Tsadra Rinchen Drak
The hermitage and main seat of Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye (1813-1899), above the Palpung monastery of the Tai Situ Rinpoches, established in 1858. It is a site sacred to Yangdag Heruka and Vajrakila, and was formally opened by Kongtrul together with the treasure revealer Terchen Chokgyur Lingpa (1829-1870) in 1857. It had previously been used as a retreat place by the 8th Tai Situpa (1700-1774), but had been abandoned and eventually fallen into disrepair. Among others, the terma cycle of "Sangthig Khorsum", containing practices on Yangdag, Vajrasattva and Vakrakila, was revealed here by Chokgyur Lingpa. It is here where Jamgon Kongtrul established a three-year retreat center for the practices and teachings of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition and where he spent most of his life. All around the mountain, many sacred sites, self-arisen designs and syllables, as well as foot- and hand-prints of masters of the past can be found. The red temple in the foreground has recently been enlarged considerably. Tsadra Rinchen Drak counts as one of the twenty-five sacred sites of the eastern Tibetan province of Kham. [TSD]