Tawu Nyitso Gompa

Tawu Nyitso Gompa
Nyitso Gonpa (monastery) has more than four hundred years of history and is one of the thirteen Great Monasteries founded by the Lama Hor Choe Gi Nganwang Puntso in the Kham region of Tibet. It consists of two large prayer halls, one medium size hall and two smaller halls. On the second floor are residences which have been used by the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. In 2004 it was declared a protected heritage sight at the provincial level. It is located northwest of Tawu County on a hillside.
Before the Cultural Revolution one thousand nine hundred monks lived there. Today there are around five hundred. Inside the Monastery are around a hundred of the most significant and beautiful gilded statues of Buddha in the area. The ambience in the monastery is solemn and grand, the carvings and decorations inside elegant and magnificent.
Nyitso Gonpa is renowned for its annual ceremony at which giant butter carvings – jonga chopa or ‘butter flowers’ – are offered to the Buddha. This celebration occurs at the conclusion of the first fifteen days of the Tibetan lunar new year. Sakyamuni (the Lord Buddha) had debated religion for fifteen days before he won over all his opponents and this festival celebrates that final victory. The monks use about a thousand kilos of yak butter. They press it onto large wooden boards, mould it into shapes and colour it with various mineral dyes to represent images of mountains and streams, people, flowers, birds and animals, pavilions and terraces as well as religious stories and folk t

The monks of Nyitso Gonpa have a reputation for the study of Buddhist philosophy as for creating the most magnificent ‘butter flowers’. They debate philosophical questions in the large courtyard of the temple, which is paved with large flat stones.

The kitchen is extremely large. Several of the cooking pots can contain thousands of litres of water. It’s capable of feeding two thousand people. They serve butter tea. The monks bring tsampa and bread into the hall themselves. After prayers barley or rice porridge is served to the monks as well.