Samye Mandala Prayer Flags

After visiting perhaps the most important and first ever built monastery in Tibet, Samye Monastery, we decided to hike up to Guru Rinpoche's cave and hermitage, which overlooks the whole Samye Mandala below. Anyone who has ever traveled in Tibet knows how strong and intense the sun is! You really feel that you are on the 'roof of the world'. So in the scorching heat of the sun we climbed the hill to Guru Rinpoche's hermitage and as we came up higher and higher we could feel the blessings of the place. This is where Padmasambhava, invited by King Trisong Detsen at the time in the 8th century came and helped pacify the demons of Tibet, it is said, and introduce Buddhism to Tibet. Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, is said to have battled with the demons in the 'Great Debate of Samye' and won over them, thereby introducing Buddhism as the main religion of Tibet. Here at Samye, the first monks were ordained. The view from up here is amazing! And the river visible in the far horison is Brahmaputra, traveling its way from west Tibet all across the Tibetan Plateau into India and out into the Indian Ocean. Isn't that incredible?