Sera Monastery debate - China Travel

introduce

Sera Monastery's debates have always been famous in Tibetan areas, and it is also the focus of visiting Sera Monastery. The scripture debate ceremony of Sera Monastery is held in the scripture debate field in the north of the temple. After entering the gate of the temple, walk straight for about a kilometer along the wide road. You don’t need to buy another ticket to enter the scripture debate field. There is no need to worry about the huge sun in the afternoon in Tibet, because the numerous towering trees in the Sutra Debating Field block the glare and hot sunlight on the plateau, making this place a fresh and cool stage for religious activities. It starts at 3:00 pm every day and lasts until 5:00 pm, which is not available on Sundays and special holidays, so you need to pay attention. When debating scriptures, monks often sit on the ground while the other stands opposite, debating scriptures with exaggerated movements, which is very interesting. Those who stood up asked questions in Tibetan, and those who sat on the ground answered in Tibetan. The topics of debate involved various aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. As soon as a question comes up, the attendees must respond without thinking, refute or answer. With the deepening of the debate activities, distinctive pictures began to appear. Standing people faced each other, using various gestures and rich body movements, even glaring, waving rosary beads, standing on one foot and vigorously clapping their hands to show their prestige. . They either raise their arms high and chop down when asking questions; or pull the prayer beads to express their victory over each other with the power of faith.