We started our day in Tibet with the Jokhang Temple. This is the most sacred building in Tibet. In the square outside the temple, people were performing praying rituals, sometimes for the whole day. These were not locals, but rather those that have made a pilgrimage from far away. Inside, the temple is filled with antique murals, statues, tapestries and scroll paintings. It's quite dark inside and the air is filled with incense and the smell of rancid yak butter. (The temple is full of butter lamps!) It's in the heart of the old town, and probably built in 647. Besides praying in front of the temple, people walk in clockwise circles around it, some holding prayer wheels and beads. Nest we walked to the marketplace around the temple. In one shop we were served Jasmine tea, and saw prayer flags, statues, jewelry, clothing and tapestries.
After lunch in a local restaurant we had a home visit to a lower-middle income dwelling. The owner was a seamstress who made the wall and ceiling covers with her Singer sewing machine! She offered us homemade yak butter tea, a staple here, consisting of yak butter, water, salt and tea. She also passed around bowls of seeds, grains and sweets.
Next we visited the Sera Monastary. Completed in 1419, it's a fairly large complex, with 3 religious colleges (rather run-down looking buildings) and important collections of manuscripts, tapestries, statues and murals. At 3 pm they rang a gong, and the monks gathered in the courtyard for "debates." The style of debating is very animated, with the monks being paired up and discussing Buddhist philosophy in the form of questions and answers.
Tonight we had dinner and watched a show of Tibetan music and dancing. The grand finale was the Crazy Yak dance, with a couple of people wearing a yak costume and parading around the stage.
No comments:
Post a Comment