Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography and portraiture - Notes on the westward journey of the Sichuan-Tibet North-South Line (4) - Seda

Notes on the westward journey of the Sichuan-Tibet North-South Line (4) - Seda

I got up early in the morning from Serta County and went to the Larung Gar Buddhist College in Wuming, which is 20 kilometers away.

The clouds were so thick that there was no sunrise. The entire Buddhist academy is located in the mountains.

As the largest Buddhist academy in the world, its magnificence shocks everyone who comes here for the first time. Red monks’ cabins all over the mountains and plains surround the magnificent sutra hall halfway up the mountain. All the people walking on the road are monks.

Such a shocking scene makes me want to cry bitterly - Seda without sunshine is a gray Seda in the lens, and the beautiful Seda cannot be photographed. Although there is no pain of lovelorn, there is also The feeling of entering a treasure mountain and returning empty-handed. The sky is gloomy and the only option is to accept the cruel reality. Photos without light are bland, and Seda without blue sky and white clouds might as well be called Huida.

Climbing along the steps and path to the top of the mountain, heading towards the shining golden mandala, it is a bit strenuous to climb the mountain at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. Several companions had to stay in the car to rest because of high fever.

The body of a vulture was found on a hillside covered with prayer flags. The sky burial platform should be nearby. Regarding sky burials, I have always had the mentality of wanting to see them but not wanting to see them. There were no sky burials at the time I went, so I passed by in a hurry.

Seda Buddhist College also recruits Han people. Some monks passing by spoke Mandarin with different accents and discussed various topics, such as what kind of computer they bought and what the international situation is like recently.

Seda is a holy place for monks to study and to take photos of religion, culture and scenery. I want to listen to His Holiness teaching Buddhism in the sutra hall, even if it takes only half a day. It usually takes six years to graduate from this academy, and 13 years for special subjects. Monks can become mages after completing the courses. In my opinion, these years are also a test of patience.

There is no running water on the mountain, so all the lamas and Juemu (female monks) need to go to the bottom of the mountain to fetch water, which is also a test for practitioners. The Buddhist academy has strict precepts, and men and women live in separate areas. Even the lay area has separate living areas for men and women, and they are not allowed to visit each other. Lamas and Jomu cannot walk or perform prayers together.

There is a peaceful atmosphere here, and the thin air is mixed with the smell of scriptures. In Tibetan Buddhism, before practicing Tantra, you must learn five preliminaries. Each preliminary practice has a specific secret mantra, and each secret mantra must be recited at least 100,000 times. No wonder it takes so many years to practice and take classes here.

I’d better stay in the mortal world and continue to live my life of suffering for all living beings.

At the Sutra Turning Hall on the top of the mountain, I met a layman wearing a dirty red robe and a face darkened by the plateau sun. He asked me for money and whispered that he had been laying paving outside for many days. , because I don’t have money to rent a house, so renting a house here is relatively expensive. He spoke anxiously about his predicament, wore glasses and looked like a scholar. I have always had strong sympathy for scholars, so I gave him all the change I had.

He didn’t expect that I would actually give him any money. Perhaps the experience of being rejected by too many people made him a little nervous. He took the change, clasped his hands together, and kept saying thank you.

After I walked around the prayer hall a few times, I found him leaning on a stone bench under the eaves to bask in the sun. My eyes were a little dazed, and I regretted giving him money, because it would make it more difficult for him to break through the world of mortals. The hardship of life and the cruelty of reality should be the best arrangement for him. As the saying goes, everything is fucked. Best arrangement.

At noon, the team met, and Tudou and Thunderstorm tactfully expressed their wish to stay one night.

Tudou said that he wanted to stay and watch the wonderful monks’ daily debate activities in the evening.

I said, you don’t understand Tibetan, so I saw them making gestures, making a sound, one standing and one sitting, sometimes glaring, waving beads, standing on one foot and high-fiving vigorously. , I don’t know, I thought this was the preparation before the fight.

Group debate is more like the quarrel stage before a group fight.

I really can’t bear to destroy their ambition to learn and pursue the truth, but if they stay one more night, it will disrupt their subsequent itinerary. As the captain, I resolutely rejected their idea - this is probably my only power in this temporary non-governmental organization.

Looking back now, there is nothing that cannot be changed, including the itinerary during a trip.

Nothing in this world is eternal. Eternity is a simple and beautiful wish.

Only a fool would believe it. There are many such fools in this world. Maybe this is also a breath of fresh air in the world of mortals.

Missing Seda is a regret during this trip to western Sichuan. There are many regrets, big and small, in a person's life. Tragedy touches people's hearts more than comedy. This trip to western Sichuan was very tragic. It didn't touch other people's hearts, but it broke my heart. The weather has not been better since Seda.

Good weather also requires fate. All things that cannot be explained by scientific reasons can be explained by fate.

It’s really hard to say what fate is.

The road to Garze is full of snow-capped mountains. We will stay in Garze Prefecture County that night.