Nechung sits just below Drepung and is often visited as part of the same morning. It was the seat of the Nechung Oracle, the State Oracle of Tibet — a medium who entered trance during ceremonies and was consulted by the Dalai Lamas on matters of state, including, in 1959, on whether to flee Lhasa.
The monastery is small but dense with imagery: the murals lean toward the wrathful and protective side of Tibetan Buddhism — Dorje Drakden, the deity who possesses the Oracle, is shown surrounded by skulls and severed heads, against backgrounds of black and crimson. The mood is markedly different from the calm rationality of Drepung above. The current Oracle continues to function from Dharamsala in exile; the Nechung temple in Lhasa is empty of that role but retains the iconography.