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Topic: Visiting the Sera Monastery
Posted: 2005-02-21 02:48:00
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2005-02-21 02:48:00 GMT-5
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The Sera Monastery is situated just a few kilometers outside the Holy City of Lhasa, the Seat of the Gods. In past days there were more than 5.000 inhabitants which has been reduced to a few hundreds nowadays. All this you can read in every guidebook....... All I want, is to describe just a single moment which I enjoyed very much! When I entered a hall, I was cought between all those praying people and nomads who walked around a buddha statue for at least three times. There was no other way but getting pushed with them while you hear all their prayers. In the back you heard some deep "om..." prayers of the monks in the front room. The whole temple was filled with incense smoke, it was dark except some broken light through the small windows close to the roof which were covered by red paper - this atmosphere was unbelievable! Everything was so mystic! Suddenly a monk, standing in front of the statue, pulled me closer and put a white welcome scarf around me. He wanted me to participate in their custom like all the other pilgrims. They went down on there knees in front of the buddha and put their heads into a dark hole of the stone platform of the buddha - so did I. It was a black hole, I could not see anything and I still do not know what this was exactly good for. But the whole situation was incredible. |
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Author: ELCABRON
ip: *.*.*.*
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2005-03-05 06:46:34 GMT-5 |
Hi Elcabron, you really have the feeling for the Tibetan atmosphere! Drepung is also famous around Lhasa. Compared to Sera, which one would you recommend to me? |
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Author: YETI| Post 3 |
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2005-03-05 06:57:10 GMT-5 |
Hello Yeti! If you have the time both monasteries are a MUST! They are the major monasteries of the Gelugpa Order. Sera is a little bit smaller, there were about 5.000 monks in the past and a few hundreds today, while Drepung is still the biggest one with round about 600 monks today. In the past it was the largest monastery of the world with more than 10.000 monks. Dont get lost in the narrow alleys embraced by beautiful decorated buildings in Drepung because it got the size of a small city! But you can still see many ruins of destroyed buildings from the cultural revolution. The surrounding is also worth to take a look at. On the left side you can take a hike up to the pitoresque stone paintings. Behind the monastery on the ascent of the mountain you can see a rock plateau where the traditional sky burial took place. But if you have only a short amount of time I would prefer the Sera Monastery. Because one of the most interesting things to me were the Debating Classes,taking place everyday in Sera. A big number of monks come together and discuss their philosophical and religious standpoints. Each argument is stressed by clapping with your hands. Most of the times it is a one-on-one, sometimes there are two or even three monks discussing with only one opponent. In the end they reach a uniting conclusion. Really fascinating! But it is very difficult to choose only one out of those two great places - try both of them, they are worth it! |
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2005-03-05 07:03:16 GMT-5 |
Wow, thanks a lot for your immediate answer!!! Great to see a comparison. I´m not sure if I will have enough time for every sight in Lhasa, because I plan to go on all the way to Mt.Kailash, I heard it is the holiest mountain to four religions.... The way back leads via Kathmandu, if all this is possible. Thanks for describing your impression! |
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Author: YETI| Post 5 |
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2005-03-05 11:30:01 GMT-5 |
Youre welcome. Your plan sounds great! Wish you all the best! |
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Author: ELCABRON| Post 6 |
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2005-03-07 19:01:13 GMT-5 |
Hi, Elcabron, you sounds an expert in Tibet. Is the altitude sickness that horrible? Besides tibetan food, is there any other choice? I prefer a vegetarian menu. |
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Author: ESTHER| Post 7 |
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2005-03-08 08:29:39 GMT-5 |
Hello esther, no, Im no expert at all. Been there only once, but it was so fascinating, I have to do another trip - maybe just like the one YETI wants to do. I arrived by plane which is the worst possibility for avoiding altitude sickness because your body does not get adjusted slowly like by bus. So you should be very careful the first two, three days. When I arrived in Lhasa I walked up the backside of the Potala - but these steps up the hill were so exhausting to me....puuh! And Im a hobby race cylist, which means my physical condition is not that bad, but still in the beginning everything was more difficult. But your body gets used to it. I once read that statistically each year one tourist dies because of altitude sickness - just make sure it is not you;-) For food I always went to streetkitchens where they have simple noodle meals without meat. (if you are not too vegetarian and accept eating eggs which normally are part of making noodles. But there should be plenty vegetarian meals offered in restaurants, too. Dont really strict Buddhists avoid meat anyway? So dont worry there are plenty possibilities. |
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2005-03-08 19:22:18 GMT-5 |
elcabron, thank u for ur sharing. I am not a strict vegetarian. Luckily enough i will not be that one! I have been to some place as high as 5,000 meters with a totally healthy condition.However, i was told this didnot guarantee i am immune to it forever. |
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2005-03-15 04:42:12 GMT-5 |
Hi Elcabron, do they charge an entry fee for monasteries? |
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2005-03-16 04:13:43 GMT-5 |
Tashi Dele Touanda! Yes tourists have to pay an entry fee. As far as I remember Drepung and Sera were about 30 Kuai each. Tibetan pilgrims enter their holy places, temples, monasteries for free. But even the poorest pilgrim still donates some money for Buddha which shows how strong their belief really is. |
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| Post 11 |
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2005-03-17 01:27:29 GMT-5 |
What you see is just one side of the story. On average there is one boy from a tibetan family to be a lama in a tibetan monastery. Therefore this donation can be said to foster their family members, too. Also monastery doubles as an economic distributing center in a sense through theri charity activities. If you are interested in it, you can find more info on this. |
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Author: ESTHER| Post 12 |
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2005-03-17 11:08:39 GMT-5 |
Hi Esther, I had the same idea that always one son of the family has to go to a monatery to become a monk. But when I asked one Lama in Tibet he said that this is not the rule. Maybe in the past. So I do think that they donate only because of their belief. Do you have some more infos about it? |
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2005-03-17 21:52:40 GMT-5 |
i will answer you in a new post. This post is already too long and our discussion seems irrelevant to the theme. Cheers Esther |
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2005-03-19 03:10:37 GMT-5 |
When you went to this Monastery did you have to walk up a steep hill or did the transport stop close by?
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2005-03-19 05:50:36 GMT-5 |
Tashi Dele, Jane! I had a jeep for myself, but those two monasteries are so close to Lhasa (only 5 and 8 km) that even walking or cycling would be an alternative. But from your question I see that you are worried about physical problems. If you take a minibus or an organized tour you will get right inside Sera and right to the entrance of Drepung. There is no more distance to go.But there are many stairs on the narrow alleys inside the Drepung monastery. Less in Sera. For me personally it was only exhasuting to climb the surrounding hills of Drepung to see the stone paintings. Maybe you should cancel this. But everything inside the monasteries is possible for every age and condition I think. You get used to the thin air, dont worry. You just have to be careful the first days of your stay. As long as you dont want to climb mountains and dont run up the stairs on your first day you can enjoy Tibet in every age, I think. For people of the age of my parents I would recommend a complete organized tour and no backpacking. Just for the worse case scenario, they (the tour organization) should be equiped with oxigenmasks and so on. Go ahead and enjoy your trip! |
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