Travel Notes on Tibet | Traveling around Mount Kailash (Part 1)

words written in front

It took me three years after returning from the mountains to complete this travelogue. Mainly because I am lazy, and secondly because I am not in the mood to write. My health has started to improve recently, so before my memory is completely lost, I will write down a running account.

The first time I came up with the idea of doing Mount Kailash was before the arrival of the Year of the Horse in 2014. Kailash belongs to the Horse. One trip to the mountain in the Year of the Horse can increase the merits by 12 times, which is equivalent to 13 times in other years. For a lazy Buddhist like me, of course I don’t want to miss something like this that gets twice the result with half the effort. Probably because of impure intentions, in the Year of the Horse, all aspects of the causes and conditions were immature, and the wish to travel to the mountains was not realized.

In 2017, "Kang Rinpoche" directed by Zhang Yang became a hit. After watching the movie, the idea of going to the mountains was awakened again. Thinking that the third animal year of my life is coming soon, I have to do something special to commemorate it. So on New Year’s Day of 2018, I made a wish to travel to the mountains.

Australian writer Rhonda Byrne wrote a book called "The Secret", which talks about the law of attraction. This law has three elements: first, create an idea; second, repeat the idea over and over again and turn it into belief; third, belief will make it happen.

Because of this law of attraction, it finally helped me stand at the feet of Kailash. From the immaturity of various causes and conditions when making the wish to the successful completion of the mountain circumambulation, the various miracles that occurred during the process made me more convinced of what Buddhism says: the greater the power of the wish, the greater the success.

More than 100 years ago, when the French missionary missionary Gu Bocha traveled through Tibet, he commented from a pagan perspective on the pious custom of the Tibetan people to climb the most dangerous and steep mountains in the area: "They firmly believe that those who are lucky enough to reach the top of the mountain People will be completely forgiven of all their sins. One thing is certain, even if this mountain does not have the power to forgive the sinner, it at least has the power to give long-term and great patience to those who cross it."

For me, simplicity comes from simplicity. There is excitement and anticipation before going up the mountain, but exhaustion and exhaustion after. At the moment when I turned around the mountain, I knew that the distance was so long and I knew where the end point was. Apart from focusing on taking every step, there seemed to be no better way to cheer myself up.

The Journey to the Mountain and the Journey of Life actually without No matter how long the journey is, it has an end and is full of unpredictable changes. There are ups and downs, sometimes it is rainy and sometimes it is sunny; there are moments of joy and there are moments of frustration and collapse. The most important thing is to learn to be aware of the present moment in the process, and mindfulness can defeat all demons in the heart.

Arrive

June 10th - June 12th Beijing-Lhasa 4064 kilometers

The flight to Lhasa on the afternoon of June 10th was auspicious and the landing was smooth.

On the highway from the airport to Lhasa, a sandstorm rolled in. The driver, tour guide and photographer of this trip to the mountains, Nawei Ge, said that the gods of Tibet are worried that you are homesick, so they welcome you with a familiar smell... Well, I can't refute this explanation.

This time I stayed at the Ruixin Inn run by Sister Damai. I am grateful for my previous experience in the secret sky when I met Sister Damai. It is also because meeting again this time opened the door to tea ceremony practice. This will be discussed later.

It was already half past seven in the evening when we arrived at the inn, and the sun was still shining brightly. Yuxin Inn is not far from the center of Lhasa. It is a typical Tibetan old house with a very comfortable atmosphere. Various beautiful plants grow randomly in the yard. The pine tree in the yard is the most eye-catching. The name of the inn is also derived from the pine tree whose canopy covers the entire small yard. "Lanxin" is the pronunciation of "pine tree" in Tibetan.

Standing on the roof of the inn, you can see the Potala Palace on Red Mountain. The location can be said to be very quiet amidst the bustle. The Blue Sky Inn in the movie "Seventy-seven Days" is here. Sister Damai specially left us the room where Jiang Yiyan lived in the movie, which can be regarded as an experience of the same style as a star. The most special and awesome thing about the inn is the more than twenty antique cameras collected in the study room, each of which has an extraordinary origin. Therefore, this place has also become the secret base of photography masters in Lhasa. Unfortunately, I am a photography novice. After listening to Sister Damai’s introduction, I could only express my feelings by saying “Wow! Wow! Wow!” constantly.

In order to face the challenge of high altitude and physical strength in the next eight or nine days, we specially spent two days in Lhasa to rest and adapt to the thin and low-oxygen plateau environment. During this period, we took my friends on this trip to Yaowang Mountain and Dazhao Mountain. Temple and Sera Monastery.

Yaowang Mountain was the first place I went to when I first came to Lhasa, and I felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to it. Although it is not as famous as the Jokhang Temple, anyone who has used the fifth set of RMB has become familiar with it. That’s right, the Potala Palace on the back of the current 50 yuan yuan was photographed halfway up Yaowang Mountain.

On the way from the foot of the mountain to the Chalalup Cave Temple (also known as Puluyan Temple) on the east side of the mountain, you can see many Buddha statues and six-character mantras carved on the cliff next to it. There are stone carvers here who carve stones religiously all year round. If you are willing, you can pay a little change.

The Chalalup Grotto Temple was excavated during the Songtsen Gampo era. The cave temple covers an area of less than 30 square meters and is dedicated to Sakyamuni Buddha. The surrounding cave walls are covered with stone statues, and it is said that there are as many as 71 of them. There are more Tibetans than tourists in the Charalup Cave Temple. Tibetan pilgrims will bring their own butter, or buy a bucket of butter in front of the temple and put it in the big butter lamp in front of the Buddha, and then circle the Buddha along the cave wall. Pray for blessings.

There is a Wall of Ten Thousand Buddhas behind Yaowang Mountain, which is also very spectacular. In the small square in front of the wall, there are many Tibetans prostrating themselves all year round. Friends who are interested can stop by and make a pilgrimage.

The next day, the weather was still sunny. I woke up naturally, had brunch, and took a taxi to Sera Monastery on Sera Uzi Mountain in the northern suburbs of Lhasa.

Lhasa in mid-June still belongs to the Tibetan people. The summer vacation has not yet begun, and the huge army of tourists are still on the road. Most of the people passing by in the temple are Tibetans who come to worship together in twos and threes.

As one of the six main monasteries of the Gelug Sect in Tibet, Sera Monastery, together with Drepung Monastery and Ganden Monastery, are collectively known as the three major monasteries in Lhasa. It has a history of nearly 600 years.

The full name of Sera Monastery is "Sela Mahayana", which means "Wild Rose" in Tibetan. Legend has it that in the early days, wild roses grew around the Sera Monastery, but unfortunately they can no longer be seen. The most well-known place here is the sutra debate venue. We happened to catch up with a sutra debate. Sitting in the sutra debate venue and watching the monks arguing fiercely and seriously in Tibetan, it was easy to feel inexplicably moved.

Cultivation is a painful and lonely thing, but a true practitioner can reach a state of mind that transcends this suffering and loneliness. This is precisely why there are so many temptations in the world, but there are always a group of people who are willing to give up their prosperity and wealth to pursue the ultimate truth of life.

In the Haya Tau Vajra Hall of Sera Monastery, I saw many Tibetans lining up to enter the hall holding khatas. I followed the large group into the hall and walked around, and then I found that the lamas in the hall would dip their index fingers into the black ink on the butter lamp in front of the Buddha statue. A light tap on the child's nose. No wonder I saw many Tibetan children with such black spots outside the temple before.

Seeing my curious face, the old lama smiled and touched my nose. After searching online, I realized that this is an ancient custom in Lhasa: soon after the baby is born, the parents will take the baby to the Sera Monastery in front of King Hayagriva and touch the nose with smoke embers to pray for blessing. If a child at home often cries at night or has nightmares, the parents will bring them to the temple to click on them. It is said that this can help the child sleep peacefully at night. Well, thank you to the old lama who lit the cigarette for me. He is indeed still a baby.

After coming out of Sera Monastery, I was a little hungry and thirsty, so I randomly found a sweet teahouse on the roadside to rest. Lhasa sweet tea is actually milk tea and can be found everywhere. Although there are no pearls, it is sweet but not greasy, thirst quenching and comforting. The price is also very affordable, at 10 yuan for a large pot, my friend and I were full for two people.

In short, the days before turning to the mountain were to be peaceful, look at the clouds and drink tea in a daze.

Set off

June 13-14 Lhasa-Shigatse-Zhongba County 931 kilometers

The day of departure for Kailash coincided with Wednesday, so I went to Zhaji Temple to pay homage early in the morning.

Zhaji Temple is the only God of Wealth in Tibet. According to Tibetan customs, people worship the God of Wealth every Monday, pray for peace on Wednesdays, and pray for health on Fridays. By chance, the Buddha is cheering us up and protecting us for a safe journey.

The first stop after leaving Zhaji Monastery is Nietang Monastery, about 30 kilometers outside Lhasa. Nietang is the place where Venerable Atisha stayed in Xixi for 9 years and passed away. In the second year of Venerable Atisha's death, his disciple Zhongdunpa built a Tara temple here. I first learned about this Tara Temple from the book "Interpretation of the Praise of the Twenty-One Mothers" preached by Khenpo Sodarji, because I have always had great faith in Green Tara and vowed to visit it as often as possible. There is a temple enshrining the statue of Tara, so I asked Weige specifically before setting off and learned that the Tara Temple was in the same direction as we were going, so we couldn’t miss it.

The Tara Hall is not big, and there are only two monks quietly sorting out the change. Seeing me coming in, he nodded at me kindly. I was a little excited when I saw the statue of Tara that I had been thinking about seeing each other for a long time, just like a child who had realized his wish to eat sweets.

/ Photos taken with the consent of the lama in the temple

Continuing on our journey, Wei Ge recommended us to visit Xia Zhulin Temple, saying that the body of the Auspicious Heavenly Mother is enshrined there, a body of a girl that has not decayed for thousands of years. There was no particularly detailed guide along the way on this trip, and we basically just stopped along the way. When I heard that there was such a magical place, I naturally wanted to visit it.

Traveling southwest along the Yarlung Zangbo River, we soon saw the Xia Zhulin Temple built on the Gongrigabu Mountain. The car was driving on the winding mountain road, and the altitude increased little by little. The scenery outside the car window became more and more vast and yellow. The white temple complex stands out against the blue sky.

Because we were in a hurry, we entered the temple and went straight to the side hall where the physical body of the Auspicious Heavenly Mother is enshrined. The side hall is located in an inconspicuous corner in front of the main hall. I entered the hall with curiosity and awe, and saw the physical body of the auspicious Heavenly Mother under the guidance of Juemu, the guardian of the hall. How to say it? It was the first time to look at the "rainbow body" mentioned in the book at such a close distance, and it felt quite amazing.

It is said that this girl sat down 1,000 years ago and was only 12 years old when she passed away. After her death, her body naturally shrank to only one elbow high, and she assumed the sitting posture of Tara. Because it is said that she is the true incarnation of the auspicious deity born of Green Tara (as expected, I have a lot of fate with Green Tara...), so she is enshrined here.

/ Coming out of the side hall, I found a door next to it. When I peeked curiously, I found that the scenery outside the door was unique.

The first time I learned about Yamdrok Yumcu was through the photos taken by teacher Zhao Lishan. The tranquil emerald blue lake instantly hit my heart. It was probably just love at first sight. After dreaming about it for three or four years, I finally got what I wanted during this trip.

Yamdrok Yumco, Namtso and Manasarovar are also known as the three holy lakes in Tibet. In Tibetan, sheep refers to the top, Zhuo means pasture, Yong means jasper, and Cuo means lake. Together they are the "jasper lake in the pasture above". Because the shape of the entire lake is like a coral branch, it is also called in Tibetan For "the lake above". In the minds of Tibetans, Yamdrok Yumco is like "the goddess's scattered turquoise earrings."

Everyone has different feelings about the scenery. For me, when Yamdrok Yumcuo truly appeared in front of my eyes, I finally understood that "it's so beautiful that I cried" is not an adjective, but a verb.

The beauty of Yamdrok Yumco can only be deeply felt when you are there. When you quietly cast your eyes on this lake, you will feel an unspeakable joy in your heart. Sister Damai said that when you come to Yamdrok Yumco in different seasons and weather, the colors of the lake you see are different. The one with such rich and varied beauty must be Yamdrok Yongtso.

The second year after returning from the mountain trek, I had a dream about Yamdrok Yumcuo. At that time, I thought I could go to Yanghu Lake soon to make my dream come true. Unexpectedly, the epidemic has changed the world and revealed how simple and real the reality of impermanence is. We slowly accepted the lifestyle of coexisting with the virus, and gained a brief escape from "becoming bitter".

A pile of Mani stones was piled up by the lake. The cool and clear lake water was like nectar. We continued to travel along the lakeside road towards today's destination - Shigatse. The beauty of Yamdrok Yumco was outside the window, and the small yellow flowers were blooming. Put it on the meadow by the lake, with the mountains in the distance, the blue sky and the lake water the same color, and you can understand why Tibetans describe Yamdrok Yumco as being like a jade-colored streamer wrapped around the mountains, and no matter where you stand, you can't catch a glimpse of it. full picture.

Until Yamdrok Yumcuo completely disappeared from sight, the pure dreamy blue seemed to still be looming in front of us. And over the Smila Pass, which is more than 4,000 meters away, is the Karola Glacier. It is said that the Karola Glacier is the closest to the road in the whole of Tibet. An observation deck has also been built at the foot of the glacier. You can reach the foot of the glacier by walking along the plank road for about 300 meters. The glaciers covering the dark brown mountains faintly shine with light green light.

The Karola Glacier, like glaciers elsewhere in the world, has not escaped the influence of the greenhouse effect, and the snow line will move up every year. What is even more heartbreaking is of course man-made destruction. Wei Ge told us that during the filming of "Red River Valley", a gap was blown out of the Karola Glacier. This gap is still clear today, reflecting the ruthless harm humans have done to nature.

Continuing westward from Karola Glacier, we arrived at Baiju Temple in front of the closed temple at around 6 o'clock in the evening. Baiju Temple is located in Gyantse County, more than 90 kilometers east of Shigatse City. It is the only place to go to Shigatse. In Tibetan, Baiju Temple is called "Bankuo Qude", which means "Auspicious Wheel of Great Music Temple". It is a typical Tibetan Buddhist temple with a combination of pagoda and temple. It was built in 1427 and represents 13 years of history. Typical style of temple architecture in the Tibetan area from the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 15th century. According to public information, Baiju Temple is a rare monastery in Tibet that integrates the four major sects of Gaden, Kagyu, Sakya and Nyingma. Each sect has its own Dracang (monastery). It contains sculptures from different eras.

The most famous building in Baiju Temple is naturally the "One Hundred Thousand Knowledge and Liberation Pagoda", referred to as "Baiju Pagoda". The architectural structure of Baiju Pagoda is very unique. There are 5 floors of pagoda base from bottom to top, and there are several Buddhist halls on each floor. Above the 5-story pagoda base is a circular pagoda vase. There is also a square small Buddha hall between the pagoda bottle and the top of the tower. The lintels on the four sides are painted with the eyes of Lord Shiva. Above the small Buddha hall is a cone-shaped copper-wrapped temple. On the thirteenth day, the top of the tower looked like a huge prayer wheel.

Clockwise along the bottom of the Buddhist temple, each Buddhist temple enshrines different Buddha statues and protector gods. Although the Buddhist temples vary in size and the light inside the temple is relatively dark, the murals on the walls of the temple can still be seen. Very real. The reason why the Baiju Pagoda is called the "Great Pagoda for the Liberation of Seeing, Hearing, and Liberation in the Ten Directions" is precisely because of the more than 100,000 Buddha statues and nearly 1,000 murals enshrined in these Buddhist temples. It is also called the "One Hundred Thousand Buddha Pagoda".

Each level of the Buddhist hall has a small door leading to the upper level of the Buddhist hall. There is only a narrow and steep wooden ladder connecting the upper and lower Buddhist halls. Turning the tower and climbing the ladder at an altitude of more than 3,900 meters is quite a test of physical strength. Although there is no altitude sickness, entering and exiting the Buddhist halls one by one, and going up to the sixth floor of the Buddhist hall, I am still a little breathless and my legs and feet are weak.

Stand still and take a deep breath, looking around. Not far away, Zongzi Mountain stands like Optimus Prime on the earth. Zongzi Castle on the top of the mountain is like an old man who has gone through hardships, speechless but full of strength. The flames of war and gunpowder in the past have long disappeared, and the peaceful times at this moment are particularly cherishable.

Overnight in Shigatse, the next day is another 600 kilometers away. The further west you go, the more desolate the mountains on the roadside become, and the altitude gradually rises. The weather was cloudy and sunny, and the road stretched straight to the end of the horizon. Passing by the check-in point on National Highway 318, we couldn't help but pose with our friends to commemorate the first time in our lives.

Travel Notes on Tibet | Traveling around Mount Kailash (Part 1)

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