Panoramas of Sera Monastery in Tibet
Lhopa Regional House Headquarters
(lho pa khang tshan)
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Images of Lhopa Regional House Headquarters
THL Reference Number: s019
College Affiliation: Jé (byes)
Regional House Affiliation: Lhopa (lho pa)
This is the main compound of one of the most important regional houses of Jé College (grwa tshang byes). Lhopa Regional House (lho pa khang tshan) was renowned for the large number of lamas (bla ma) that it produced. There is an oral tradition to explain why this is so. The great scholar and saint Longdöl Lama Ngawang Lozang (klong rdol bla ma ngag dbang blo bzang, 1719-1794), one of the greatest teachers of this regional house, supposedly defecated in the Mé debate grounds (smad chos rwa), located just west of this regional house. The Mé monks who found his “gift” threw it back at Lhopa Regional House, and it stuck to the wall. This is said to have blessed Lhopa Regional House so that it produced many Trülkus (sprul sku). A tree grew out of the wall at the site where Longdöl Lama’s shit stuck to the wall, and the stump of the tree (which can still be seen) is covered by a small piece of cloth to mark it (located on the eastern wall close to the corner of the regional house). Longdöl Lama is said to have lived in the first room on the right as one first enters the regional house compound, and his stone throne is preserved in the interior courtyard to the left of the regional house temple as one is facing it. The main regional house compound is three stories, and quite well preserved.
The Pakpa Lha (’phags pa lha) incarnation lineage, which dates back to the fifteenth century, belongs to this regional house. The Pakpa Lha Lama (’phag pa lha bla ma), the highest lama (bla ma) of this regional house, and one of the highest of Jé College, had his lama’s residence (bla brang) on the top story of the Sera (se ra) main assembly hall (tshogs chen). Among the other important incarnation lineages of this regional house are that of Zhiwa Lha (zhi ba lha, also dating to the fifteenth century), Khardo Zöpa Gyatso (mkhar rdo bzod pa rgya mtsho, 1672-1749), who was a teacher of Purchok (phur bu lcog), and Purchok Ngawang Jampa (phur lcog ngag dbang byams pa, 1682-1762) himself. The Khardo and Purchok residences were located in a separate compound on the Sera main sand street.
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