2015 China

25 April, Xiahe
Overseas Tibetan Hotel 300CNY

Labrang Monastery, “home to the largest number of monks outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region ... is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism”. Labrang “was founded in 1709 ... [and] is situated at the strategic intersection of four major Asian cultures—Tibetan, Mongolian, Han Chinese, and Hui ... and was the seat of a Tibetan power base that strove to maintain regional autonomy through the shifting alliances and bloody conflicts that took place between 1700 and 1950 ... The monastery complex dominates the northern part of the village. The white walls and golden roofs feature a blend of Tibetan and Han architectural styles. The monastery contains 18 halls, six institutes of learning, a golden stupa, a sutra debate area, and houses nearly 60,000 sutras ... At its height the monastery housed 4,000 monks. Like so many religious institutions, it suffered during the Cultural Revolution; and the monks were sent to their villages to work. After it was reopened in 1980, many of the monks returned; but the government restricted enrolment to around 1,500.” Labrang has hosted many horrors, particularly during the Tibetan-Hui (Muslim) conflicts between 1917 and 1949. “The Austrian American explorer Joseph Rock encountered the aftermath of one of the ... campaigns against Labrang ... Tibetan skeletons scattered over a wide area ... decapitated Tibetan heads were used as ornaments by Hui troops in their camp ... The heads were “strung about the walls of the Moslem garrison like a garland of flowers”.” (Quotes from Wikipedia)

It was overcast when we began our visit to Labrang this morning, and sunny when we finally left the complex; in between is snowed briefly, too lightly to settle. We LOVED Labrang. Loved its living spaces and halls and stupas and gateways. Loved its buildings painted in cream and rich brown and mustard yellow and maroon, with golden decorations; its stupas in white or gold; its maroon-clad monks carrying their oddly-shaped yellow hats slung over one shoulder; its pilgrims walking the 3km kora, a meditation route circling the monastery and lined with prayer drums spun by those passing by. Some of the pilgrims prostrate themselves for the length of the kora, lying flat on their bellies, hands and knees sensibly padded. They rise and prostrate themselves again, covering the 3km distance a body-length at a time.

Tonight we ate yak meat, roasted with a chilli sauce, and potatoes roasted with peppers green and red. Tasty.