monastery | Blue Lapis Road

SAINT CATHERINE’S MONASTERY, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

2006.05.27.

In the shaded valley of Mount Sinai stands the 1500-year fortified Eastern Orthodox monastery named after Catherine of Alexandria, the Christian saint and virgin who was martyred in the early 4th century in hands of Emperor Maxentius. Monastic life had been known since the 4th century at the Sinai location, in the barren land of austerity and remoteness. In AD 330, Empress Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, built the Chapel of Burning Bush and a small hermit refuge at the site where Moses was supposed to see the burning bush and was named by God as the leader to lead the Israelies out of Egypt. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian I ordered the construction of the monastery complex that we see today to house the Chapel of the Burning Bush. Amazingly the monastery still remains functioning as a Christian monastery today, and became one of the oldest monastic communities in the world. Due to the site’s significance in the Old Testament, the monastery is considered a sacred pilgrimage site for all sects of Christianity, Islam and Judaism throughout history.

After a sleepless night and hours of hiking in the rugged Mount Sinai, we finally made it to Saint Catherine’s Monastery at around 08:00. From the outside, the monastery resembles a highly fortified defense complex. It was hard to imagine that beyond the high stone walls stand one of the world’s oldest monastery, together with the oldest library in the Western world. The thousand-year-old library contains 3300 manuscripts written in 11 languages: Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Georgian and Slavonic. These manuscripts have became an extremely precious collection: classical Greek texts, medical writing, monastic documents and other texts created in different period in history, including some splendidly made manuscripts with glided letters and illuminations crafted in Constantinople. While the library is off limits to tourists, most visitors and pilgrims who have braved the harsh landscape and remote location of Sinai would find peace and bliss for the real life encounter with the legendary Burning Bush mentioned in the Book of Exodus.

We waited outside the monastery for about an hour until 09:00. Inside the complex, only the main church, a small museum and the exterior courtyard where the Burning Bush stands are opened to the public. At the crowded courtyard, everyone was trying to take pictures of themselves with the legendary Burning Bush. We wandered around the complex for a while and slowly returned to the parking lot of Mount Sinai for the tour minibus. We were quite sleepy and tired by the time we reached Bishibishi. At the hotel we grabbed a quick bite, packed our backpacks, and took the 14:30 bus leaving for Cairo. It was a long journey, passing by the Suez Canal at sunset, and reached Cairo after 8.5 hours on the road. At the bus station in Cairo, we took a taxi to Midan Talaat Harb, a star-shaped plaza at the centre of a shopping district, where our guesthouse was located. It was 23:30 when we arrived, but it felt like 20:00 as most shops and restaurants were still busy. After our hermitic days in the Arabian desert of Wadi Rum and Sinai Peninsula, the vibrant scenes of Cairo almost gave us a little shock.: the way people drive, cross the streets, yell in the shops, and occasionally intimidate tourists for a little tip. This is Cairo, the largest city in Africa, Middle East and the Arab world, with over 20 million of inhabitants who are proud of their pharaohic history.

The UNESCO World Heritage monastery stands in the shadow of Mount Horeb, Jebel Musa and Jebel Arrenziyeb.

The outer walls and the monastery complex were built by Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century.

The average thickness of the wall is about 2m.

The hanging door was used for distribution of bread and food supplies to the Bedouin tribes outside the monastery.

The 19th century bell tower is a much latter addition to the 6th century church.

Despite the arid climate, the monastery contains a number of trees.

The Burning Bush mentioned in the Book of Exodus is one of the main reasons for pilgrims and tourists to make the effort coming to this remote location.

Many visitors gathered at the courtyard to take selfies with the Burning Bush.

The entrance fresco of the church depicts Jesus in Transfiguration.

Most of the monastery is off limit to tourists.

We slowly walked back to the parking lot of Mount Sinai for our minibus.

October 15, 2020 | Categories: Africa: Middle East, Egypt, Middle East 2006, Sinai | Tags: Burning Bush, Catherine, Christian, Christianity, Egypt, Islam, Jewish, Judaism, monastery, Muslim, Orthodox, Peninsula, pilgrim, pilgrimage, saint, Sinai, UNESCO, World Heritage | Leave a comment

ROYAL TOMBS, THEATRE & MONASTERY, Petra, Jordan

2006.05.20.

After the Treasury, we turned right and walked towards the centre of the former Nabataean capital city. On the hillside of El Nejr, a splendid theatre was carved out from the red sandstone in the 1st century. The 45 rows of seats could accommodate an audience of 8,500 people. Standing at the theatre offered us one of the best view of Petra: numerous rock cut mausoleums, commonly know as the Royal Tombs, carved into the great massif of Jebel Al Khubtha. From the theatre, we made our way uphill towards another icon of Petra: the Monastery (El Deir). It took us roughly an hour to reach the Monastery from the theatre. The Monastery was an important ceremonial temple for the Nabataeans. Similar to the Treasury, the Monastery is a rock-cut building carved out from the cliff. There is a large forecourt in front of the Monastery, probably a venue for religious ceremonies. Many believed the building was used as a church during the Byzantine era, which explained where the name Monastery came from. We sat down at an open tea shop across from the Monastery, where we rested for an hour with the iconic front elevation of the Monastery.

We visited two more lookouts uphill to see the arid valley scenery surrounding Petra. On our way out we stopped by more royal tombs and small cave dwellings. We were exhausted from the hike and heat, and our attention had shifted to the unique rock patterns that could be found allover Petra. From the centre of the lost city, it was another 2km before we returned to the visitor centre. Everyone seemed to be leaving at the same time, by horses, by donkey carts, on foot, etc. In the evening, we had a Bedouin cuisine dinner at Red Cave Restaurant and stayed a bit at the Internet cafe in Wadi Musa.

Probably constructed at around 70 AD, the Urn Tomb is one of the first Royal Tombs that we encountered in Petra.

Many believe the Urn Tomb was the final resting place of Nabataean King Malchus II who died in 70 AD.

The main chamber of the tomb was converted into a church during the Byzantine era.

Beside the Urn Tomb stands the Silk Tomb, a mausoleum well known for its rich sandstone patterns.

Nearby, the Corinthian Tomb resembles the feature of the iconic Treasury.

The facade of the Palace Tomb is three storey high. Some believe the Palace Tomb was inspired by Emperor Nero’s Domus Aurea (Golden House) in Rome.

Most of the tombs, caves and tunnels in the “Rose City” was built between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD.

15m in height and 8m in width, Tomb BD 70 is one of the few freestanding structure in Petra.

Both Tomb BD 70 and BD 69 are typical Hegra type tomb structures.

All the rock-cut structures have gone through two thousand years of erosion.

The main theatre of Petra faces east, and was renovated by the Romans during the 1st and 2nd century.

The seating area was entirely carved out of the rock cliff.

From the theatre, we could take in a fantastic view of the Royal Tomb cluster.

Qasr El-Bint (Temple of Dushares) is the largest freestanding structure in Petra.

Lion Triclinium was built in the 1st century intended for ritual banquets. The name obviously came from the two weathered lions at the entrance.

The trail up to the Monastery involves an uphill climb of 850 steps.

The walk to the Monastery took about 45 minutes to an hour.

Scenery of the arid valleys of Wadi Araba was one of the biggest rewards for the hike up to the Monastery.

Apart from the Treasury, the Monastery is probably the most famous structure in Petra. Dedicated to the Nabatean King Obodas I , the ancient temple was built in the 1st century AD.

September 24, 2020 | Categories: Asia: Middle East, Jordan, Middle East 2006, Petra | Tags: El Deir, Hegra, Jebel Al Khubtha, Jordan, monastery, Nabataean, Petra, theatre, tomb, UNESCO, World Heritage | Leave a comment

SUNSET AT PIDURANGALA ROCK, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, 2019.12.08

Day 4 (3 of 3).

Anyone who has done travel research on Sri Lanka would probably come across the dramatic image of the Sigiriya Rock rising above pristine jungle. Appearing on many travel literature and tourist promotions, the UNESCO World Heritage hilltop fortress atop Sigiriya Rock is on most tourist’s itinerary. Climbing the nation’s most popular attraction is best done in early morning or late afternoon to avoid getting stuck with the crowds on the narrow stairways. We decided to visit the hilltop fortress early in the morning. In the late afternoon prior, we opted for climbing the lesser known Pidurangala Rock.

Rising in the jungle across from the famous Sigiriya, Pidurangala Rock has been gaining huge popularity in recent years because of the impressive view of Sigiriya it offers from the top. Some travelers even suggest that climbing Pidurangala is more worthwhile than visiting the actual Sigiriya Rock. After arriving at the village of Sigiriya from Polonnaruwa and had a quick lunch at Chooti Restaurant, we hopped on a tuk tuk to the trailhead for Pidurangala Rock.

A short tuk tuk ride took us to the trailhead in the midst of thick dense forest. The trailhead is actually located behind Pidurangala Rajamaha Viharaya, a historical Buddhist monastery at the foot of Pidurangala Rock.

The 20-minute hike up the rock was relatively easy. Near the top, we reached a large reclining Buddha. In fact, Pidurangala Rock has been occupied by Buddhist monastery since ancient times.

The tricky part of the hike came at the very top, when we had to scramble up boulders in order to reach the top.

All the sweat of hiking up was more than worthwhile when we saw the scenery of Sigiriya Rock right in front of us.

The top of Pidurangala Rock is an open plateau, a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

We could hardly see the fortress on Sigiriya from Pidurangala Rock.

The colour of Sigiriya gradually changed as the sun set.

Rice paddy fields beyond the dense forest.

Apart from hikers, a few small dogs wandered around the top of Pidurangala Rock.

We picked a spot to sit down among other tourists to watch the sunset.

Watching the sunset on Pidurangala was one of the most calming experiences we have had among other sunset watching locations we have been to around the world.

Like most visitors, we stayed till the sun was gone before descending.

It got pretty dark by the time we returned to Pidurangala Rajamaha Viharaya at the base of the plateau.

We exited the monastery and reunited with our tuk tuk driver, who had been waiting for us at the trailhead.

For dinner at Sigiriya village, we picked Kenoli, a restaurant recommended by quite a few travelers online.

The friendly restaurant owners invited us to check out their kitchen, and showed us their cooking techniques.

We ordered a chicken kottu, a popular Sri Lankan dish with chopped rotti and chicken meat to complete our eventful day.

April 4, 2020 | Categories: Sigiriya & Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka 2019 | Tags: Buddha, Buddhist, Kenoli, Kottu, monastery, Pidurangala, Rajamaha, restaurant, rock, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, sunset, Viharaya | Leave a comment

ABHAYAGIRI MONASTERY, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, 2019.12.07

Day 3 (3 of 4).

From 399 to 414AD, Chinese monk Faxian traveled to India and Sri Lanka in search for Buddhist scriptures. In his travelogue A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, he documented the places he visited in his journey, including Anuradhapura where he stayed briefly in 412AD. Faxian gave the following account on Abhayagiri, the largest Buddhist monastery in Anuradhapura: “A monastery, called the Abhayagiri, where there are five thousand monks. There is in it a hall of Buddha, adorned with carved and inlaid works of gold and silver, and rich in the seven precious substances, in which there is an image (of Buddha) in green jade, more than twenty cubits in height, glittering all over with those substances, and having an appearance of solemn dignity which words cannot express. In the palm of the right hand there is a priceless pearl…”

Founded in the 2nd century BC, Abhayagiri Vihara was once a world renowned Buddhist monastery and learning institution attracting monks from all over Sri Lanka and surrounding countries including Java, Burma and India. In the 4th century, the Buddha’s tooth relic was brought to Sri Lanka from India. Abhayagiri was selected as the shrine and designated venue to showcase this precious relic in public veneration. Supported by different rulers, Abhayagiri continued to serve as the main hub of Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism until the 12th century, when Anuradhapura was sacked and abandoned, and the national capital was moved to Polonnaruwa. The magnificent monastery fell into ruins for 800 years until late 19th century and early 20th century when excavation and restoration work began. Today, Abhayagiri has become one of the largest clusters of ancient ruins in Sri Lanka, where gigantic stupa, stone pools, brick walls, foundations of multi storey buildings, and exquisite stone carvings in the midst of lush green jungle reveal the bygone glory of Anuradhapura two millennia ago.

After lunch at Sanctuary at Tissawewa, we hopped on a tuk tuk for Abhayagiri Dagoba, the largest monument in the monastery vicinity.

Although not as crowded as Ruwanwelisaya and Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Abhayagiri Dagoba is popular among local worshipers.

Believed to reach a height of 115m, Abhayagiri Dagoba was once the fourth tallest monument in the classical period, behind the Egyptian Pyramids in Giza and the Jethawanaramaya Dagoba.

The shrine in front of the stupa houses a reclining Buddha.

Abhayagiri Dagoba just went through a 15-year restoration at 2015 as a UNESCO project.

Devoted worshiper praying at the stupa.

The majestic stupa was the main focus of the entire Abhayagiri Vihara Monastery.

A group of Western Buddhists sat down and listen to the teaching of their mentor.

Another highlight at Abhayagiri Vihara is the ruins of Pancavasa palace hidden in the woods.

The Pancavasa was famous for its exquisite carvings.

Interesting carvings of Buddhist guardians at Pancavasa.

All these exquisite carvings are not the reason why tourists flock into the woods in search for the ruins of Pancavasa.

All tourists come here for one thing, the moonstone carving on the ground.

Moonstone is a unique architectural feature in Sri Lanka. It usually appears as a base landing at a set of steps. Moonstones symbolize samsara, the endless cycle of reincarnation and the path to nirvana. Each ring of animals represents a successive phase of one’s passage through samsara.

The last thing we checked out in the monastery area was the Samadhi Buddha Statue. The statues is believed to be part of a sacred Bodhi tree shrine.

The 7′-3″ Samadhi Buddha Statue was carved out from a dolomite marble. Sculpted in around the 5th century, the statue is considered one of the nation’s finest.

March 28, 2020 | Categories: Anuradhapura & Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka 2019 | Tags: Abhayagiri, Anuradhapura, archaeology, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, dagoba, heritage, monastery, Moonstone, Pancavasa, Samadhi, samsara, Sri Lanka, stupa, UNESCO, Vihara, world | Leave a comment

DAY 10 (2/2): LAST DAY IN LHASA (ལྷ་ས་ 拉薩), Tibet (བོད་ 西藏), 2017.09.25

Our driver Sangzhu dropped us near our hotel Trichang Labrang (赤江拉讓藏式賓館) in Barkhor Old Town. After dropping off our bags, we stopped by the eatery beside the hotel for a quick bite. The friendly eatery owners, a talkative young couple, were excited to welcome us and chatted with us. We ordered a Nepali platter, fried momo and two cans of local beer to celebrate the completion of our road trip. The momos were quite delicious, and went well with the beer made with Highland Barley. It was the last full day of the trip. After filling our stomach, we didn’t want to visit any attractions, but spent time wandering in Barkhor Old Town, checking out souvenirs, watching people, and photographing anything that interested us, until the dinner time. For dinner, we decided to try the Tibetan hotpot at “Our Tibetan Restaurant” (咱们的藏餐馆).

After returning to Lhasa, we stopped by the small local eatery next door from Trichang Labrang Hotel. The young owners were friendly and talkative.

To celebrate the completion of our 6-day road trip, we ordered some local beer and highland barley wine.

The most delicious snack we ordered was the fried momo (Tibetan dumplings).

For dinner, we revisited the “Our Tibetan Restaurant” (咱们的藏餐馆), the atmospheric courtyard restaurant nearby.

Again we ordered the highland barley wine (青稞酒). The wine came in an interesting bird-like pottery jar.

The main dish of the meal was the Tibetan hotpot. It came with vegetables, melons, beef, ham and yak meat.

We wanted to linger around Barkhor Old Town for a little longer after dinner.

In front of Jokhang Monastery (གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌། 大昭寺), pilgrims, worshiped on the stone pavers as usual.

Other than pilgrims, tourists also gathered at the Jokhang forecourt.

In front of Jokhang main entrance, more pilgrims gathered to worship, including some Buddhist monks.

The sky was getting dark but the Jokhang forecourt was getting even more crowded.

Some pilgrims preferred to stay near the large flag pole in front of the Jokhang.

Around Jokhang, groups after groups of pilgrims and tourists walked the kora in clockwise direction around Lhasa’s most sacred site.

The kora route was flanked one side by souvenir shops and the other by the majestic facade of the Jokhang.

Along the kora route, many pilgrims were performing prostration the entire way.

Some tourists treated the pilgrimage forecourt as a public plaza and sat on the pavers to chill out among the pilgrims.

Among pilgrims and tourists, chilling out in the Jokhang forecourt included this large and gorgeous husky.

We would certainly miss the spiritual atmosphere of the Jokhang forecourt.

On our way back to Trichang Labrang Hotel, we passed by one last time the store where we bought our bottled water everyday of our Lhasa stay. The next morning, we would take the airport shuttle bus near the Potala and fly back to Hong Kong via Chengdu. Although short, it was a delightful experience for the three of us on the unique Tibetan culture and magnificent Himalayan landscape. Hopefully next time we could have more time and travel further to the western corner of Tibet.

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More blog posts on Tibet 2017:
JOURNEY ABOVE THE CLOUDS, Tibet 2017 (西藏之旅2017)
DAY 1: TOUCHDOWN ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD, Lhasa
DAY 1: TRICHANG LABRANG HOTEL (赤江拉讓藏式賓館), Lhasa
DAY 1: KORA AT BARKHOR STREET (八廓街), Lhasa
DAY 2: FIRST GLIMPSE OF POTALA (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 2: KORA OF DREPUNG MONASTERY (哲蚌寺), Lhasa
DAY 2: DREPUNG MONASTERY (哲蚌寺), Lhasa
DAY 2: JOKHANG MONASTERY (大昭寺), Lhasa
DAY 2 : SPINN CAFE (風轉咖啡館), Lhasa
DAY 2: NIGHT VIEW OF POTALA (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 3: POTALA PALACE (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 3: SERA MONASTERY (色拉寺), Lhasa
Day 4: KORA OF GANDEN MONASTERY (甘丹寺), Lhasa
Day 4: GANDEN MONASTERY (甘丹寺), Lhasa
DAY 4: TEA HOUSE AND FAMILY RESTAURANT, Lhasa
DAY 5: ON THE ROAD IN TIBET
DAY 5: MORNING IN SHANNAN (山南)
DAY 5: SAMYE MONASTERY (桑耶寺), Shannan
DAY 5: SAMYE TOWN (桑耶鎮), Shannan
DAY 6: YAMDROK LAKE (羊卓雍錯)
DAY 6: PALCHO MONASTERY (白居寺), Gyantse
DAY 6: WORDO COURTYARD (吾爾朵大宅院), Shigatse
DAY 7: ROAD TO EVEREST BASE CAMP (珠峰大本營)
DAY 7: EVEREST BASE CAMP (珠峰大本營)
DAY 7: STARRY NIGHT, Everest Base Camp
DAY 8: PANG LA PASS (加烏拉山口), Mount Everest Road
DAY 8: SAKYA MONASTERY (薩迦寺)
DAY 9: TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY, (扎什倫布寺) Shigatse
DAY 9: ROAD TO NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 9: EVENING AT NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 10: SUNRISE AT NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 10: LAST DAY IN LHASA, Tibet
EPILOGUE: FACES OF LHASA, Tibet

February 3, 2018 | Categories: China, China: Tibet 2017, Tibet | Tags: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, བོད་, ལྷ་ས་, Barkhor, barley, beer, Buddhism, 西藏, food, highland, Jokhang, kora, Lhasa, momo, monastery, pilgrim, pilgrimage, restaurant, Tibet, Tibetan, 咱们的藏餐馆, 大昭寺, 拉薩 | Leave a comment

DAY 9 (1/3): TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY (བཀྲ་ཤིས་ལྷུན་པོ་ 扎什倫布寺), Shigatse (日喀則), Tibet (西藏), 2017.09.24

Before leaving Shigatse for Namtso Lake, we spent the morning at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (བཀྲ་ཤིས་ལྷུན་པོ་ 扎什倫布寺). Probably the most influential monastery in the Shigatse area, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is very popular with local pilgrims. Founded by the 1st Dalai Lama in 1447, the 70,000 sq.m monastery remains as the largest functioning monastery in Tibet. In the past five centuries, Tashi Lhunpo has been the traditional seat of Panchen Lama (པན་ཆེན་བླ་མ 班禪喇嘛), the second highest tulku (སྤྲུལ་སྐུ 活佛) in the Gelug school, just after the Dalai Lama. During the turbulence years of the Cultural Revolution, buildings and relics of the monastery had been damaged. Fortunately, damages of the Tashi Lhunpo was relatively small compared to most other monasteries in Tibet.

Walking in the labyrinth of cobblestone lanes of the enormous monastery ground, visitors can absorb the spiritual air and wander through prayer halls, chapels, chortens and courtyards, admire beautiful Buddhist artworks including the 26m statue of Jampa (Maitreya) Future Buddha, and pay respect to the tombs of the past Panchen Lamas. Other than the gold gilded statues and architectural features, what interested us during our visit of Tashi Lhunpo were the pilgrims who came from all over Tibet and China. From teenagers to elderly, the pilgrims’ gratifying expression and devoted prayers demonstrated to us how Buddhist traditions still remained strong in today’s Tibet.

All visitors to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery would pass through the lingkhor (sacred path) along the external enclosure wall.

The 70,000 sq.m Tashi Lhunpo Monastery sits on the mountain slope west of Shigatse city.

Inside the monastery ground, a network of flagstone paths led us to a village of chapels, chortens and prayer wheels.

The first objects captured our eyes as we entered to the core area of the monastery were the three large chortens.

At 9:30am the sun of the highland was already scorching hot.

Pilgrims and monks in the vivid setting of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery provided us the best subject for photos.

Many lamas we saw at Tashi Lhunpo were actually visitors from other areas of Tibet.

Jamba Chyenmu or Maitreya Temple (强巴佛殿) is the tallest building in Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Erected in 1914 by the ninth Panchen Lama, it houses the 26.2m statue of Maitreya Buddha. The enormous statue contains 279kg of gold and 150,000kg of copper and brass.

The chorten of the Tenth Panchen Lama is one of the most popular pilgrimage spot in the monastery. The three-tiered chorten is decorated with large amount of gold, silver and gemstones.

Semi-precious stones were used to decorated the entrance vestibule of chapels (in this case the Buddhist swastika was created on the floor). Many pilgrims would knee down and touch the decoration before entering the building.

Other than statues and chortens, a number of architectural features such as a building column could also become a subject of worship for worshipers.

Outside of the monastery, we could see the beautiful mountains across the city of Shigatse.

After visiting a number of the chorten halls (chapels housing the tombs of Panchen Lamas), we arrived at the upper court of the Gyeni Chanting Hall. The gilded roofs and turrets of the Gyeni Chanting Hall can be seen from far away.

As we walked down the ramp near the Gyeni Chanting Hall, we could see right behind us the Thangka Wall used for unfolding the gigantic thangka during festivals.

Below the Gyeni Chanting Hall, we arrived at the Chuajing Duogang, the great courtyard paved with flagstones.

The Chuajing Duogang was another popular spot for pilgrims.

Surrounding the cloister of Chuajing Duogang, we could admire the fresco depicting over 1000 images of Sakyamuni (Buddha).

The Sakyamuni were drawn with hands gesturing the five symbolic poses (mudras).

Looking up from the colonnade of Chuajing Duogang, the splendid Gyeni Chanting Hall looked grand and magnificent.

Beautiful fresco could be seen all over Tashi Lhunpo, including the wall at the lower exit of Chuajing Duogang.

After a 2.5 hour visit of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, it was time for us to find our way to the exit and departed from Shigatse.

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January 27, 2018 | Categories: China, China: Tibet 2017, Tibet | Tags: བཀྲ་ཤིས་ལྷུན་པོ་, Buddha, Buddhism, chanting, chorten, Chuajing Duogang, 西藏, Gyeni, Jamba Chyenmu, kora, lama, lingkhor, Maitreya, monastery, Panchen, pilgrim, pilgrimage, prayer, Sakyamuni, Shigatse, stupa, Tashi Lhunpo, Tibet, 强巴佛殿, 扎什倫布寺, 日喀則 | Leave a comment

DAY 8 (1/2): SAKYA MONASTERY (ས་སྐྱ་དགོན་པ། 薩迦寺), Tibet (西藏), 2017.09.23

Founded by Konchok Gyelpo in 1073, Sakya Monastery is the seat of Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. During its heyday in the 13th and 14th centuries, Sakya abbots were the actual governors of Tibet under the Mongol’s rule. There are actually two monasteries in Sakya at either side of Trum-Chu River. While the older north monastery (1073) with its 108 structures has been reduced to ruins over the years, the fortress like south monastery (1268) survives and remains as one of the largest in Tibet. The impressive fortress like monastery washed with ash grey and white and red vertical stripes symbolizes the trinity of Bodhisattva, and had became the symbol of Sakya. Everything at Sakya is large in size, from its 16m high main assembly hall to the extensive defensive walls.

Many refers Sakya Monastery as Dunhuang (敦煌) of Tibet because of its remarkable murals, artefacts, and medieval scriptures. Sealed behind a wall and rediscovered in 2003, the 60m long by 10m tall library wall (拉康欽莫大經堂) behind the altar in the main assembly hall is particularly impressive. It contains a huge variety of text, 84000 in total, made of different materials and about different subjects from the Yuan Dynasty when Tibet was under Mongol rule. The equally important murals made in the Mongolian style are also a rarity in China nowadays. In the main assembly hall, the most valuable object is probably the white conch shell (海螺). Legends has it that the conch shell originally belonged to the Buddha. Then it went into the hands of an Indian king, and later became an offering to Kublai Khan (忽必列). Kublai Khan gave the sacred object to Sakya and it remained in the monastery until present day. Still capable to make a soft low sound, the conch is still blown by the monk to give blessing to pilgrims. While we were visiting the main assembly hall, we did see a monk took out the conch to offer blessing to the pilgrims, who were so excited and eager to get as close as possible to the sacred object. Also from Kublai Khan was one of the huge wood columns in the assembly hall. With a diameter ranging from 1m to 1.5m, these wood columns are quite impressive disregard who its donor might be.

As soon as we arrived in Sakya, our driver Sangzhu took us to the large dining hall of Manasarovar Sakya Hotel Restaurant for lunch.

Unlike most other Tibetan monasteries, Sakya’s grey walls with red and white stripes offer a unique visual symbol for Sakya in the past 900+ years.

We headed into the entrance courtyard of Sakya and soon found out that almost all buildings were locked. Apparently the monks were having lunch somewhere else and we had no choice but to wait for their.

In front of the main assembly hall, we stood by the stone lion and wait for the monk’s return.

Soon more local visitors arrived and waited for the monk’s return. We decided to take a walk in the enormous compound.

We followed the long and narrow kora route around the central complex. There were prayer wheels on one side and the defensive high walls on the opposite.

The buildings in Sakya Monastery all seemed really large to us.

The Western style lamppost and the ash grey wall with red and white stripes somehow didn’t seem too coherent visually.

At last the monk with the keys showed up and led us into the inner monastery.

Beyond the gate, a dark hallway with beautiful murals and old prayer wheels led us into the inner courtyard.

Going through the dark hallway with religious murals on both sides felt like going back in time.

Without extensive renovations, many murals in Sakya were gradually fading.

From the inner courtyard, we walked into the main assembly hall. In the main hall, we saw the famous white conch shell, wood columns, historical murals and most impressive of all, the 10m high library wall behind the altar. Just like most other monasteries in Tibet, photography of the interior is prohibited.