Steintore
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Steintore
Wed, 28.05.2014: Shigatse to Lhasa (3,650m), 251km, snow/rain, 10°C
The breakfast buffet at the hotel was really good and included boiled eggs, muesli with curd, fruit, cake and lots more besides. Afterwards we drove to Tashilhumpo Monastery not far from the hotel. We had time to walk around the outside walls to see the people turning the prayer wheels and a number of people prostrating themselves as they made their pilgrimage around the building.
There were so many people because the 28th of May is a special day for Buddhists, marking the start of a 13 day period where they are not allowed to eat meat.
Tashilhumpo Monastery is the largest in Tibet and is a walled city that was built in 1447. The monastery is one of the few to survive the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976. It used to house 3,000 monks but now has only 300. It also houses the largest gilded Buddha in the world. It was made in 1914 using 300kg of gold and studded with precious stones. It is 26m high, and one finger is 1 metre long. 900 artisans needed 4 years to build it.
We saw the tombs of the Panchen Lamas, some of which were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution and rebuilt by the 10th Panchen Lama who died in 1989.
Our guide told us a great deal about the monastery as we went on our tour of all the buildings. There was a separate charge for photos ($12 to $25) and videos ($250 to $300) for each room which meant we only used our cameras outside!!
There was a lot to see and we learned that there are 21 female Buddhas called Tara's and the most important ones are the Green Tara and the White Tara. There were a lot of shrines and Yak butter is used as part of various rituals including being lit to see your personal future.
On one shrine there were lots of pens - our guide told us that students place them there for 20 days and then collect them to use for an important exam. It was quite a whirlwind tour that only lasted 90 minutes.
Tibet Tour Part 2 - Rongbuk Monastery to Yamdrok Lake
