Diane comments: We really did feel we were on the top of the world! Lhasa sits in a valley and is surrounded by the low Himalayan mountains. I can see why this was the place the Dalai Lamas decided they wanted their temple community. What a beautiful and spiritual place!
We were so glad that we arrived a few days ahead of our Potala Palace climb so that we could acclimate to the altitude. We were drinking water like crazy and walking slow to get used to the high and dry climate. We could see the Palace from our hotel window as well as the lower Himalayan mountains.
The Potala Palace was the highlight of our Tibetan trip and we really wanted to make it to the top. This Palace is where the current Dalai Lahma lived until 1959 when he exiled to India. It is a magnificent Palace up on a hill overlooking the city. It had home to the Dalai Lamas since the 7th century. This palace has over 1,000 rooms and a total of 10,000 side chapels and shrines. Much of it is a museum today (at the top) where some of the previous Dalai Lahmas have been buried.
We found out that there are different
kind of “Lamas”. The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader, and there
is another type of Lama that focuses on teaching. The current Dalai
Lama is number 14. His emphasis is on “compassion.” When we
arrived in Lhasa, we were all presented with white silk ceremonial compassion
scarves.
At the time, I was reading The Book of Joy by the
Dalai Lama and Desmund Tutu. It is a beautiful book and really gave
me a glimpse into the Dalai Lama's strength of spirit and heart. The
book was so timely because it gave insight into his exile from Tibet
into India. I highly recommend this book.
We took it slow and made it to the top (over 500 steps)! It was incredible and we were among thousands of other visitors wanting to see the museum and view from the top. I have to say that it was very moving to see such an important spiritual site.
The red part is the palace, while the white part was the administrative part while the government of Tibet was located here
We saw very few Communist "hammer and sickle" icons in the country
Steps! It's going to be a long climb...
The red part is painted branches or twigs (Doji was hard to understand on this!)
Looking down from the top of the palace onto a square in Lhasa (Roof of the World!)
Entry to the palace (no photos inside)
Going back down
As if the Potala Palace wasn't enough excitement for one day, in the afternoon, we visited the Sera Monastery. It houses the religious college for young monks. We watched about 100 monks debate (no way to know what they were debating), complete with animated gestures and verbal challenges! It was really cool to watch the exchanges all happening simultaneously in this large courtyard. These lively debates are how they refine their understanding of Buddhist principles.
The debate (6 days a week for 2 hrs in the afternoon)
Jumbo prayer wheel surrounded by more wheels
A monk sanctuary high on the hill overlooking the monastery
No comments:
Post a Comment