Jetsang Regional House Headquarters
(byes gtsang)

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Images of Jetsang Regional House Headquarters

THL Reference Number: s008

College Affiliation: Jé (byes)

Regional House Affiliation: Jetsang (byes gtsang)

Bati Regional House (sba ti khang tshan) is traditionally said to be the parent regional house of six smaller houses (mi tshan). Jetsang (byes gtsang) – the Tsangpa (gtsang pa) Regional House of Jé College (grwa tshang byes) – is one of these. The original structure was demolished in the shelling of the monastery in 1959. It was completely rebuilt with private donations beginning in the 1980s, and it was dedicated in 1990 or 1991. At present, there are no senior monks living here.

Before 1959, Tsangpa Regional House was renowned for the erudition of its monks. Monks would come from other regional houses to listen to the monks of Tsangpa debate each other in intra-regional house debate sessions held in the central courtyard. Tsangpa Regional House also produced some of the most important scholars, tutors, and administrators in the monastery. Among the more important of these in the last generation are Trizur Lhündrup Tsöndrü (khri zur lhun grub brtson ’grus, d. mid 1950s?), the ninety-fourth holder of the throne of Ganden (dga’ ldan khri pa); Khenzur Lhündrup Tapkhé (mkhan zur lhun grub thabs mkhas, d. early 1990s), former abbot of Sera Jé (se ra byes), and after the monastery was reopened in the 1980s, abbot once again; and Geshé Ngawang Gendün (dge bshes ngag dbang dge ’dun, d. 1958/9). Geshé Lhündrup Zöpa (dge bshes lhun grub bzod pa), Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and founder of the Deer Park Buddhist Center, is the senior-most monk of this regional house today.

The temple has been restored, and contains beautiful murals of various deities (left as one enters), and of the “deeds of Ati?a” (right as one enters). The main altar contains statues of Tsongkhapa (tsong kha pa), various deities, various scholars of the regional house, and the funerary st?pa (gdung rten) of Khenzur Lhündrup Tapkhé.

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