Location: Lhasa, Tibet
Remarks: Day 7, Monks Debates @ Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of Great Three monasteries in Lhasa, located in the suburbs, around 2km north, of Lhasa. The Sera Monastery is a huge complex, spreading along the hill scope with some dozens of hermitages.The buildings is very Tibetan in style.
Sera Monastery is a fun place to visit, stood out from the other monasteries in Tibet with its "Monk Debates". It is, from what I have heard, the best location to witness the "Monk Debates" on the teachings of Budda in Tibet. The Monk Debates started at 3pm from Monday to Friday, and it was opened to tourists. At around 3pm, you would find crowds of tourists in the Debate Hall, witnessing the debates among the monks in discussing Buddhism related topics in Tibetan. Though we might not understand the Tibetan language, the Debates are accompanied with vigorous gestures which were said to have symbolic meaning. The dramatic gestures made by the monks enlivened the entire embience. The monks debated in pairs, with a defender and a questioner. The questioner has to present his case and the defender has to answer within a fixed time frame. Each time a question is asked, the questioner would outstretch his left palm, strike the left palm with his right palm.
The pair of monks sitting right before me were adorable. The sitting monk appeared having problem in answering the questions and had lots of little cute gestures: playing with his fingers, rubbing his head, hands covering his face, stretching out his tongue... Even the old monk, presumably his teacher, who originally sit under the tree could not help coming forward to explain. He was so cute.
P.S. There were super many visitors in the Debate Hall at the time of the Debates. You can find tourists from around the globe, with lots of different kinds of camera. It was like an international camera exhibition!!
Remarks: Day 7, Monks Debates @ Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of Great Three monasteries in Lhasa, located in the suburbs, around 2km north, of Lhasa. The Sera Monastery is a huge complex, spreading along the hill scope with some dozens of hermitages.The buildings is very Tibetan in style.
Sera Monastery is a fun place to visit, stood out from the other monasteries in Tibet with its "Monk Debates". It is, from what I have heard, the best location to witness the "Monk Debates" on the teachings of Budda in Tibet. The Monk Debates started at 3pm from Monday to Friday, and it was opened to tourists. At around 3pm, you would find crowds of tourists in the Debate Hall, witnessing the debates among the monks in discussing Buddhism related topics in Tibetan. Though we might not understand the Tibetan language, the Debates are accompanied with vigorous gestures which were said to have symbolic meaning. The dramatic gestures made by the monks enlivened the entire embience. The monks debated in pairs, with a defender and a questioner. The questioner has to present his case and the defender has to answer within a fixed time frame. Each time a question is asked, the questioner would outstretch his left palm, strike the left palm with his right palm.
The pair of monks sitting right before me were adorable. The sitting monk appeared having problem in answering the questions and had lots of little cute gestures: playing with his fingers, rubbing his head, hands covering his face, stretching out his tongue... Even the old monk, presumably his teacher, who originally sit under the tree could not help coming forward to explain. He was so cute.
P.S. There were super many visitors in the Debate Hall at the time of the Debates. You can find tourists from around the globe, with lots of different kinds of camera. It was like an international camera exhibition!!
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| The Debate Hall |
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