Lhasa Things to Do

When you visit the Jokhang Temple, you have to go up. There you will have a fascinating look at the splendid roofs covered with gilded bronze and its ornaments from a short distance, like the ganjiras filled with prayers and the ghazelles at both sides of the great wheel of law.

Every Tibetan bard or poet has sung of the golden roof of the Jokhang Temple and the countless chapels, housing precious relics. The opulence of the temple matches that of a relic.

The Jokhang Temple was founded in 650 by Songtsen Gampo. The main hall -with a famous sitting statue of Sakyamuni- is surrounded by chapels dedicated to Buddhist deities and Tibetan kings and queens.

The Jokhang Temple is four storeys high. On the roof you have a fantastic view at the Potala Palace. Also you can have a good look at the marvellous decorations on the rooftops of the Jokhang Temple.

At the square in front of the temple and at the entrance we saw always prostrating pilgrims. The devotees making a pilgrimage repeatedly measure out their length over the entire journey. This mode of postration expresses the maximum devotion by exaggerating the difficulty of their journey.

Tibetan Buddhists believe, that the making of one hundred prostrations is the first step to acquiring a vast number of merits and will bring a profound purification.

The Jokhang Temple with the surrounding Barkhor is the beating religious heart of Lhasa. I went several times to the Barkhor and the square in front of the Jokhang temple. I walked around or sat down watching everything, what happened and feeling the special atmosphere.

At the entrance of the temple hung a lot of prayerflags, waving in the breeze. Also there were a lot of worshipping devotees around with their prayerwheels or postrating in front of the temple.

The Red Palace, the middle part of the Potala, was the residence of the Dalai Lama till 1958, till he had to leave for India.

To visit the Potala Palace you have to climb a lot. During my visit in 1991 some parts of the Palace were closed because of restoration, but there more than enough left to see, to experience and to feel the atmosphere. It was rather overwhelming ......the meditationhalls, the chapels, the shrines, the mausoleums, the statues, the wall paintings and the special smell. To absorb all in one visit is impossible.

The Potala palace on the red mountain ( Dmar-po Ri) with a splendid architecture shows its magnitude -as a landmark- all over Lhasa and is the pride of the Tibetan people. The Potala is built nearly 4.000 M above sea level in the 17th century. The palace is 110 M high and 360 M in length from east to west.

The Potala consists of the Red Palace (in the middle) and the White Palace at both sides. The buildings are chiefly made of stone and wood. Golden roof tops shine under the sun in big splendor. It is a piece of great architecture, special arts and crafts, sculpture and painting of the Tibetan people.

= Bian Jing (question each other about buddism book)

Although I didn't understand the language lamas used, I was still deeply touched when watching they did it.
The love for wisdom fills the atmosphere.

Sera Monastery is one of the 3 largest monasteries of the Gelugpa. It is located at north of Lhasa at the foot of the Tatipu Mountain. Sera means Wild Rose Garden, as there once bloomed many wild roses here. In 1414 one of Tsong Khapa's disciples build a monastery to house the treasures he got from Emperor Chengzu. The Sera monastery was completed in 1419.

The main attraction when visiting the monastery is the debates between the (student) monks. Every afternoon at 15:00 or 15:30 they have debates about religious isues in the courtyard. The monks try to make there point by clapping their hands or stamping their feeth.
To see, and hear, what it looks like we put a short movie here.