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Kumbhum Jampa-ling Monastery, one of the six major monasteries of Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism was founded in 1583 by the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam-gyatso (1543-1588). It was built in a narrow valley close to the village of Lusar, at the site where Tsongkhhapa (1357-1419), the founder of the Gelugpa Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, had been born. The monastery was situated at 25km from Xining city in Rashar county (Huang zhong in Chinese )of Amdo Tibet.
It was believed that a drop of blood fell from Tsongkhhapa’s umbilical cord when it was cut after his birth. From this drop grew a wondrous sandalwood tree. It has a very broad trunk and 100,000 leaves, which it never sheds. In Tibetan, the number 100,000 merely signifies a very large number, and is not meant literally. There appeared an image of the Buddha Sinhanada on each leaf. On the bark of the branches and trunk are the designs of the seed syllables and hand implements of this Buddha. In 1379, Tsongkhhapa’s mother, with the help of the local faithful, built a small temple with a stupa around this tree. It stands to this day. This was the first temple at Kumbum. In 1481, the nobility and nomads of the Kokonor region built a larger temple for making offerings at the holy tree. In 1560, the meditator Rinchen-tsondru-gyeltsen built a small monastery there, called Gonpalung for intensive meditation practice. At first, it had seven monks at a time, but soon expanded to hold fifteen.
Later The Third Dalai Lama, on his way to meet Altan Khan near Kokonor, Gyelwa Sonam-gyatso stopped at the isolated retreat by the holy tree marking the spot where Tsongkhhapa had been born. He requested Rinchen-tsondru-gyeltsen to construct a larger monastery at this site and appointed him as the head lama. The monatsery was completed in 1583 and an annual Prayer Festival was inaugurated like that held in Lhasa.
The new monastery was called Kumbum Jampa-ling. “Kumbum” means 100,000 enlightening bodies of the Buddha. It is named after the 100,000 images of the Buddha Sinhanada on the leaves of the holy sandalwood tree. “Jampa-ling” means “Maitreya Cloister.” This refers to the Maitreya temple built by Rinchen-tsondru-gyeltsen to the right of the precious tree. Presently It has about 500 monks and five monastic colleges.
