King Gampo and the Jokhang Temple
Sunday 9th September
King Songtsan Gampo was the 33rd king of Tibet and the first religious king. He had five wives of which three were Tibetan, one was Nepalese and one was Chinese. The Nepalese and Chinese wives were the most important. He ruled Tibet in the 7th Century AD.
King Gampo wished to build a temple in which to place many statues and religious artifacts which he had. He asked his Nepalese wife to help him find a suitable location for this temple. Neither he nor his Nepalese wife could find the inspiration to choose the correct site on which to build the temple. They asked the Chinese wife if she could choose a site. The Chinese wife consulted her astrology and found what she believed to be the perfect site for the temple. It was where a lake stood which confounded the King and the Nepalese wife. They didn't believe that this could possibly be the site. It was very controversial.
King Gampo prayed to the Compassionate Buddha to ask for guidance. The Compassionate Buddha showed the finger ring of the Nepalese wive to the king. King Gampo and the Nepalese wife walked around the lake. They threw the ring up into the air and it landed in the lake.
Out of the lake, a vision of a Stupa rose. A Stupa is a Buddha house. From this vision, the king, his Nepalese wife and all the population then believed that the Chinese wife was correct in the choice of the site for the temple. So the king had the temple built on that site.
During construction of the wall which was the first part to be constructed, devils arose at night and destroyed the wall many times. The king placed guards around the construction and they defeated the devils and the construction of the Jokhang Temple was completed successfully.
The Jokhang Temple now stands there and is the most important temple in Tibet.
King Gampo wished to build a temple in which to place many statues and religious artifacts which he had. He asked his Nepalese wife to help him find a suitable location for this temple. Neither he nor his Nepalese wife could find the inspiration to choose the correct site on which to build the temple. They asked the Chinese wife if she could choose a site. The Chinese wife consulted her astrology and found what she believed to be the perfect site for the temple. It was where a lake stood which confounded the King and the Nepalese wife. They didn't believe that this could possibly be the site. It was very controversial.
King Gampo prayed to the Compassionate Buddha to ask for guidance. The Compassionate Buddha showed the finger ring of the Nepalese wive to the king. King Gampo and the Nepalese wife walked around the lake. They threw the ring up into the air and it landed in the lake.
Out of the lake, a vision of a Stupa rose. A Stupa is a Buddha house. From this vision, the king, his Nepalese wife and all the population then believed that the Chinese wife was correct in the choice of the site for the temple. So the king had the temple built on that site.
During construction of the wall which was the first part to be constructed, devils arose at night and destroyed the wall many times. The king placed guards around the construction and they defeated the devils and the construction of the Jokhang Temple was completed successfully.
The Jokhang Temple now stands there and is the most important temple in Tibet.
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