Johkang Monastery

Located in the centre of old Lhasa city, the Johkang Monastery is a prime seat of the Gelugpa (Yellow) of the Tibetan Buddhism. It was original built in 647 AD. It is said the site was chosen personally by the wife of King Songtsan Gampo, the Princess Wen Cheng of the Dang Dynasty. It was built by craftsman from Tibet, China and Nepal and thus features different architectural styles. The Jokhang is the spiritual centre of Tibet and the holiest destination for all Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims.

The Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), was characterized by economic prosperity and great progress in politics. During this time, China was considered the cultural and political center of the world. King Songtsem Gampo (617 – 650, the 33rd king of Tibet) was the leader of the Tubo (or Tibetan) Kingdom. He actively promoted Buddhism in Tibet and under his reign, Tibet achieved great progress in social innovation and realized the integration of Tibet for the first time. In order to promote friendly relationships with the neighboring countries, he successively married Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty. When the two wives arrived in Tibet, each brought a statue of Jowo Sakyamuni. During this time, most people lived in tents and there were few palaces. To house the Buddha brought by Princess Wen Cheng, King Songtsem Gampo constructed the Little Jokhang. Jealous of her, Princess Burikuti asked Gampo to build a Jokang for her as well. Therefore, in 647 the giant complex was built.

The original complex included only eight shrines. After multiple renovations, most notably during the Yuan Dynasty (1206 - 1368), the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the complex grew to the scale that exists today.

About the temple, there is a legend with it. It was built on the former site of a lake,  the lake site was chosen after many failed attempts to build a temple in the region. Prior to this, every time a temple was built, it would collapse. Confused by this phenomenon, Princess Bhrikuti turned to Wen Cheng for help. Being a learned woman, Wen Cheng told the Princess that the geography of Tibet was very much like a hag, with the lake at the heart. In order to build the temple, Wen Cheng advised them that they should demolish the hag by filling and leveling the lake using 1,000 sheep to carry soil from a mountain far away.

The Jokang Temple is a four-storey timber complex with a golden top. It adopted the architectural styles of the Tang Dynasty, as well as those of Tibet and Nepal.

Standing in the square of the Jokang Temple, one can view the entire complex. On the square there are two steles, one recording an alliance between the king of Tibet and the emperor of the Tang, the other portraying the teaching  the Tibetan people how to prevent and treat smallpox, a once incurable disease in Tibet.

The statue of Sakyamuni is a rare treasure. When Sakyamuni was alive, he disagreed with the idea of 'personal worship' and did not allow likenesses of himself to be created. Only three statues, designed by himself, were permitted to be sculpted during his lifetime. The first is a likeness of him at age eight; the second shows him at age twelve when he was still a prince of India; and the third is of him as an adult. The statue kept in the Jokang Temple is the statue of Sakyamuni at age eight. It was a present by the emperor of Tang Dynasty and brought to Tibet by Princess Wen Cheng.