Samye Monastery is situated in the centre of Samye in Dranang (gra- nang) County, Shannan Prefecture, of Tibet. Lasting 12 years, its construction was under the patronage of the Tubo Tsenpo Trisong Detsan (Khri-srong Lde-btsam) in the 8th A.D. It is claimed to be the first Buddhist monastery in Tibetan history. The layout of the whole Samye complex imitated the pattern of a mandala in Tantric Art