June 5, 2012
Today we leave Lhasa for the day and head out a couple of hours drive to see the Ganden Monastery which is most noteworthy because it is the monastery at which the current Dalai Lama was schooled as a young boy. And due to this same fact, it was completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Today it has been rebuilt to nearly its former glory and is still a very important monastery due to its connection to the current Dalai Lama.
Our drive takes us through the countryside and we see rural Tibet, which is all about small farms and clusters of homes with a few livestock in the yard.
There is a small village at the base of the hill that will take us up to the monastery...
As we approach the monastery, we have to pass through yet another security checkpoint. They ask us to pull over and stop, and we all have to get off the bus and go through security. We enter the small guard station and must pass through a metal detector. (Now, keep in mind that we have left all of our bags on the bus where they will remain unexamined and unscreened)...tight security... As we pass through the detector and set off the alarm, we receive a further security check...the patdown. Now, in fairness to the Chinese, we must acknowledge that the security guard administering this second level of security was an attractive, lithe young woman who was thorough yet gentle, professional and skilled, particularly as she checked the contents of our pockets, all around. The men all agreed that this was our favorite checkpoint and we appreciated the security guard's conscientious approach to ensuring the country's security. (On the way back it was suggested that we voluntarily pass through the security screening again, just to be sure...)
The hill leading to the monastery is quite steep, and therefore our climb consists of countless switchbacks. As we climb the hill we also see yaks who are grazing on the very steep hillside.
We stop at the last big curve in the road before getting to the monastery to get photos of the monastery complex perched on the side of the hill...it is quite extensive. The small golden yellow hut, which todaybis the meditation hut, is perched on the knoll to the right and above the monastery, and was the beginnings of the monastery itself in the early 1400's.
The monastery is similar to the others we have seen, though still quite impressive with a very large main assembly hall. As in most monasteries we have seen, there is a fee for taking photos inside the temple...a nice source of income for the monastery (and the Chinese government who take a healthy slice), so forgive us if we don't pay another few bucks for photos that will look strikingly similar to others we have already posted.
We did, however, climb to the roof of the monastery and were able to get some very nice photos...We had to wait, however, while these tiny, elderly ladies carted bushels of rocks up the ladder ahead of us...
Here is our friend Ted, again, this time showing an extraordinary feat of strength by lifting an old gong that was laying flat on the roof...Ted, you the man..
After we finish our tour of the monastery, we set out to walk the kora which will take us in a complete clockwise circuit around the monastery and the hill on which it is built. Initially we climb quite a long set of steps to reach the high point of the kora path. As we crest the path we pass under a mantle of countless prayer flags that have been strung across this narrow passage between rocks...
Along the way on our of the kora we stop for lunch on a hill side with a commanding view of the valley below...and some of the locals...
After lunch (which, in addition to a box lunch from the hotel, included a homemade noodle and yak dish made by Nima...and it was delicious!), we proceed along the kora path and are treated to a great view of the snow-capped Himalayas...
Eureka! Here it is...we've sipped it, we've eaten it, we've smelled it, we've tasted it...it's a yak! The great source of all things in Tibet, from food to butter for lamps, to additive for concrete, to leather for shoes, to hair for wool cloth, to bones for prayer beads...there ain't nothin' in Tibet that this guy didn't somehow provide...our hats are off to you, sir...
At another spot along the kora, pilgrims have again strung prayer flags along a rocky, almost stair-like descent, and it really feels like a mystical little spot...
At the bottom of the descent and around a bend, we reach the meditation hut. It is perched on the edge of the mountain and is still used as a meditation chapel, and there is a monk there when we arrive. Inside, the hut is very simple with statues along one wall, and room for maybe six monks at the most.
Outside the meditation hut is a prayer wheel, and above the hut on the face of the mountain is painted a Buddhist image...
We give the prayer wheel a spin and complete our walk of the kora...our group is becoming quite the band of pilgrims, we must say.
On the way back to Lhasa, we make a stop at the Sera monastery which is a large and vibrant community of monks. We have come here to see something really extraordinary...the debating that takes place every afternoon.
Before we get to the great debates, we stop in at the printing shop where we see a man printing by hand the scriptures that are used in other monasteries...
Sera is a monastery that trains a lot of monks, and therefore the education of young monks is central to what they do. Part of the teaching and learning process is this practice of debating which enables monks to learn well and thoroughly what they are being taught, because it forces them to process, explain and sometimes defend what they have just learned.
The setting for the debating is a large, walled courtyard planted with very large trees, providing shade to the gray gravel stones on which the monks debate. The debating process involves a teacher who stands, and one or two students who are seated, and the teacher poses questions to the students about the lessons they have been taught that day. What makes this such an incredible spectacle is that when the teacher poses a question or makes an important point they clap, and these monks know how to clap! Some of their claps sound like cap guns going off, and when you have the courtyard filled with dozens of these little clusters of three or four monks debating and clapping it is extraordinary! Our friend Ted provided us with a copy a video he took of this scene which we will post when we are no longer in China (because then we can share the YouTube post that links to our blog...China blocks access to YouTube...).
What was really entertaining abou this whole scene is that we watched, over the course of twenty minutes or so, and we saw a range of interactions from laughter to yelling, to arguing, to smiling to tweaks of the students' ears or a rub on the head...it was great fun to watch, really engaging theater...
After thoroughly enjoying the debates, we head back for the bus, and along the way we see a building that is in the process of being restored. This sign was posted prominently for all passerby to read and abide by...if only what we knew what they were trying to tell us...!
It is getting rather warm...and the dogs have decided to find a shady spot and sleep through the afternoon heat...
This is our last day in Lhasa, tomorrow we drive to Tsedang where we will tour for two days...stay tuned!
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