Kumbum

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Exterior of the Gyantse Kumbum
Exterior of the Gyantse Kumbum
Artwork on the exterior of the Kumbum in Gyantse
Artwork on the exterior of the Kumbum in Gyantse

A Kumbum (Tibetan: "One hundred thousand holy images"; Wylie: Sku-'bum) is a multi-storied aggregate of Buddhist chapels in Tibet.

Only three Kumbums are said to exist[citation needed]. The best known is the Gyantse Kumbum. A further Kumbum is at Kumbum Monastery (Ta'er Si) near Xining in Qinghai province. Consecrated in AD 1436, this structure contains 108 chapels in its four floors, and is illustrated with over 10,000 murals[citation needed].

The Kumbum at Gyantse is a three dimensional mandala, meant to portray the Buddhist cosmos. The Kumbum, like other mandalas, which are portrayed by a circle within a square, enables the devotee to take part in the Buddhist perception of the universe and can depict one's potential as they move through it. Mandalas are meant to aid an individual on the path to enlightenment. The Kumbum holds a vast number of images of deities throughout its structure with Vhajra Dhara, the cosmic Buddha, at the top.

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