We had one more day to acclimate to the altitude around Lhasa before heading onwards and upwards towards Mt. Everest. Since everyone was doing well with the adjustment, Tenzin took us on a drive into the nearby mountains to visit Drak Yerpa monastery. This would be our first outing outside of Lhasa and first glimpse of true Tibetan culture and living situations.
We weren't on the road long before we were stopped due to a landslide on the mountain. We took in views while waiting for a truck to clear the debris along with the other locals :)
We were one our way once the road was cleared. Little did we know up ahead would be what would become one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. When one hears about Tibetan prayer flags, one typically thinks they are hung for luck of the family and carrying wishes to the gods, but they are so much more. The five colored cloths represent the five elements in a specific order: blue, white, red, green, and yellow. Blue symbolizes sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. A balance of these elements produces harmony. Tenzin explained that yes, the flags are hung for luck and prosperity of the family but they also represent well wishes for all other beings. Hanging the flags from the tallest point helps the prayers and mantras be blown by the wind to spread goodwill, peace, and compassion into all pervading space. A beautiful sentiment to be blown into the world!
The guys were asked to help hang flags that Tenzin brought with him. I was yelled at for climbing too high by some of the locals; apparently climbing to high ground to hang flags isn't a girls job...
We jumped back in the car and headed towards the monastery driving through the countryside...
Prayer flags over the terrain!
The white and gold structure is called a 'stupa' and used by Buddhists as a place of meditation.
As buddhists believe in reincarnation, Tenzin instructed us to walk around the stupa clockwise four times to ensure we wouldn't come back to earth as a scorpion. We eagerly obliged!
We
arrived at the Drak Yerpa a few minutes later in the mountains. The
monastery used to house 300 monks but today about 12 remain to care for
the temples and hermitages some of which are the earliest known
meditation sites in Tibet dating pre-Buddhist times.
In
one of the small temples were two Tibetan monks who eagerly wanted to
hear where we were from and how we lived. Tenzin explained that very
few Westerners come to this monastery so they could probably count on
their hand how many the monks had ever seen. They offered us seats and
blessed the prayer beads I brought with me. To live so simply and
peacefully is something all could aspire to.
On the way down, a monk asked B (through Tenzin, of course) to help change the window curtain. He was so thankful! A good deed for the day :)
On the way back to Lhasa we even spotted our first Yaks!
After dinner, we went with Tenzin to purchase more prayer flags for the journey to Everest.
We took us where the locals purchase - good prices for good quality!
TIBET - Part 4: Lhasa to Shigatse
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