Ganden Monastery, help with road construction, and being Indian

We drove 50 km East to the Ganden Monastery, the oldest in Tibet. There is massive construction going on all over Lhasa and we got to help out ;-) The road under construction is non-existent in large sections and heavy construction trucks carrying cement, concrete, wood, gravel and everything else were all over the place. It was an adventure to say the least. We were driving along a beautiful river valley dotted with small farms and heaps of gravel (for construction).

 Road to Ganden Monastery        Construction Equipment Everywhere

  

Road was blocked with construction rocks, we GOT to help J , and the was reward was. . .

The Monastery is at 4,200 meters (about 14,000 feet) and we felt it while climbing up. There used to be a place for 4,000 monks and it is so far removed from any civilization that we wondered about the logistics of making and maintaining it. Various forms of Buddha along with the Taras (green and white) and protectors were there. By now, we are all too familiar with the smell of butter lamps and burning incense.  There is the tomb of the 5^th Dalai Lama (who built the place in the 14^th century) and very impressive, gold plated statues were there.

 Monastery                                       The Protector

 Buddha Sakyamuni                          Butter Lamps

  Donkey checking out Greenie          Prayer flags everywhere

Tibetans live with their animals; dogs, cats, donkeys, cows and yaks are everywhere and are well respected and fed. One interesting tidbit is that they are Buddhists, but eat yak meat. A very logical explanation is that they want to minimize taking a life, but to maximize the output if they do need to take one for survival. So, it makes perfect sense to kill a yak that will provide enough meals for several people for many days. They do not eat anything other life form (Greenie is amused by the fact that they do not eat fish).

A little rickshaw ride and shopping was fun. The bargaining was not going anywhere till I mentioned that I am from India and was born in the Himalayas. It was amazing to see the change in the attitude J

That’s all for now - it is late and I will let the pictures speak.  Good night!