01——Jokhang Temple
Today our itinerary is a religious tour, mainly to experience the Jokhang Temple and Potala Palace. The Jokhang Temple was built for Princess Chizun of Nepal during the Gongtsen Gampo period and faces east to the west; while the Ramoche Temple was built for Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty and faces the east.
At that time, Songtsen Gampo married two princesses, firstly for marriage, and secondly for the twelve-year-old life-size statue of Sakyamuni in the Tang Dynasty and the eight-year-old life-size statue of Nepal. Because the Tang Dynasty was relatively far away, Princess Wencheng took a long time. I arrived in Lhasa three years ago.
Due to some later historical reasons, the life-size statue of Sakyamuni that was originally in Ramoche Temple was later placed in Jokhang Temple. Today, all the pilgrims who come to Jokhang Temple to worship Sakyamuni are coming to Jokhang Temple to worship Sakyamuni.
Those devout worshipers on the Sichuan-Tibet Road kiss the way they come with their bodies. The Jokhang Temple is their destination and the final stop of their pilgrimage. There is an ivory pillar inside, and the teeth on the pillar were put in after the incisors of pilgrims who died on the road were brought to the Jokhang Temple.
If you have the opportunity to see these worshipers on the road in the future, you can give them some food, drink, or money, and they will bring your good karma to the Jokhang Temple and give it to the Buddha together.
This is their belief. They believe in the Buddha with their bodies, in worship, in the form of offerings to the Buddha, and in the form of painting gold powder; they use their mouths and chanting sutras to convey their faith; they use their hearts to get rid of greed, anger, and ignorance, and live with kindness. Live your life and cultivate reincarnation in the next life.
It is very rare to achieve the unity of knowledge and action in body, speech and mind, but they have passed it down from generation to generation.
02Jokhang Temple
The time we went today happened to be the day when Tibetans worshiped the Buddha. We squeezed into the sea of people and felt their respect for the Buddha and their piety.
Why people must have faith and faith in goodness is because people live in the mortal world, people are people who have not become Buddhas, and Buddhas are people who have become Buddhas. We are all on the road to becoming a Buddha through cultivation, and Tibet purifies my soul.
You are not allowed to take pictures inside the Jokhang Temple, but looking at it, it looks more luxurious than other temples. Everything inside is splendid, and the structure inside is also extremely exquisite. You can see a lot of gold and gems, which also reflects its popularity in the hearts of Lhasa and believers. status.
Today I saw Tibetans coming to add lamps and gold powder to the Buddha. We tourists cannot do this. This is the Tibetan people's form of respect for the Buddha. They will use one-third of their lifetime wealth to worship the Buddha. For example, the Buddha is painted with gold powder every year, so the statue of Sakyamuni becomes more and more rounded. That is because believers paint the Buddha with gold every year.
Following the sea of people, we listened to the tour guide’s introduction and were pushed forward by the sea of people. We came back with spiritual energy and Buddha energy. Although we didn’t see anything, what we felt with our hearts was the believers’ respect for the Buddha. Faith, devout faith.
Although I just walked by in a hurry today, a long-lasting memory has been left in my heart. What is faith? Faith is the life compass that guides you to be good and full of spirit throughout your life.
03 Potala Palace
Then we came to the outskirts of the Potala Palace. With the help of water, our group sat on the square of the Potala Palace and took photos. Everyone was very happy to leave precious memories in their lives and take photos with the Potala Palace.
I’m really grateful to my group friends for taking a lot of photos of me and my dad this time. We had very few group photos before, but this time we were seen in every scenic spot.
After lunch, we will visit the Potala Palace. From the outside, the Potala Palace is built on the mountain. It has 13 floors from the east and 6 floors from the north. It looks like a dragon, entrenched On the ridge.
We went through layers of security checks before entering the Potala Palace, and climbed up the steps step by step to the highest point. There are many exquisite Buddha statues inside, thousands of large and small, with a history of thousands of years.
The White House is where the Dalai Lama and his colleagues work, and the Red Palace is where the Dalai Lama’s pagoda and various Buddhist temples are located. There are 8 pagodas in total, among which the fifth Dalai Lama's is the first and largest one.
According to records, as much as 119,000 taels of gold were used to encase this pagoda alone, and the processed remains of the Dalai Lama are preserved in the pagoda. The West Hall is the main hall of the Fifth Dalai Lama's Pagoda Hall. It is the largest palace in the Red Palace.
In fact, pagoda burial is the highest Tibetan burial. Only the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama can enjoy pagoda burial. Ordinary Tibetans who are not sick or disabled can choose to be buried in the sky after death.
You can see a lot of merit boxes inside. People who come will put some money into them more or less. If you don't have change, you can go inside and find change yourself when you donate. Buddha believed that everyone would be sincere and sincere without supervision.
Listening to the tour guide's introduction along the way, I learned more about Tibetan religion. Traveling to Tibet is about 3 points of seeing and 7 points of listening. Listening to the tour guide telling Tibetan culture and Tibetan stories, and looking at various Buddha statues and scenery with your eyes .
To sum it up in one sentence from Tour Guide Huahua, our eyes go to heaven, our body goes to hell, our soul is shocked, and our soul misses our hometown.
Today’s religious tour is over, and we are looking forward to tomorrow’s burial tour to Shigatse.