Labrang Monastry in Xiahe

cctv.com 09-09-2003 14:12

For any traveler, the heart and soul of Xiahe county is Labrang Monastery. It's one of the six most prestigious monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism's Yellow Sect.

First built about 300 years ago, Labrang stands as both a holy pilgrimage site for Buddhists and a prominent education centre for passing on Tibetan culture. It is composed of six colleges, each specializing in some aspect of Buddhist studies or traditional Tibetan science and arts. Here, students can apply themselves to subjects as diverse as Tibetan medicine and rhetoric. About 4,000 monks are said to have lived here in its heyday.

The fame of Labrang draws pious pilgrims from far and near. Some prostrate themselves on the way from their homes to their destination. The trip can be a matter of kilometers and the act is seen as a show of dedication and devotion. The pilgrims usually walk three steps and then prostrate themselves once, touching the ground with their arms, forehead and fully extended body. It's not an easy task.

It's also not the only way to get there. You always have the option of modern transport. To get to Labrang, you can first fly to the Gansu provincial capital of Lanzhou and then head south by bus. Five hours later and you'll arrive in Xiahe, some 3000 meters above sea level.

Even if it's already middle summer, it's still freezing cold in the early morning here. But it's also the best time to see the local people paying respect to their Buddha.

Turning the prayer wheel around the sprawling monastery is an important part of the pilgrims' ritual. If you want to join them in this practice, you have to remember to turn the wheel clockwise. Why? Because the prayer wheels contain sutras, Buddhist scriptures. The sutras are arranged in a clockwise way so when people spin the wheel around, it's like they're reading the scriptures. If you turn them the other way, you're reading the sutras backwards. In the past, most Tibetans were illiterate and so I guess people came up with this method to make sure that as many devotees as possible could say the prayers. There's more than 1,000 prayer wheels lining the perimeter of the monastery compound and people follow a well-worn clockwise path around the buildings as they turn the wheels.

The grand sutra hall is the biggest in the monastery and can seat as many as 4,000 monks. When I arrived, the place was littered with boots. It was the 15th day of the lunar month and the monks were reciting sutras inside. They are not supposed to wear shoes inside the hall so they all walk around barefoot.

After they read the sutras and had their lunch, the monks came outside to recite their prayers. It gave me a better chance to listen to them.

You can always visit the homes of the monks. They all live in the monastery. The monks lead a simple life and are mostly friendly, though few speak Chinese or English. There are a number of strict rules to follow and reading sutras is an essential part of their daily routine.

The monastery has six sutra halls and 84 temples so it would take days to see it all. As I roamed around, a special sound led me to something unexpected. The monks perform as a group and appeared to be in rehearsals. These are not only musical but also religious instruments.

Each of these trumpets is about five meters long and has a spiritual value. You're not supposed to step over them so the monks have come up with a handy way of moving them around.

It seems everything here has a hidden meaning or a story behind it. It's impossible to decipher them all by yourself. The best idea is to find a guide and, fortunately, Labrang has two monks who speak English. They are kind enough to fill you in on the central ideas of the religion.

Editor:Han Ling  Source:CCTV.com