Chapter 7 5. Visit the Three Great Monasteries in Lhasa

This is the final destination of the long pilgrimage road measured by the Tibetan people outside the Jokhang Temple after a long journey, even one step at a time.When they raised their weather-beaten heads and stared up, the golden Buddha was smiling, blessing every life that yearns for happiness with his infinite compassion and wisdom. Lhasa at the end of July is the rainy season.On a rainy afternoon, I came to visit the most famous thousand-year-old temple in Lhasa—the Jokhang Temple with reverence.Walk westward for ten minutes from the Balangxue Hotel where you live, turn left into Barkhor Street, and with the continuous flow of people, you will come to the main entrance of Jokhang Temple.Suddenly stunned by the scene in front of them, many ragged people rushed to the ground, slid forward, and crawled on the stone floor; and repeated the "kowtow" that best expresses their piety The movement, completely disregarding the muddy water on the ground; for their own beliefs, perhaps these people have used this movement to go through thousands of rivers and mountains.At this moment, I was so shocked that I didn't even dare to pass by them, so I could only "slip" into the Jokhang Temple from the side.In the patio-style courtyard, there are many Tibetans who are cleaning the ground and scrubbing the bowls of butter lamps. Further inside is a long group of butter lamps and a turning passage.I also imitated the Tibetans to turn the huge prayer wheel, and finally got a hand of ghee.On that day, I was very lucky, because Nyima Tsering, director of the management committee of the Jokhang Temple, a learned lama, personally received a visiting delegation from the inland education circle, and I followed behind, and was taught a vivid lecture on Tibetan history. and religion class.

Taking a photo with Nima Tsering at the Golden Summit of Jokhang Temple The Jokhang Temple was built in the middle of the seventh century AD.After Songtsan Gampo married Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty and Princess Chizun of Nepal, Princess Wencheng observed the sky at night and the geography in the day, and presided over the establishment of the temple according to the principle of mutual generation and restraint of the five elements. The eight-year-old Jiamuni is the "immovable Vajra Statue".The Jokhang Temple is the most glorious Tupan period building in Tibet.Under the guidance of Nima Tsering, he entered the main hall of the Jokhang Temple, and saw huge statues of Guru Rinpoche and Jamba Buddha (the future Buddha, also known as Maitreya Buddha) enshrined on both sides.In the Sutra Hall of the main hall, two statues of Master Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, a statue of Guanyin and three statues of future Buddhas are enshrined.According to Buddhist scriptures, Maitreya, the future Buddha, was prophesied by Sakyamuni himself. He will become a Buddha 5.67 billion years after the Buddha himself passed away.Every year on the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month in the Tibetan calendar, a prayer assembly is held in the Jokhang Temple to pray for Maitreya Buddha to come to the world as soon as possible.The millennium-old pillars in the Great Sutra Hall still stand. On the beams and pillars, there are many carvings and vivid patterns. Especially between the first and double eaves on the hall corridor, 108 human-masked sphinxes and beasts are lined up, with unique shapes.Looking around the walls of the main hall, the murals are full of superb techniques, the characters painted are lifelike, and reflect the painting styles of different eras in Tibet.The main content of the painting is the story of the Buddha's life, various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; in addition, there are scenes of Princess Wencheng's entry into Tibet, the process of building the Jokhang Temple, and the celebration of Songtsan Gambo in the Potala Palace. scene etc.

Surrounding the Great Sutra Hall is a small Buddha Hall. Nima led us to the Sakyamuni Buddha Hall located in the middle of the Great Sutra Hall, and introduced that this is the core of the Jokhang Temple, where Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty was enshrined. The 12-year-old Sakyamuni "Ruyibao Statue" brought into Tibet in AD 641 is called "Juewo Sakyamuni" in Tibetan scriptures.According to the Buddhist scriptures, this statue was shaped by the believers according to the image of the Buddha at the age of 12 when the Buddha Sakyamuni was alive, and was presided over by the Buddha himself. The real image of Kamuni, the majority of Buddhist believers all regard it as the greatest blessing and relief to be able to see and worship in this life.This is also the final destination of the long pilgrimage road measured by the Tibetan people outside the Jokhang Temple after a long journey, even step by step.When they raised their weather-beaten heads and stared up, the golden Buddha was smiling, blessing every life that yearns for happiness with his infinite compassion and wisdom.When Nima mentioned this, many people, including me, were so moved by this complete and thorough belief that tears filled their eyes. They stood here for a long time, put their hands together, bowed silently and then fell to the ground to worship.According to Nima, the Jokhang Temple was originally used to enshrine the "Fudo Vajra Statue" invited by Princess Chizun.Later, after the death of Songtsen Gampo, there was a conflict between the Tang Dynasty and Turpan, and the 12-year-old "Ruyibao Statue" of Sakyamuni stored in the Ramoche Temple was sealed.Later, Princess Jincheng, who came from the Tang Dynasty, invited the "Statue of Ruyibao" into the Jokhang Temple again, and enshrined the "Statue of Immovable King Kong" in Ramoche Temple. It is a great loss for the Buddhist community.When I walked out of the Jokhang Temple, my heart was full of excitement. Although I didn't believe in Buddhism, I felt extremely gratified to see the real body of the Buddha today.

People holding long heads in front of the Jokhang Temple In order to go to Drepung Monastery, I woke up very early.After some bargaining with the taxi driver, the deal was settled at 15 yuan.The car drove to Genpeiwuzi Mountain in the western suburbs of Lhasa. On the southern slope of this mountain, there is the Drepung Monastery, the largest temple of the Gelug Sect founded by Master Tsongkhapa's second son, Jiangyang Quejie. "Drepung" means "rice gathering", which symbolizes prosperity.When we approached Drepung Monastery, we found that there were already many Buddhist pilgrims walking on the mountain path.The scale of Drepung Monastery is very grand. From a distance, rows of buildings cover the hillside.It costs 25 yuan to buy a ticket to enter the temple. The lanes here are crisscrossed, just like a city filling.Walking into the central building of Drepung, the Tsoqin Hall (called the Daxiong Hall in the Mainland), you can see the statue of the Buddha Mother with a large white umbrella that is mainly enshrined in the room. There are countless arms around her body, and there is an eye on each arm, which shows that she has great powers. Can protect all living beings.There are many Buddha statues in the hall, mainly the past, present and future Buddhas; all of them have lifelike expressions and vivid shapes.Among them, the most famous one is Jamba Tongzhuo Buddha, who will be the main Buddha in the next century. It is said that seeing the Buddha's face can bless the Buddha's divine power and help all living beings out of suffering.Surrounding the Tsochin Hall are many buildings called dratsangs, which are actually Buddhist colleges, where lamas from Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai, Yunnan, Sichuan and other places study religion, history, culture and Tibetan medicine.When I left, I looked back at this ancient temple, and saw the golden dome hidden in the green trees shining in the midday sun, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds.

Sera Monastery is located at the foot of Sera Wuzi Mountain in the northern suburb of Lhasa. "Sera" means wild rose. Sera Monastery was founded in 1419 by Sakyamuni, a disciple of Tsongkhapa, and its scale is slightly smaller than Drepung Monastery.Visiting Sera Monastery was something I only realized after returning from Ali.At that time, I was dragged by several playmates to the celestial burial platform on the mountain behind Sera Monastery, but when I reached the foot of the mountain, I hesitated.Because on the way to and from Ngari, I read through Sogyal Rinpoche's book. At this time, I realized that my curiosity-seeking psychology was contrary to the most sacred dignity bestowed by Tibetan Buddhism on death, so I didn't dare to go up in the end.It was in such a mood that I only passed the Tsochin Hall in Sera Monastery and several large dratsangs around it.I found many vivid petroglyphs on the rocky cliffs of the back mountain, which made me stop for a while.

Rock paintings on the mountain behind Sera Monastery I regret not going to Ganden Monastery, which is known as the head of the Gelugpa monastery.Ganden Monastery is located in Dazi County, 47 kilometers east of Lhasa. It was founded in 1409 by Master Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect.Unfortunately, the Ganden Monastery was devastated during the Cultural Revolution, and it was almost in ruins. Even the body of Master Tsongkhapa was destroyed. It is said that it was still alive at that time.After years of restoration, I don't know how the Ganden Monastery is restored now?