Kumbum Monastery and the Lamp-Lighting Festival: The Inheritance of Faith in Butter Lamp Flames
Kumbum Monastery is located in Huangzhong District, Xining, Qinghai Province. It is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug School (commonly known as the "Yellow Hat Sect") of Tibetan Buddhism and the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug School. In Tibetan, it is called "Gonchen Sumtseling," meaning "Maitreya Garden with 100,000 Buddha Statues," and holds an extremely high religious status in the Tibetan Buddhist community.
The origin of Kumbum Monastery is closely tied to Tsongkhapa. According to historical records, when Tsongkhapa was born in 1357, a drop of blood from his umbilical cord (cut by his mother) fell into the ground. The following year, an ashoka tree grew at that spot, and each leaf of the tree naturally bore an image of the Lion-Roaring Buddha—totaling 100,000 Buddha images. To commemorate Tsongkhapa, believers built a stupa under the tree, which was later expanded into a monastery, hence the name "Kumbum Monastery" (literally "Monastery of the Stupa"). As a masterpiece of Tibetan Buddhist art, Kumbum Monastery is renowned for its "Three Art Treasures": butter sculptures, murals, and appliqué embroidery. Its architectural complex integrates Tibetan, Han, and Mongolian styles, with red walls and golden roofs built along the mountain, presenting a magnificent spectacle.
The Lamp-Lighting Festival is Kumbum Monastery’s most representative religious festival, held on the 25th day of the 10th month in the Tibetan calendar. It aims to commemorate Tsongkhapa’s passing in 1419 and also honors his birth. This tradition has been maintained at Kumbum Monastery for nearly 600 years. In accordance with Gelug School rituals, monks gather to recite the Ganden Great Sutra on this day. The core ceremony is the "Butter Lamp Offering"—butter, refined from yak milk, is regarded as a pure offering in Tibetan Buddhism, and the lamp flames symbolize "dispelling ignorance with wisdom."
The butter lamp offering ceremony follows a clear division of labor and process. Monks of the monastery start preparations three days in advance, taking meticulous care in selecting butter lamps, positioning lamp bases, and outlining patterns. They carefully arrange butter lamps into symmetrical and orderly mandala-like patterns in the open space at the center of the monastery. Some patterns are based on auspicious motifs from sutras, while others incorporate religious symbols such as lotus flowers and dharma wheels. The overall design is solemn and harmonious, symbolizing the perfection of the faith world. Believers, meanwhile, bring butter lamps (either prepared at home or obtained from the monastery) and place them in an orderly manner around the monastery—on stone steps, under prayer flags, and other spots. Elderly believers often arrange the lamps into neat "Six-Syllable Mantra" (Om Mani Padme Hum) patterns, while younger ones prefer creating simple blessing designs. Though these lamp formations are smaller in scale, each lamp carries the sincere wishes of ordinary believers.
As dusk falls on the festival day, the ceremony officially begins. Monks hold eternal flames, bend down, and light each butter lamp in the central mandala one by one. The flames slowly spread along the lines of the pattern, eventually forming a brilliant sea of light. Believers then light their own lamps; thousands of tiny flames flicker gently in the breeze, intertwining with the chanting from the scripture hall and the soft sound of prayer wheels to create a unique religious scene. At this moment, Kumbum Monastery retains the solemnity of religious rituals while exuding warmth from the participation of believers.
As an important carrier of Kumbum Monastery’s culture, the Lamp-Lighting Festival is not only a religious ritual to commemorate Tsongkhapa but also a concentrated expression of Tibetan Buddhism’s faith traditions and cultural connotations. When the butter lamp flames illuminate the red walls and golden roofs at night, the religious status and cultural value of Kumbum Monastery are vividly embodied in this warm sea of light.
