Dzogchen Monastery

Dzogchen Monastery (Tib. རྫོང་ཆེན་དགོན། rdzogs chen dgon) is one of the six great monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in Sichuan province, China, and marks part of the Tibetan cultural region of Kham. It was founded by Dzogchen Pema Rigdzin (1625-1697) in 1675, 1684 or 1685. It became especially renowned for its Shri Singha Shedra established by Gyalsé Shenpen Thayé during the time of the Fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche Mingyur Namkhé Dorje, shortly after the monastery was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1842. Among the great masters to have lived and taught at Dzogchen are Khenpo Pema Vajra, Patrul Rinpoche, Mipham Rinpoche and Khenpo Shenga. It eventually grew into the largest Nyingma monastery of all time.

During the time of the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche (1872-1935), Dzogchen Monastery was at the peak of its activity, with up to five hundred monks residing, 13 retreat centres, and an estimated two hundred and eighty branches - a gathering of which would have seen tens of thousands of lamas, tulkus, khenpos, monks and nuns. Throughout the year, an extensive array of complex ritual ceremonies were accomplished. Dzogchen was also one of the most famous centres of sacred ritual dance, now commonly known as lama dancing.

Dzogchen monastery is also known as the principal repository of the Konchok Chidu cycle of the Jangter (Wylie: Byang gTer, Northern Treatures), a prominent terma cycle revealed by the terton Jatson Nyingpo.

Its main temple was destroyed by fire in the second month of the Fire Mouse year (1936). It was rebuilt and then the whole monastery was destroyed by the Chinese in 1959.