Although practicing Buddhists and historians of Tibetare well aware of the Ra Mo Che Temple in Lhasa,very little about the building and its history hasbeen published. Situated a short distance north-westof the more-famous Ra Sa gTsug Lag Khang or JoKhang, the temple received, according to thedBa' bZhed, the Buddha imagebrought to Tibet in the time of the Tang princessOng Jo. Early in the reign of Khri Srong lDe bTsan,while the king was still in his minority,anti-Buddhist factions led by Zhang Ma Zham Khrom PasKyes circumscribed royal power and murdered thepro-Buddhist minister Zhang sNa Nam Khri Thong rJeThang la ‘Bar. They also arranged for the image atRa Mo Che to be removed from the temple. The planwas to return the Buddha to China, along with thehead priest and his entourage. The statue's greatweight, however, thwarted the scheme. After beingdragged a short distance, the Buddha was lefthalf-buried in the earth. The state of affairs inthose days is indicated by dBa'bZhed which reports that the Lhasavihāra was turned into a workshopwith sheep carcasses hung from the arms of theprincipal holy images and entrails wound round theirnecks! After Buddhism was reinstated, the Ra Mo Chewas returned to worship. Subject to campaigns ofrefurbishment and additions through the centuries,it was the centre of a number of importantdevelopments, notably becoming the seat of the upperTantric college (rGyud sTod) established by rJebTsun Kun dGa' Don Drub in 1474.