Seda in western Sichuan, do you want to go again?

1. Seda is a red belief

It is ironic to say that, as I do not believe in Buddhism, I yearned for a place two years ago: Seda in western Sichuan. And he went alone to fulfill his wish.

Strictly speaking, this is not a tourist attraction. It's just because of the stunning sight of the red houses where the Red Sect lamas gather, that I take other people's beliefs as the purpose of my trip.

Dazzling Red

I admit that I am superficial. The moment I arrived at the academy, what filled my heart was not piety, but the most scornful view of Buddhism.

Standing on the mandala, the highest point of the college, the densely packed prayer wheels around me are amazing. However, I can’t get rid of the distracting thoughts in my heart and turn them without distraction, thus digesting the evil obstacles of life into the Dharma. Boundless.

Whatever the heart desires, it is just to have enough food and clothing and live in this mortal world for a short time. I turned around in a symbolic circle and stepped aside. This passage to faith should be left to those devout believers who kowtowed.

Looking down from a high place, there are densely packed small red houses in Larung Valley, which is more than 4,000 meters above sea level. These are wooden houses built by lamas and Juemu for their spiritual practice. No one is not shocked by these crimson wooden houses stretching for several kilometers, and they are also moved by the believers who practice hard here and seek the true meaning of Buddhism.

Walking around the college and walking into the Buddhist hall to listen to the sutras, although I don’t understand anything, I can feel the peace and tranquility in my heart after just sitting there for a few minutes. When I walked to the sutra debate hall, I heard a lot of noise. Hundreds of lamas gathered in a small circle, standing or sitting, high-fiving each other from time to time, asking questions and answering each other. There was a lot of people, but it was not a worldly noise, but like a vajra's angry eyes, taking A mind-blowing epiphany.

Monks

The college is really tolerant of tourists. Their practice does not avoid the secular world, but it must be based on the premise that we respect them. Therefore, despite the convenience, I did not take any close-up shots of any lamas or Jomu.

When you walk to the hillside full of small red houses, you will find that many of them are being demolished. If my guess is correct, all the small wooden houses here will eventually become reinforced concrete houses. In addition to the color, The same crimson color.

Looking around, I felt a little dazed. Those pious colors were not eye-catching when they penetrated deeply into the building complex, and various smells filled the rows of buildings. There is an element of human fireworks that is billowing in the cool breeze coming down from the snow-capped mountains.

The vividness in my eyes has faded due to the close observation, but the brightness in the hearts of people here may still be there. That kind of red, without the need for camera translation, as long as it is connected to faith, will always be their happiest scenery.

2. Yaqing Temple

There is a river in Seda, but I don’t know the name. There are red houses on both sides of the river. The area of ??the college that I can enter freely is Zhaba District, and the area on the other side that only women can enter is Juemu District. To put it bluntly, the men who are monks live on this side of the college, and the women who are monks, or nuns, live on the other side of the river.

Juemu Island

Standing on the cultivation mountain, you can see the whole view of Juemu Island. The houses are densely packed, and about 20,000 nuns live on this island. There are two bridges on the island, one leading to the Cultivation Mountain and the other to the Sutra Hall.

Don’t look at any evil, take a brief look at the general appearance, then leave the practice mountain to listen to the introduction of the mysterious area by well-informed people. It is the largest nun community in the world and is known as the Daughter Buddha Country closest to Buddha. It is not that there are no men living on the island, but they are all minors. Their sisters or other female relatives who have become monks with them are here to become monks. Because they are still young, they need to be taken care of by their relatives. When they reach a certain age, they will be sent to the Zhaba District on the other side to worship Buddha alone.

The Yaqing Temple holds a Vajra song and dance every year, probably around the end of June every year. At that time, thousands of believers will gather here to watch or perform the Vajra Dance Ceremony.

Practitioners without exception firmly believe that the Vajra Dance Ceremony can remove adverse conditions and accumulate favorable conditions.

Yaqing Temple Prayer Flags

The most unforgettable thing in the mouths of all those who have encountered Vajra singing and dancing is the Yaqing Temple prayer flags.

It only appears during Dharma gatherings and has the power to overwhelm all sentient beings just like the Dharma.

The colorful and rhythmic rhythm of dancing in the wind can only be glimpsed in photos.

The introductions from people who know the daily routine of the other side of the country deeply attract listeners like me. My understanding may be that practicing is like taking a class.

The nuns in Yaqing Temple will pray at a huge Mani stone sutra wall in the temple every morning. With their daily activities day after day, generation after generation, this place is composed of one piece after another. A stone slab with scriptures engraved on it was piled up into a stone scripture wall that stretches for hundreds of meters and is ten meters high.

Yaqing Temple Stone Sutra Wall

This stone wall has a history of more than 300 years, and what is certain is that it will continue to grow.

I heard from others that due to the influence of the district’s traditional culture, the female nuns who became monks at Yaqing Temple have rarely read any books. Therefore, the process of practicing in the temple is also a process for them to learn culture. In order to ensure their basic livelihood during their studies, the local government will allocate special funds according to the number of people in the temple roster to provide subsidies.

On the hillside near Juemu Island, there is a hut transformed from a single wooden box.

It is a place where nuns meditate and retreat. Yaqing Temple has an important activity to test practice: a hundred-day retreat. Held every year. Generally speaking, before the cold winter comes in November, after the public classes in the temple are over, the enlightened practitioners will confine themselves in one of the "matchbox" cabins that can only accommodate one person, for a period of up to 100 days. of retreat.

Hundred Days of Retreat

How severe the cold on the plateau is, how severe the test of spiritual practice is. Practicing the Dharma day and night in an extremely difficult environment is a physical exercise and a spiritual pleasure.

Not every practitioner is qualified for a hundred-day retreat. Only those who meet the internal and external standards can do so: Internally, they need the guru’s approval after three assessments. Externally, they need to go down the mountain for a physical examination to obtain a certificate of good health. prove.

Nuns participating in the retreat are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world during the retreat. They perform "three-door retreat", that is, they retreat physically so that they cannot be seen by others; Greed and hatred are different.

After the unimaginable ordeal, less than 1 out of all the nuns who participated in the retreat could obtain the achievement mark of Lama Aqiu. Those who failed had no complaints and continued to take classes and practice for another year.

Don’t be surprised when you occasionally see wrinkled old nuns in the market in Seda. Their decades of perseverance are worthy of your awe.

As for the female nuns who have obtained the mark of achievement, most of them will return to their hometown temples with unparalleled glory to preach the Buddha's message.

3. Seda, I will never go there again

Less than 3 kilometers away from the college, there is a corpse forest. That is the place of sky burial.

Su Shi once wrote in a poem:

Abandoning one’s body in the corpse forest, the birds and kites are left to litter.

Imagine the scene of sky burial on your own. I only remember the sky full of vultures and the rotten stench that made people vomit.

But I don’t think there is anything unacceptable about the physical body leaving the human world and the soul going to the Buddhist Kingdom in this way. Therefore, when I left Seda, I felt no discomfort along the way.

Blue sky, white clouds, grassland, yaks, such a beautiful world.

However, I decided never to come to Seda again. I'm afraid of disturbing the quiet practice of the living, and I'm afraid of disturbing the peaceful souls of the dead. For ordinary people like us who don’t have great wisdom, cherishing the lovers, relatives and friends around us is actually the best practice.