Qualla: Riwoche Monastery https://qualla.com/riwoche-monastery en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:37 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/s/d/riwoche-monastery-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Riwoche Monastery https://qualla.com/riwoche-monastery Riwoche Monastery: Introduction https://qualla.com/riwoche-monastery/ Photo credit anonymous, CC0. The columns are the first thing you notice. Massive tree trunks, stripped but uncarved, painted in vertical stripes of red, black, and white -- the signature colors of the Taklung Kagyu lineage. They hold up a three-story temple in a fertile valley of eastern Tibet, 134 kilometers west of Chamdo, where the Dzi River runs toward the Mekong. Riwoche Monastery was founded in 1276 CE, making it one of the oldest and largest monastic institutions in Kham. According to the Blue Annals, the 15th-century history of Tibetan Buddhism compiled by Go Lotsawa, Riwoche once held the greatest reputation among all Khampa monasteries. At its peak, 2,000 monks lived and studied here. Today 305 remain, carrying forward a tradition of philosophy and logic that has survived seven and a half centuries of upheaval.

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/s/d/riwoche-monastery-wp/wjsd-riwoche-monastery-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Riwoche Monastery: A Lineage Divided https://qualla.com/riwoche-monastery/ Photo credit MacPraughan, CC BY-SA 3.0. Riwoche owes its existence to a student named Sangye On. His teacher, Sangye Yarjon, was the third lineage-holder of the Taklung branch of the Kagyu school -- one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. From its founding, the Taklung lineage split into "upper" and "lower" ...

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Image: MacPraughan | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/s/d/riwoche-monastery-wp/wjsd-riwoche-monastery-a-lineage-divided.mp3 0:06 2 full Riwoche Monastery: Tree Trunks and Painted Stripes https://qualla.com/riwoche-monastery/ Photo credit MacPraughan, CC BY-SA 3.0. The main temple's architecture makes the monastery's lineage visible from a distance. The three-story structure rises from huge tree trunks -- columns that are essentially whole trees, their bark removed but their form preserved. These are painted in the alternating red, black, a...

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Image: MacPraughan | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/s/d/riwoche-monastery-wp/wjsd-riwoche-monastery-tree-trunks-and-painted-stripes.mp3 0:06 3 full Riwoche Monastery: Destruction and Restoration https://qualla.com/riwoche-monastery/ Photo credit MacPraughan, CC BY-SA 3.0. Riwoche did not survive the 20th century intact. During the upheavals that swept Tibet under Chinese Communist rule, the monastery was destroyed -- its buildings dismantled, its treasures scattered or lost. The destruction was part of a broader campaign against Tibetan religious ...

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Image: MacPraughan | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/s/d/riwoche-monastery-wp/wjsd-riwoche-monastery-destruction-and-restoration.mp3 0:06 4 full Riwoche Monastery: Valley of the Dzi River https://qualla.com/riwoche-monastery/ Photo credit MacPraughan, CC BY-SA 3.0. The monastery sits at approximately 3,400 meters in a valley that the Dzi River, a tributary of the Mekong, has carved into the eastern Tibetan highlands. The setting is characteristic of Kham: a fertile valley floor surrounded by mountains, isolated enough to develop its own cha...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/j/s/d/riwoche-monastery-wp/wjsd-riwoche-monastery-valley-of-the-dzi-river.mp3 0:06 5 full