Riwoche Monastery Golden Pagoda Murals

CHINA, Tibet, Shigatse

The Golden Pagoda is the only surviving original building at Riwoche Monastery. Well-preserved murals are painted on the walls of the first five stories of the seven-story pagoda. Sakyamuni Buddha and the Thousand Buddhas are depicted on the first story. On the second story, there are 20 shrines, each with a niche in the center decorated with mandalas and a seated Buddha flanked by disciples or deities making offerings. The third story has a similar layout; in the 20 shrines, there are mandalas and images of Bodhisattvas and warriors. These are considered to be the best preserved murals in the pagoda. On the other hand, the murals on the forth story are severely damaged to the point of being unrecognizable. The fifth story murals are also badly damaged. The numerous mandalas painted within the pagoda are a valuable record of the complex iconography of Tibetan Buddhism.