Sera Monastery

I went up to Sera Monastery just north of Lhasa. The monastery was founded in 1419 and it currently houses about 600 monks (the original population was 5000). The elevated sidewalks of the monastery reminded me of Pompei. The streets are shaded by tall trees and the courtyards hold a few surprises like the library, and a solar powered water boiling system.



The monks filled the shaded rock courtyard next to the main temple around 3pm and within a few minutes the sound of unsynchronized clapping and Tibetan words filled the air. Debating is part and parcel of the monk's duties. Although not everyone takes it seriously. One monk hid his cellphone in his red shall texting while the other two people on his team answered the questions. The participants get more animated as the debate progresses. Sometimes two or three monks ganged up on one and shouted questions/responses at him. One monk grabbed the head of another and started rubbing it. All this had an aire of theatricality about it. It made for a great picture taking opportunity.






I went back to the Blue Buddha a few days ago and this time I had a fully charged digital camera on hand. Here are some of the pictures.

Skull on prayer flags.

Clay offerings of a Goddess drying near the cliff.

Rock paintings on the cliff.

Prayers in the sky.