Many people have been to Tibet, but few have been to Shannan. The first stop for travelers is mostly in Lhasa, where famous places such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Drepung Temple are located. If you want to see the natural landscape, there are many options to choose from such as the sacred lake Yamdrok Yumcuo, Namtso, Kailash, Namjagbarwa, etc. Few people think of Shannan. However, if you want to truly understand the origins of Tibetan history, Shannan is a must-visit place on your list. Shannan has numerous firsts in Tibet, including the temple Samye Monastery, the palace Yumbula Kang, the sutra Bangon Chagya, and the Tibetan king Nietri Zampu, which confirms its important position in Tibetan culture.
The first temple integrating Buddhism, Dharma and Sangha
Samye Temple was built in 774 AD during the Tubo Dynasty. It is the first formal Buddhist temple built in Tibet that integrates Buddhism, Dharma and Sangha. The layout of the entire temple is designed according to the structure of the "Great Thousand Worlds" in the Buddhist scriptures, and the architectural form is similar to the Buddhist tantric mandala (ie mandala). The total length of the wall is 1,008 meters, which surrounds the entire temple complex and symbolizes the Tiewei Mountain on the periphery of the world.
The wall is equipped with four gates, and in the center is a three-story Uzi Hall, which represents Mount Sumeru, which symbolizes the center of the universe in Buddhism. There are four Buddhist halls built in the four directions of the main hall, representing the four major continents, and an auxiliary hall is built on both sides of the four Buddha halls, representing the eight small continents. Four-color pagodas are built at the four corners of the main hall. The white pagoda is the Bodhi pagoda, the red pagoda is the Dharma wheel pagoda, the black pagoda is the relic pagoda, and the green pagoda is the heavenly pagoda, symbolizing the Buddhist concept of conquering all evil gods and evil spirits and stopping all natural and man-made disasters.
The main hall integrates multiple cultures and is very stylish. The bottom, middle and top floors are of Tubo, Tang Dynasty and Tianzhu architectural styles respectively. The murals and statues in the Buddhist halls on each floor are different, fully reflecting the regional characteristics of the three regions at that time. The statues on the bottom layer imitate the images of Tibetan people in Tubo, the middle layer imitates the Han people of the Tang Dynasty, and the top layer imitates the images of Indians from Tianzhu. Even people who do not have a deep understanding of Tibetan culture can distinguish the differences at a glance. There is Buddhist philosophy behind every building in Samye Monastery, and it is a temple that all those who are interested in Tibetan history and culture cannot avoid.
Wonderland on earth really exists
About three hours' drive from Samye Monastery, there is a high mountain called Jiapujin. It is 4,019 meters above sea level and is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round. The Rozakajiu Temple, known as the "Auspicious Hermitage", is located in this mysterious cloud and mist. Kajiu Monastery is one of the important hermit holy places of the Nyingma sect in Tibet, with a history of more than 1,200 years. In the seventh century AD, Padmasambhava spent seven years in retreat here.
The road to Kajiu Temple is extremely difficult. It is mostly a muddy and winding winding mountain road, and there are cliffs beyond the window. Perhaps it is precisely because of the difficult journey that this place of cultivation has become like a fairyland on earth. Entering the temple grounds, you can immediately feel the quiet aura. Clouds and mist flow in the valley, from century-old pines to cliff temples, looming and lingering for a long time. Wandering around, you can see the vicissitudes of time still remain on the bricks and wooden pillars that are thousands of years old. The red walls and golden roofs are the condensed wisdom of generations of practitioners. The star crows hovered above, making bursts of cries, and along with the distant Sanskrit sounds, they preached the ancient Dharma.
A rare bird often flies over the grassland around Khaju Temple, which is the brown-tailed pheasant, the national bird of Bhutan. The male bird has bright feathers in nine colors and is also called the nine-color bird. The equally rare red goral also loves this temple located in the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Here, people, animals and nature seem to have reached a certain tacit understanding. Standing in the valley, the four words "animism" appeared in my mind unconsciously.
Millennium Cliff Ancient Temple
Lodro Wolong Monastery is located on the border between China and Bhutan, where there are numerous snow-capped mountains and sparsely populated areas. Marpa, the great translator who was born in Sexiang, traveled to India three times and Nepal four times to seek Dharma from the age of 13, and finally became a leader in the later period of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism. When he returned to Tibet for the first time at the age of 29, he followed the instructions of Master Naropa and founded the first temple of the Kagyu lineage, Lodro Wolong Monastery, in his hometown.
Kagyu, which means "oral transmission", is one of the four main sects of Tibetan Buddhism, with believers spread throughout Tibetan areas. Despite its remote location, Lodro Wolong Temple is one of the most famous temples on the snowy plateau. The current Lodzo Wolong Temple is an architectural pattern formed after two reconstructions and three expansions on the ruins starting in 1992. The main temple is built on a protruding cliff. There is a famous pilgrimage road along the hillside. Different Buddhist temples, monks' houses and stone pagodas are scattered along the road. Each building is built against the mountain, and there are different caves for practice. The monks will enthusiastically explain historical allusions to you. You can completely imagine the grand occasion when 500 people in the temple were in retreat at the same time, and countless Buddhists debated scriptures under the trees.
The architectural style here is different from other temples in Tibet. Whether it is the carved decoration on the outside, the color of the wall columns or the shape of the statues inside, it has an obvious exotic feel. Although it has been renovated several times, the main hall still retains a throne from the time of Marpa the great translator. The lion carvings on it are still lifelike after thousands of years. If Samye Monastery is the origin of Tibetan history, and Kajiu Monastery is a secret spiritual place, then Lodzo Wolong Monastery is more like a combination of the two. No one can imagine that the origin of a sect can be hidden in such a distant place. land.
The trip to Shannan only glimpsed a corner of Tibetan history; it may take countless trips in this life to truly understand the splendid civilization of this ancient land.
