Palpung Monastery

Palpung Monastery

Palpung (Tibetan: དཔལ་སྤུངས།, Wylie: Dpal-spungs) is the name of the congregation of monasteries and centers of the Tai Situpas as well as the name of the monastic seat in Tibet in Dege. Palpung means "glorious union of study and practice". Palpung Monastery, also known as Babang, is a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Sichuan in the vicinity of Dergé, near the border with Tibet, which originated in the 12th century and wielded considerable religious and political influence over the centuries.

The current monastery is said to have been founded in 1727 by King Denba Tsering. It is the seat of four lines of incarnate lamas, the best known being the Situ Rinpoche or Tai Situpa, as well as the Jamgon Kongtrul and Beru Khyentse. The temple has historically been associated with the Karmapas: for instance, the 16th Karmapa was enthroned first at Palpung before travelling to his main seat at Tsurphu Monastery in Central Tibet. There are an estimated 40 monks residing in the monastery itself and a larger number resident in the surrounding region.