Qugu Monastery（Chukku Gompa）

Qugu Monastery（Chukku Gompa）

Located in the Burang County of Ngari Prefecture, Qugu Monastery is the first tourist destination for Mt.Kailash kora prayers. Built in the 13th century, the Qugu Monastery is home to a naturally formed Amitayus Buddha stone statue. According to a legend, the statue was a gift to the Guge King and was put in a monastery in Guge. Once there came 7 Indian monks who begged for alms. Instead giving them food, the monks in the Guge monastery insulted the Indian monks. At that time, 7 monks transformed into 7 wolves and carried away the statue to Qugu Monastery. It turned out that the monks were the transfiguration of the God Kailash. King of Guge Kingdom asked the army to take back the statue. The army couldn’t carry the statue further than the foot of the mountain, because it was too heavy. When they were planning to disassembly the statue with their spears, the statue suddenly shouted with an extremely high voice. The soldiers were terrified and run away.

Several days later, the janitor of Qugu Monastery found the statue when he was collecting woods. The statue said to the janitor,“Take me back to the monastery.”“How is that possible? Even the soldiers couldn’t carry you away”,replied the janitor. “But you can do it.”

The janitor put down the woods and tried to lift the statue up. It was as light as a leave! The janitor carried the statue up to the monastery. And today, you can still see the legendary statue in Qugu Monastery.