Drigung Kagyu Western Three Lords Hall

The Western Three-Lord Hall is located in the middle of many vendors’ stalls on Barkhor South Street and Lugu Lane. Its facade is not obvious, so although it is only a five-minute walk from the Jokhang Temple, it is not easy to find. Starting from the police station at the southwest corner of the Jokhang Temple Square, keep asking people “Nuri Song La Kang Ka Ba Yo Le” in a friendly manner, and firmly believe that it does exist, and you may be able to find it. If you like to explore the secrets yourself, the specific way is to walk west from the Jokhang Temple Square to the end and the intersection with Danjielin Road, turn left along Danjielin Road to Lugu Road, turn right into the market, and walk five or six storefronts. After finding a sign on the left wall that says “Nuri Sang La Palace”, go in through the small door below the sign. There are residential houses in the courtyard, and the small house on the right is the Three-Lord Hall. The famous sign of this Three-Lord Hall says “Nuri Song Gongbu”, which is the Tibetan transliteration of “Western Three-Lord”. The famous temple brand above the entrance is very small, hidden in the messy houses, and managed by monks appointed by the famous Zhigong Monastery (to be precise, it should be said that it is managed by Yangri Temple, a subordinate of Zhigong Monastery). The statues of the Three Protectors in the hall are enshrined in the main hall niches, Tsongkhapa, Amitabha, the Three Protectors, and pagodas. There is a small side hall upstairs in the main hall, which enshrines a very solemn statue of a lama. This is the founder of the Zhigong Kagyu sect, Jigten Sumgön (1143-1217): the statue of Jigten Sumgön, the founder of the Zhigong Kagyu sect, is enshrined upstairs. The Western Three Protectors Hall is adjacent to the Sakya Monastery in Lhasa. Interestingly, at the end of the 13th century, Sakya Monastery had a great dispute with Zhigong Monastery. The Mongolian soldiers who supported the Sakya sect attacked Zhigong Monastery, resulting in the extinction of the monastery and the almost complete extinction of the monastery. However, in Lhasa, the branch of Sakya Monastery and the main hall of the Three Protectors under Drikung Monastery are only a few steps away, but they coexist peacefully. The Drikung sect of Drikung Monastery is a branch of the Kagyu sect, and Drikung Monastery, located in the Drikung Gorge in Medog County, more than 100 kilometers northeast of Lhasa, is its base. It was built by Master Jigten Sumgön in 1179 and once had a very glorious position in the local political and religious history of Xizang. There were more than 100,000 monks who came here to practice, and the largest gathering was 180,000 monks. The sky burial site of Drikung Monastery is well-known throughout Tibet. The annual consciousness transfer ceremony held at Drikung Monastery attracts a large number of believers to participate every year, which is a grand event in Xizang Buddhism.