One of the most incredible parts of my trip to western China was our visit to the Labrang Monastery. It's a Tibetan monastery located southwest of Lanzhou (aka the WORST CITY EVER) and is quite a distance from any sizeable town. However, the long bus ride was well worth it.
We toured several temples, led by an impeccably well-spoken lama from Tibet. The temples were all dark and musty. They smelled of the yak's butter candles that illuminated them and had countless paintings, tapestries, and giant Buddha statues. These religious spaces were less imposing than a cathedral but also lacked the grandeur. They reminded me of someone's home.
The monastery is a major education source for the Tibetan lamas. Our guide was a university graduate who had studied English and was now studying Tibetan Buddhist philosophy at the monastery.
I don't really know how much I can write about Tibet on this blog. I'll save it for when I come back to America. In any case, I truly learned so much about Tibetan culture and religion from the monastery. It was truly enlightening and beautiful to see.
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