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Amazing Scenery surrounding Samye
nattybabe Says: On the drive to Samye from Lhasa you will pass some absolutely incredible scenery. It's hard to believe that at this alitude you pass huge sand dunes in an amazing high altitude desert. It is desolate and bare but the road follows a river which adds some colour to the red...
nattybabe Says: You are able to visit the monastery during certain hours and in some temples you are also allowed to take photos (at a certain price!!). You usually have a monk as a guide (who speaks English) and explains all the various temples and icons. Very interesting!
grets Says: There are many fine and interesting murals in the chapels of Samye Monastery. This mural is one of the original paintings dating from the 8th century. The paint used is colours made from 70 different minerals, hence the rather dark and dull colours.
grets Says: The protector Chapel, or Gonkhang is entered through a door on the right side of the assembly hall. Inside this chapel there were images of various terrifying anti-gods and demons, most of whom had their faces covered up as they are deemed to be too frightening to be...
grets Says: The Sakyamuni Buddha, whose name literally means ‘sage of the Sakya’, is the founder of Buddhism, the historical Buddha. He is known in Tibetan as Sakya Thukpa. Here he is shown in the form of Jangchub Chenpo, and is flanked on both sides by 10 standing bodhisattvas, as well...
grets Says: The dormitories are home to some of the 280 monks who live and practise Buddhism here in Samye.The construction of dwellings in Tibet follow a strict tradition. Most buildings are white, with a black surround to the windows (to attarct the heat from the sun), which is always...
Samye Restaurant: Dine in a monastery
nattybabe Says: Samye Monastery has its own restaurant. The monks eat downstairs and any tourists eat upstairs whilst looking down at the monks. Unfortunately the food here is the same as everywhere else and nothing especially "monky" is served. The menu is fairly extensive and mid range in...
Samye Guesthouse: You can bring your own food and drink
grets Says: Although there is a restaurant in the Samye Guesthouse, it required pre-booking in order to cater for groups. We had brought our own picnic with us, which they allowed us to eat in the restaurant. Our picnic, which was prepared and provided for us by the hotel in Zedang,...
Helpfulness
The most popular route to reach Samye is by boat across the Yarlung Tsangpo river. The boat is not laid on especially for tourists, it is a regular ferry service used by local and travellers alike. We shared a boat with many local people and their large bundles of luggage, ducks, a dead goat in a plastic bag (with feet and head sticking up), mattresses, bags and boxes. There were some great characters on board and the one-and-a-half hour journey offered a fantastic opportunity of people watching.
The journey takes you across and up the river and although the distance it not that great, it is very time consuming as the boatman has to negotiate the strong tide and avoid the many sand banks.
Once you alight the boat the other side, transport awaits to take you to the monastery itself, a journey of some 15-20 minutes. The transport here can take the shape of local buses or open backed lorries. As tourists, we were given first choice of the various forms of transport, and (despite my best efforts to travel in a lorry) secured the more comfortable buses. The journey is very bumpy, on uneven, sandy tracks.
Updated Oct 16, 2005
sugarpuff Says: Tibetan New Year - February 18th 2007 / February 7th 2008Butter Lamp Festival - March 4th 2007 / March 26th 2008Saka Dawa Festival - May 31st 2007 / June 18th 2008Shoton Festival - August 12th-18th 2007 / August 30th-September 5th 2008Bathing Festival - Middle ten days of...
grets Says: As well as being used to create sculptures, yak butter is also utilised as a fuel for butter lamps. Tibetans burn bowls of yak butter instead of candles as light, and the smell of yak butter is all over Tibet, in every temple, chapel and monastery. The faithful will carry...
grets Says: Yak butter has a significant use in ceremonies. In particular, the 15th day of the first month is a high point of the Great Prayer Festival (Smom-lam), and is known as the "Butter lamp day." The festival started after Tsong kha-pa had a dream where beautiful flowers and...
grets Says: The fifth Dalai Lama. Known as ‘The Great Fifth’, Lobsang Gyantso, is known as the Dalai Lama who unified Tibet and extended his authority to the fringes of Tibetan territory from Mt Kailash area in the west to Kham in the east. During his reign, Tibetan culture flourished –...
Never thought of this use for my corpse!
grets Says: One of the more bizarre items I saw inside the ground floor of Utse, the main chapel at Samye, was this candle holder. It is fashioned from a human skull!
The 21st Century has arrived at Samye!
grets Says: Another very bizarre incident was inside the ground floor chapel in Utse. As we were walking around the chapel, a mobile phone started ringing. I was rather annoyed with my fellow travellers, that they couldn’t switch off their phone when in such a holy place, when I noticed...
grets Says: In the ground floor chapel within the Utse, is a row of Red Hat Sect masters. The correct term for what many people call the Red Hat Sect, is the Kagyupa Order. This order of Tibetan Buddhism takes its lineage back through Milarepa and Marpa and eventually to the Indian...
grets Says: Although they are not particularly dirty as Tibetan toilets go, the facilities at the Samye Guesthouse was most unpleasant because of their very powerful stench. If you can avoid, try to do so, although there aren’t really any alternatives.
grets Says: Also bring (and apply) a high factor sun cream, as the sun is very strong and at this altitude the air is thin so it is easier to become sunburnt before you know it.
grets Says: Make sure you wrap up warm for the boat journey across the Yarlung Tsangpo River to Samye, as the winds can make the journey quite chilli. You can also encounter rain if you are unlucky, and the boat is open, so there is no cover. We were lucky to have a bright, sunny day.
Helpfulness
Inside the main chapel, you suddenly come face to face with this tourist trap: a souvenir shop! They sell tacky yaks, jewellery, prayer beads, pictures, thankas, books and other things a tourist may – or may not – want.
Written Oct 16, 2005
Samye monastery was constructed in year 775 AD by King Trisong Detsen (who was born nearby), which makes it Tibet’s oldest surviving monastery. The original buildings were damaged by civil war, fires,...
Samye Monastery is Tibet's first monastery, probably built between 775 and 779. Padmasambhava crushed the local demons on the summit of Hepo Ri and consecrated the site for the construction of Samye....
Samye Monastery - greedy monks!!!
The most boring trip to Samye Monastery imaginable! I mean the scenery was of course beautiful but it was a bumpy road from Tsetang / Zetang and took around 2.5 hours. We realised that the driver was...
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