​Zaki Monastery

Chinese name: 扎基寺(Zha Ji Si)
Location: Zaki Road, North of Lhasa
Ticket: Free
Estimated time of tour: 1hour
Recommended time of visit: all year round
Nearby attractions: Norbulinka Monastery, Potala Palace, Jokhang Monastery, Sera Monastery, Barkhor Street, Drepung Monastery, etc.

Zaki Monastery locates at Zaki road, north suburb of Lhasa city. This is the only monastery dedicated to worship the God of Wealth.It is a small monastery but very popular among worshipers. It serves a role as branch temple of the famous Gelug Sectarian Sera Monastery.

“Za” in Tibetan means monk, while “ki” is the pronunciation of the number “4” in Tibetan. So Zaki means “a monastery of 4 monks” as there were only 4 residential monks send by Sera Monastery at the first place.

At the beginning, Zaki Temple wasn’t popular with those who pray for wealth. It was a temple for people to seek peace. Some businessmen came to make wishes for wealth and their wishes came true. Then, it gradually became the well-known Temple of God of Wealth.

Zaki is enshrined inside a Buddhist niche of the main hall of Zaki Temple. According to Tibetan locals, the worshiper should pray for wealth on Monday, peace on Wednesday and health on Friday. Before entering, they can buy a bottle of liquor, a small bunch of mugwort, Chinese pine leaves or mulberry branches, a piece of Hada (a long piece of white silk) and a small bag of Tibetan butter from the stalls outside the temple.
Upon entering, the worshiper burn mugwort, Chinese pine leaves or mulberry branches in the censers, then they enter the main hall, present their liquor and Hada to Zaki, and make wishes and worship other gods. Before leaving, they can leave some small changes in the charity box and add butter to the butter lamps.On the second floor of the temple is a small Buddhist chapel. Some Tibetan locals come here to draw divination sticks to foresee future weal or woe. Lamas sitting nearby can ward off their woes with the help of Buddhist sutras.

 It’s believed that Zaki is the incarnation of Lakshmi, the custodian of Lhasa. Legend has it that Zaki’s soul was brought back to Lhasa by an eminent monk of Sera Monastery. She was a concubine of an emperor in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) when she was alive. Unfortunately, she was poisoned to death as a result of political intrigue. Her soul was reluctant to leave the imperial palace because she wanted to revenge, making the whole palace in a panic. Emperor Qianlong learn that there was an eminent monk who came from Sera Monastery and currently stayed on Mt. Wutai for a pilgrimage. Then he invited the monk to cease the panic in the palace. The monk talked to the soul of the concubine and knew what happened to her. Then he told the emperor about her tragedy. Emperor Qianlong punished the murderer and pled with the monk to redeem the soul of the concubine. Eventually, the concubine’s soul was redeemed. She decided to follow the monk to practice Tibetan Buddhism. The monk was so moved that he brought her back to Lhasa. However, women were not allowed to enter the Sera Monastery. Then, the monk gave a new name Zaki to the concubine and a new monastery was built for her, in which her statue was worshiped.