Xiahe Labrang Monastery Travel Notes

The drive from Zoige to Xiahe takes about 6 hours, and it was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at Xiahe.

As for why I came to Xiahe, I was first attracted by the name Xiahe. It is really a nice name, so I learned more about it. Of course, this kind of understanding is just a matter of reading the introduction twice: Xiahe is located in southern Gansu, but it is a famous holy land of Tibetan Buddhism, and the Labrang Monastery here is even more famous. Labrang Monastery is the most famous Buddhist academy in this area, so it is also known as "Little Tibet" . nearby believers will come here to worship, and monks will gather here. Come to study Buddhism. When they finish class, people can see red robes all over the ground. This sight makes me yearn for it.

The county seat of Xiahe is very small, and the buildings on the street are the same as those of Ruoergai, which all reveal the poor economic situation of this place. In short, wherever religion and culture are developed, the economy seems to be lacking. Perhaps if God wants to give you spiritual development, it has to confiscate material abundance. The reverse also makes sense, because people who are spiritually satisfied are not very Need material things.

There is only one main road in the county. Follow the main road to the end, which is Labrang Monastery. In contrast to the county seat, Labrang Monastery is very large. From the map, Labrang Monastery occupies about a quarter of the county, like a university town, but having said that, the Buddhist College itself is a school.

A white pagoda about 10 meters high is located on the way to the Buddhist Academy. Many believers are circling the pagoda, going round and round. They circle the pagoda, mostly to pray for blessings, for themselves, and for themselves. For all living beings. I understand the idea of ​​spending time on the turret, but I can't quite empathize with it. As a comparison, I even think that the donkey pulling the Mopan is more meaningful, because pulling the Mopan is labor. But I can’t say that turning around the White Tower is a waste of time, because modern people spend a lot of time on entertainment, playing games and wandering around like me. It’s hard to be more meaningful than turning around the White Tower, at least in these areas. People who turn the tower can always see their firmness in their faith, but can endless turning in circles lead to civilization?

After entering the Buddhist academy, I faced many alleys, turning east and west, and soon lost my direction. Most of the alleys are the residences of the resident monks. The single-story adobe houses are built next to each other with simple designs. From the appearance, it is not difficult to guess that the interiors will not be very elegant. Occasionally, monks come in and out. Seeing them dressed in red robes and crossing the threshold is a beautiful scene, which means " this is a humble room, but I am virtuous " . They are seeking the truth in the most ordinary and even boring environment. I wonder if they will still feel lonely?

Deep down in my heart, I occasionally envy such a life, and at certain moments I fully understand the joy of monks. The process of ending desire is an arduous battle, and the path to seeking truth is the most complicated maze, but I can I am very happy to devote myself wholeheartedly to this career without any distractions. What I also envy is the tranquility away from the world, but I am already in a high-rise building, and I understand that I just long for a quiet life, cut off from everything, but once the time goes on, I will definitely want to escape.

Later I walked to a spacious road, but in the Buddhist academy, both alleys and main roads were all dirt roads. The friction sound made by my feet on the ground was primitive and solid. If I stepped harder, dust would fly around. I must have enlightened myself. The truth sometimes has to be disgraced. I passed by some sutra halls or Buddhist temples. The bright saffron walls were in sharp contrast with the adobe houses. They were tall and majestic, with exquisite carvings on the gate towers, but I didn't look around in detail. It's getting late, and I still have a whole day to spend here.

On the way back, I saw many lay children and young monks playing together, walking together, playing football together, and roughhousing together. The nature of children is always the compassion that the Buddha could not bear to take away.

About the next day, I wanted to wander around the temple and be basked in the sun. When I was tired, I would find a step to sit down. The sun was still basking on me. I could sit there for a long time until a monk noticed me and sat down too. Chat with me, talk about Han Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, talk about Sakyamuni and Padmasambhava, there may be arguments and resonances.

But when I woke up the next day, I didn't see the sun, only rain, and it was hard to sit on the ground.

Because of the weather, no one turned around the tower, and there were very few pedestrians on the road. I was the only one walking around holding an umbrella. Later, after the rain stopped for a while, a few tourists appeared. In order to avoid the rain, I wanted to go into the main hall to visit. A ticket was required to enter the hall. I spent 30 yuan to buy it, but I found that free entry and exit were not allowed. The uncle who sold the tickets asked me to wait for a while, and I waited in a daze for 20 minutes before a monk took me out of the ticket hall. The monk took me into a main hall and handed me over to the instructor.

At this time, there were about thirty tourists including me. I was curious about where so many people came from. Maybe they were also curious.

The tour guide took us to visit several halls, introduced the functions of each hall, and introduced their living Buddhas, but I couldn't remember any of the details. I only remember that the hall was very dark, maybe because of the rainy day, it was a little damp and a little depressing. I imagine this kind of oppression as the oppression of desire and fear. Maybe after learning the truth, I can mold myself into light.

The tour ends at the entrance of the lecture hall. The lecture hall is very open. At this time, it is full of monks sitting cross-legged, chanting sutras and meditating, so you cannot enter. I was watching at the door and saw a few monks whispering and looking around, like students who had deserted in class. I didn't think they were not pious enough, but they were very cute.

The rain stopped temporarily, and I wandered to the door of a small shop. Several tourists were talking about a young monk. The young monk looked seven or eight years old. Everyone was wondering why he became a monk at such a young age. The person in charge of this shop is also a monk. He told tourists that he became a monk at the age of 8, and then asked tourists what is wrong with becoming a monk? I ask you what are you living for?

There was a sense of superiority in the monk's words, mixed with a hint of arrogance, and a bit aggressive. I thought that such a monk probably hadn't realized a lot of truth. It may also be that Tibetan Buddhist debates are always fierce. He may want to give the world a heads-up. I really wanted to talk to him about his question, but then I thought, he spoke too powerfully and might not be calm. If I competed with someone louder in the end, wouldn't I be asking for trouble? At this moment, I lost the courage to chat with the monk.

I have been wandering around in the alley near the lecture hall, and when I turned back to the lecture hall for an unknown number of times, I finally saw the monks "school is over". However, it seems that it came too late. There were not as many red robes on the ground as expected, but it was still a big one. The monks gathered together, not sure whether they were discussing Buddhism or what to eat tonight.

It started to rain again and I couldn't take any good photos, so I went back to the youth hostel to take a nap. When I opened the door, I saw a girl making the bed. I said hello to her, and she handed me an apple. I took the apple and was flattered. Speaking of which, I haven't eaten an apple for a long time. I hold it in my hand and can't bear to eat it. I want to use it as breakfast tomorrow.

From the girls I met on my travels, this one was special.

The girl is from Lanzhou and is a police officer. She has a pretty face, a petite figure, a straightforward personality, and speaks crisply and honestly. She told me: “ I also wanted to be artistic, so I left the bureau without even saying goodbye, planning to have fun for four or five days before going back. Who would have thought that going out alone would be so boring! I'm almost bored to death! I'm going back tomorrow! ”

I said: " You can go to pray, it is quite meaningful. "

She said: " I have turned twice! "

Let me mention here that Labrang Monastery has the longest prayer corridor in the world, and it takes 2 hours to go around it normally.

I said: "Wow! I haven't turned around yet, the weather is bad. "

The girl ignored me and started talking about what happened to her when she first arrived in Xiahe the day before.

"I got here very late last night. It was very dark and I couldn't find a place to stay. Then a man came out and said he would take me to a place to stay. So I followed him to a house. Hotel, more than 200 per night..."

I interrupted the girl and asked: " You are willing to spend more than two hundred yuan for accommodation, do you still need someone to take care of you? "

The girl continued: " I don’t know. The first time I went out by myself, I thought he was a good guy. Guess what happened next? The man went out and bought a dozen drinks and came back and knocked on my door! I just He let it in ..."

I mentioned just now that the girl has a delicate face and a petite figure. When I heard this, I couldn't help but interrupt her and said: " How could you let him in? "

The girl said: " Don't interrupt. I let him in anyway. If he wanted to drink, I would drink with him. Sure enough, after he drank some wine, he started to move ... …”

I couldn't help but interrupt and said: " You let him in to drink. Drinking makes people bold, so why don't you touch him! "

The girl said: " I told you not to interrupt. As soon as he made a move, I told him to be more honest. I told him that I have seen this kind of trick many times. "

I don’t know if the girl identified herself as a police officer, but judging from her calm attitude, she probably didn’t. The ending of the story is that they continued drinking, and finally the man drank himself to death and slept on the carpet in the room all night. This was the experience of this police girl on her first day of traveling alone.

After saying that, the girl waved her hand and said she wanted to go for another round of prayer, leaving me alone in a crowded room to be afraid of her.

After writing the story of the police girl, my memory of the rest of the story is very blurry. I may have taken a nap and then went to the temple after waking up. I didn’t go to pray in the end. 2 hours were too long. I was not prepared before I left. This was a A pity. By that time, the rain had completely stopped and the ground had dried quickly. I spent the time that could have been spent doing prayers sitting on a step in a daze. I might have expected a monk to come and chat with me, but it didn’t happen. I might regret not going to pray with the police girl. As I said, she has a pretty face, but I am too shy.

At dinner time, I went to the street to find something to eat. Although Xiahe is a Tibetan Buddhist resort, there are also a large number of Muslims living here. These days happen to be "Eid al-Fitr" , and all Muslim restaurants are closed.

Finally, I ended the day with a bowl of haggis soup.