The Tibetan temple of Jokhang: the past and the present

The article refers to different sources and the author’s personal impressions to cover the history and the present state of Jokhang, the main Lhasa Buddhist temple. It describes its most important statues including its central sacred image of Jo Shakyamuni Buddha. It concludes that Jowo Shakyamuni is not only the most venerated statue of the temple but also of the whole Tibet as it is traditionally believed to be created during Buddha’s life and to be the real embodiment of the founder of Buddhism.