Tibetan Buddhist Monastery

Timeline

1. c. 779–842Samye Monastery · LhokaTrisong Detsen built Samye Monastery and established the sangha's rules and study system; monasteries received royal land grants and subjects, forming an institutionalized combination of sangha, estate and local society, laying the foundation for the later Tibetan Buddhist monastery model.
2. 1231–1240Ü-Tsang monastery belt · TibetMonasteries of the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and other sects spread across Ü-Tsang; each monastery had estates, caravans and an embryonic reincarnated lama lineage system; monasteries were both religious centers and the actual operating units of local administration, storage and justice.
3. c. 1250–1300Tibet · TibetAfter receiving Mongol investiture, the Sakya sect's monastery system interfaced with the empire's taxation and postal relay systems; the sangha's status rose while the estate structure was retained; monasteries continued as the fundamental institutional form of Tibetan social organization.