Qualla: Chokorgyel Monastery https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:37 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Chokorgyel Monastery https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery Chokorgyel Monastery: Introduction https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery/ Somewhere in the upper Metoktang Valley, where three rivers meet and three mountains form a natural amphitheater, the roofless walls of Chokorgyel Monastery stand open to the Tibetan sky. Every bit of wood was stripped from these buildings during the Cultural Revolution, leaving stone shells that look more like ancient ruins than a place where monks once chanted and the reincarnation lineage of the Dalai Lamas was safeguarded. A few monks have returned. The main hall has been rebuilt. But Chokorgyel remains what it has always been: a waystation on the path to visions.

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/1/z/chokorgyel-monastery-wp/wj1z-chokorgyel-monastery-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Chokorgyel Monastery: The Lake That Chooses Lamas https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery/ Chokorgyel exists because of Lhamo La-tso, a small oval lake no more than two square kilometers in size, perched at roughly 5,000 meters above sea level. The monastery sits four hours' hike below it. Since the time of Gendun Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama, who founded a hermitage her...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/1/z/chokorgyel-monastery-wp/wj1z-chokorgyel-monastery-the-lake-that-chooses-lamas.mp3 0:06 2 full Chokorgyel Monastery: Three Mountains, Three Colors https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery/ The monastery's geography reads like a mandala. Mount Zhidag to the north is the "white" mountain, home to Shidrak, an ancient Bonpo protector of the earth. At its foot sits the Dalai Lamas' residence; higher up, remains of a temple preserve the footprint of Damchen Choje, the Dh...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/1/z/chokorgyel-monastery-wp/wj1z-chokorgyel-monastery-three-mountains-three-colors.mp3 0:06 3 full Chokorgyel Monastery: Built Like a Triangle https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery/ The monastery's original builders shaped it as an inverted triangle, deliberately mirroring its setting at the confluence of three rivers. This geometry represented the conjunction of water, earth, and fire, as well as the female principle of Palden Lhamo. The ruins still visible...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/1/z/chokorgyel-monastery-wp/wj1z-chokorgyel-monastery-built-like-a-triangle.mp3 0:06 4 full Chokorgyel Monastery: Destruction and Return https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery/ Chokorgyel has been destroyed more than once. In 1718, Dzungar Mongols severely damaged the complex; the Regent Kangchene ordered an immediate rebuild. But nothing ancient could have survived to 1959, when Chinese forces arrived. The Cultural Revolution proved more thorough than ...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/1/z/chokorgyel-monastery-wp/wj1z-chokorgyel-monastery-destruction-and-return.mp3 0:06 5 full Chokorgyel Monastery: A Quiet Persistence https://qualla.com/chokorgyel-monastery/ Today Chokorgyel is neither abandoned nor restored. The main hall functions again, and a handful of monks live among the ruins at 4,500 meters. The path to Lhamo La-tso still climbs from here, 115 kilometers northeast of Tsetang and 160 kilometers southeast of Lhasa. At the cente...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/1/z/chokorgyel-monastery-wp/wj1z-chokorgyel-monastery-a-quiet-persistence.mp3 0:06 6 full