7 Days in Tibet, Part 2

Our Third Day in Tibet

The low drone of Tibetan long horns in the distance woke the nascent morning, as we stretched our aching bodies on this 3rd day of our incredible journey to Shangri-La. Yesterday was hard on the body, as we set forth on our own walking pilgrimage of the koras, and traversed the steep steps of the Potala Palace.

However, no time to rest, it’s time to grab some sweet tea, as we have so many things to do and sights to see!

So we started our early morning at 7:30 am by walking out the front door of our hotel, where the air was brisk but there was abundant sunshine.

Once again we were caught walking the wrong direction!

Like insects with tracking radar, while walking counter clockwise along the Barkhor Street prayer path we could detect the veiled sheepish smiles of amused Tibetan locals, catching a brief glimpse of a few who were surreptitiously nodding to each other how out of our element we were as western tourists.

So we decided to stop by at a local Tibetan street vendor to feign we were looking to buy something before we nonchalantly would change our direction. However, this animated Tibetan character immediately let us know that he was on to us!

Tibetan Local Street Market

Although slightly embarrassed, we continued on our path. We were on a mission. Outside even at this early hour, we were headed to a bustling Old Lhasa city local street market. This was our immediate destination.

It was such a clear day, and we noticed many local Tibetans out of their doors basking in the sun. This activity was a strange juxtaposition to workers digging a trench right in the center of the bustling market!

Here’s a side note. Lhasa, Tibet is called “The City of Sunshine.” It’s a region with the most sunshine in China or possibly even in the world, with Lhasa exceeding over 3000 hours, and the Shigatse prefecture enjoying in excess of 3200 hours of sunshine per year. The topography of the Tibetan plateau makes this possible. For this reason, it’s a way Tibetan locals spend much of their daily time.

The purpose of basking in the sun is not only to drive the chill of the air away, but also to embrace the peace and tranquility such abundant sunshine brings. It’s in this sunshine that Tibetans love communicating with each other, sharing anecdotes, and sipping drinks in a joyous atmosphere.

It is a daily routine for Tibetans to drink yak butter tea or sweet tea and eat Tsampa, where the tea is boiled by the solar cooker while the entire family relaxes in a harmonious and warm atmosphere. In sunrooms, industrious women often do handicrafts while making conversation. Among tending to their daily crafts, it is a great way to spend their time.

Back to Potala

After visiting the local market, we decided to make a short detour once again to the Potala Palace.

The Tibetan people are extremely religious, viewing their daily toil and the harsh environment surrounding them as challenges along the path to life's single goal, the attainment of spiritual enlightenment.

The Lhasa region's richly decorated monasteries, temples, and palaces, and stupas —including the Potala Palace—were not constructed by forced labor, but by laborers and artisans who donated their entire lives to the accumulation of good karma.

Here is some other interesting trivia facts about the Potala Palace:

1) Containing over 1 000 rooms, the Potala Palace housed the living quarters of the Dalai Lamas while they lived, and their sumptuous golden tombs when they died.

2) The Palace also houses great amounts of rare cultural relics including the gold hand-written Buddhist scriptures, valuable gifts from Chinese emperors and a wide array of priceless antiques.

3) The Fifth Dalai Lama rebuilt the palace in three years,

4) The Potala Palace became winter palace in 1755. It was during this year, the Seventh Dalai Lama made the Norbulinka Palace into a summer residence

5) The Thirteenth Dalai Lama extended and repaired the palace into what it is today.

6) The palace was once considered the religious and political center of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas. What is now an ONESCO World Heritage site, the palace witnessed the life of the Dalai Lamas and the important political and religious activities in the past centuries.

7) The Potala Palace is 14 stories tall and any visit involves climbing lots of stairs up and down. One thing we learned the previous day is that it is best to avoid the short guided palace tours being offered and do the tour on your own, as the short tour generally includes one hour inside the palace, which is the least amount of time it takes to walk up and down the many steps leading up to and from the palace.

Following our foray into the daily life and culture of Tibetan local traditions as seen through their market and our brief visit back to Potala, we sat down at a local restaurant to a delicious late morning brunch of lean yak steak and bolo, which is a small fried dumpling.

Afterwards, we boarded our mini bus, and were off to take an afternoon tour of one of three famous monasteries in Lhasa located about 5 km north from downtown.

The Sera Monastery

The Sera Monastery was built in 1419 on a hillside in the north part of Lhasa. Founded in 1419 by one of the eight disciples of the founder of the Gelupa sect Tsonga Khapa, the Sera Monastery first became famous for its tantric teachings.

Lhasa means “Land of the Gods” and is the Holy City of Tibetan Buddhism. The Sera Monastery is one of the three most important monasteries in Lhasa, The others are the Drepung the Ganden Monasteries. All three monasteries are dedicated to the Gelugpa or Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and are, or at one time were, university monasteries.

As already mentioned, Sera first became famous for its tantric teachings, while Drepung drew fame from its governing role. Sera was smaller than Drepung, with 7,000 resident monks, but was very rich and comparable in power. The monks of Sera were considered very clever and dangerous.

Monasteries played the important role of religious center, education center with schools and universities, hospitals, marketplaces, and so on. Even today, a great deal of a young person’s education can still be had at a monastery.

In fact, in earlier times life in Tibet revolved around the monastery.

However, nothing could have prepared us for the pure spectacle, the feigned violence, and the sheer entertainment value that was about to come.

None of these activities could compare to the most interesting ritual that happens currently every day in the Sera monastery.

The Monk Debates

One of the most unique things about Sera is its long tradition of debating. As part of their training, monks participate in a series of debates. These debates, aptly called The Monk Debates are held in a courtyard of crushed stone.

This certainly was a cultural highlight of our trip to Tibet, and one of the more fascinating things I have ever seen!

The debates last about one and a half hours. The courtyard was noisy and the air was charged with energy.

Senior monks grill junior monks on various doctrine. The junior monks remain seated in a subservient position, while the monks questioning their knowledge of Buddhist scripture fire shot gun questions at them.

Accompanied by these interrogations, are dramatic hand slapping. Each senior monk places his left hand next to the face of his grilled junior monk counterpart, and proceeds to slap his right hand at the junior monks face SO HARD after each question, by slapping his own hand and missing the junior monk’s face by merely fractions of centimeter!

The hand slapping is a signal for the seated monk to respond.

The debates are held each day. Though this seemed pretty entertaining to all of us, I was told it is serious business and an important part of the training of these junior monks. While the debates were taking place, Tibetan Buddhist monks were never without their prayer beads.

The Monk Debates offered a unique cultural experience that few I’ve ever seen can be compared to. It has since left an indelible mark in my memory, forever permeating a vision to relive over again of my trip to Shangri-La.

Stay tuned next for the “7 Days in Tibet, Finale Part 3”, where we will be climbing to ever higher elevations of adventure, to the towns of Shigatse and Gyanste.

Thank you so much for reading.

As always, I would love to hear your comments and feedback!

Cheers,

Kaju