Tibet Diaries - Day 2 in Lhasa
The Laid Back Monks of Lhasa!
Travel date - 28th April, 2016.
Monk life! I sure would like to be one now myself after observing their laid back life in the monasteries (oh how wrong I was!). Maybe it was harder back in the days when Dalai Lama was still here or maybe I am being too judgemental about how monks should be. We spent the second day in Lhasa visiting the most famous Buddhism school in Tibet and few other monasteries in town.
Teacher of all monks in the Buddhism school. Those lines on his face say more than his wisdom.
The most vivid memory I have of this day is of talking to the head Monk of the Buddhism school (picture above) in his late 90s who was idling on the balcony and observing tourists walking around in the school. He smiled at me so I went to him. My guide followed and translated my short conversation with the Head Monk about Buddhism. I was happy that he chose to speak to me of all the tourists hanging around. He even let me take pictures of him.
Head Monk. Coz front view was not enough.
I found out later through locals that the number of young boys going to Buddhism school to become a monk has reduced considerably over the years (from thousands to few hundreds). The age old tradition of sending young boys to the school is dying.
And why wouldn't it? It was a shocker to find Chinese army guarding all the monasteries that we visited. There was even CCTV camera outside all the entrances.
It was sad to see that even in this day and age, there is a beautiful country on a distant land still not independent. At least the cat below was free to snooze anywhere he wanted in the school.
Cat taking a nap
The day went on snapping pictures of different Buddhas inside the monasteries, walking through tiny doors. I guess the presence of so many monks around you has a calming effect coz I never felt so peaceful in my entire life.
The humming sound of the chants, the smell of the incense sticks, all the intricate details on the Buddha sculptures, everything comes back to me vividly as I think back and I get goosebumps.
In front of the Buddhism school.
Rest of the day went away walking around the busy street of Barkhor which is the oldest street in Lhasa. Even my fellow travellers were busy observing the surroundings and we collectively found comfort in silence which I mostly do.
It is not that I hate talking or that I am shy because I can be very talkative and strike up an engaging conversation with strangers especially when I am travelling. It's just that I tend to get lost deep in my thoughts during my travels and get immersed in appreciating the surrounding and people around me or just have inner funny conversations with God which doesn't turn into a debate.
Second day in Lhasa went away doing just that but I was still eagerly counting days to finally be at Lake Namtso or the Sky Lake. It felt like waiting to see your lover after may years. I still couldn't quite understand my obsession with it but what was waiting for me there turned out to be a life changing experience.
To be continued....