dzogchen Monastery

Dzogchen Monastery
Tibetan transcription(s)
Tibetan	རྫོགས་ཆེན་དགོན།
Wylie transliteration	rdzogs chen dgon
Monastery information
Location	Dêgê County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China
Founded by	Dzogchen Pema Rigdzin
Date renovated	early 1980s
Type	Tibetan Buddhist
Sect	Nyingma
Number of monks	up to 500 at peak

Dzogchen Monastery (Tib. རྫོགས་ཆེན་དགོན། rdzogs chen dgon) is one of the six great monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located within modern day Dêgê County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China.

Dzogchen Monastery was founded by Pema Rigdzin, 1st Dzogchen Rinpoche (1625-1697) in 1684. It became especially renowned for its Sri Singha Shedra, which was established by Gyelsé Zhenpen Tayé (Wylie: rgyal sras gzhan phan mtha' yas) during the time of Mingyur Namkhé Dorje, 4th Dzogchen Rinpoche shortly after the monastery was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1842.

Among the great masters to have lived and taught at Dzogchen are Khenpo Pema Vajra (Wylie: mkhan po pad ma badz ra), Patrul Rinpoche, Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso and Khenpo Shenga. It eventually grew into the largest Nyingma monastery of all time.

During the time of Thubten Chökyi Dorje, 5th Dzogchen Rinpoche (1872-1935), Dzogchen Monastery was at the peak of its activity, with up to five hundred monks residing, 13 retreat centres, and an estimated two hundred and eighty branches - a gathering of which would have seen tens of thousands of lamas, tulkus, khenpos, monks and nuns. Throughout the year, an extensive array of complex ritual ceremonies were accomplished. Dzogchen was also one of the most famous centres of sacred ritual dance, now commonly known as lama dancing.

...
Wikipedia