in the 13th century to found meditation colonies at pilgrimage sites including Mount Kailash, the Lapchi caves and the sacred Tsari Mountain. In 1240 the Mongol armies under Dorta Nagpo (Dorta the Black) sacked Gyel Lhakhang Monastery and Reting Monastery, then turned on Drigung. The monks managed to defend the monastery and prevent its destruction. In 1290, in order to destroy the political influence of Drigung, a Mongol army under the Sakya general Aklen destroyed the monastery. The 9th lineage holder, Chunyi Dorje Rinchen (1278-1314) rebuilt the monastery with the help of the Sakya and the Emperor. The role of the monastery was now mainly limited to being a center for contemplative studies and serving as the home of the Drigung Kargyupa subsect. The monastery had regained some of its strength by the mid-14th century, but after the 15th century was eclipsed by the rise of the Gelug sect. Throughout the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) the monastery played an important role in Sino-Tibetan relations. The monastery has a strong tradition of meditation, with meditators living and practicing intensively in nearby caves. Jigten Sumgön started a tradition of giving courses on sutra and tantra subjects twice yearly, which was followed by his successors, but the monastery does not have a strong tradition of scholarship. Until the 19th century the emphasis was on faith and ritual. The 34th abbot, Kyabjey Zhiway-lodro, established a teaching college at the monastery. The monks would each spend five years at this college using logic and debate to study thirteen scriptural texts. In 1959 there were about four hundred monks, sixty people in meditation retreats and eight Incarnate Lamas. Before and during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) the monastery was looted of almost all its collection of statues, stupas, thangkas, manuscripts and other objects apart from a few small statues that the monks managed to hide. The buildings were severely damaged. Reconstruction began in 1983 and seven of the fifteen temples were rebuilt. The traditions of the monastery were also revived in 1989 at the Jangchubling Drikung Kagyu Institute in Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), India. As of 2015 Drigung Thil Monastery was occupied by about 250 monks. Although well known, particularly for its sky burial site, it does not attract many tourists. However, in the Tibetan New Year it is visited by thousands of pilgrims, mainly coming from Kham to the east. Structures There are more than fifty