Samye Monastery is important because it was the first monastery and where Buddhism started in Tibet about 1,200 years ago. Leaving at 7:30 AM we reached Samye at 11:30 AM using the same ancient Toyota which over heated twice and brakes/tires cooled by going through water. We followed the Brahmaputra River on a bumpy dirt track past sand dunes for the last 2 hours. The monastery is surrounded by barren mountains and sand dunes and if we had climbed the hill behind the monastery we would have seen from above that the monastery is laid out like a mandala that you sometimes see made out of colored sand in an intricate pattern that has significance in Buddhism. It is modeled after a temple in Bihar, India, and represents the Buddhist concept of a map of the universe. Again today was a very lucky day because as we entered the Monastery the monks were creating a sand mandala that they later burned to send the prayers put to the world. The burning of the mandala was accompanied by much chanting and music including the very long horns. In the assembly hall the monks were praying and chanting while the mandala was being prepared. Sonam had worked in this Monastery with the author and photographer Thomas Laird and was able to show me many of the 8th century original murals. The passage ways with these murals were pitch black so unless you knew they were there you would not use your camera to take a picture and then see the mural. We should have brought a flash light! The murals depicted the founding of the Monastery. The Monastery is very interesting because it has a different style reflected on each level. The ground and first floor levels are Tibetan style, the second floor is Chinese style and the third floor is in an Indian style.
On our return to Lhasa, Sonam took me to the Lukhang Temple on a small island in a lake behind the Potala Palace. The Temple is know for it's wonderful 18th century murals and Sonam had worked here with Thomas Laird when he was photographing for his book "The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet". There are three monks that are in charge of the temple so when we showed up they invited us in to their quarters for sweet tea and some of the sweet barley temple offerings. They were so hospitable. They then took us up to the third floor which is not open to the public except for special occasions. The third floor has a mediation room used by the Dalai Lama and each of the walls depicts a different theme but with an Indian artist expression and the detail is very fine. One wall is demonstrating the different positions in yoga. The second floor room depicts a story made famous by a Tibetan opera. I made a donation to the Temple as everyone had been so kind and friendly.
After that we stopped by the travel agency to see what could be done about changing the old Toyota that we had for a newer more reliable one...one that the defrost actually worked, windshield wipers would work, windows would roll down and the one door close all the way so that you didn't get a cold breeze coming in. All this and the 2 times overheating today resulted in a change of 4WDs. We will see what arrives tomorrow. Will also have a different driver which is good too as the current one was coughing and getting sick. He stopped the car and got out because he couldn't breathe. We definitely want a reliable car and driver for this trip.
David and I went out for another walk in the old town and have dinner. There is no way on camera to capture even 1/10 of all the action there is to see. We have packed up our bags and will be heading out tomorrow morning. Last load of laundry is on the line in the room and we have started again the Nearmox as well as the herbal medication. Tomorrow night we will be sleeping 300M higher.
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