Where is the Buddha Exhibition Festival in Tibet?

Every May and June, temples in Tibet hold Buddhist exhibitions. During the Buddha exhibition, a series of religious activities were held in the temple, and people rushed to watch the pilgrimage, which became a grand festival for a time. Buddha Exhibition Festival is also called "Sun Buddha Festival", and temples bask in Buddha at different times in summer. There are Buddhist booths in the three major monasteries in Lhasa: Sera Monastery, Gandan Monastery and drepung monastery, and monks and customs will be in full swing. Strive to see the sacred face of the giant Buddha.

1, Sera Temple Buddha Festival

August 19 is the first day of the 2020 Lhasa Snow Festival. In the early morning, the horn sounded in the Sera Temple at the foot of the northern suburb of Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region, and the annual traditional Buddha Exhibition Festival kicked off in the twilight.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, Thangka, the Buddha statue in Sera Temple, slowly unfolded, and mulberry smoke filled the temple. The religious people who approached Thangka folded their hands and worshipped in front of Thangka. People throw white and yellow Hada high at Thangka to express their welcome and blessing.

2. Buddha Exhibition in drepung monastery

At 9: 00 am on August 30th, 2020, a grand Buddhist exhibition was held in drepung monastery, located in the western suburbs of Lhasa. Monks slowly unfolded this huge Qiangbafo Thangka from the top of the Buddha statue booth. It is about 42 meters long and 40 meters wide. It is beautifully shaped and very solemn. The surrounding believers marched around Thangka, constantly throwing Hada, praying for peace, happiness and good weather. The Buddha exhibition in drepung monastery also kicked off the 7-day Lhasa Snow Festival.

3. Gandan Temple displays Buddha statues.

The temple is located in Dazi County, 45 kilometers east of Lhasa. It was the first gelug sect monasteries founded by Gurugpa, a guru of Tibetan Buddhism, in the seventh year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (1409). Together with drepung monastery and Sera Monastery, which were later built on the outskirts of Lhasa, they are called "three major monasteries".

On the day of the Buddha exhibition, devout believers marched to Gandan Temple, chanting while counting beads, and walked to the top of the mountain. Some believers came to the hillside opposite Gandan Temple and hung colorful prayer flags on a beautiful day to pray for peace. In the crowd, several foreign tourists showed great interest in the exhibition of Buddha.

At 1 1 30 in the morning, as a giant future Buddha Thangka slowly unfolded, many devout believers went to the Buddha exhibition site to worship the Buddha statue and pray for happiness. Some believers recite Buddhist scriptures and throw Hada, who wishes good luck, into the Buddha statue one after another, while others sincerely cross their hands and pray silently. With the holding of the Buddha exhibition ceremony, mulberry smoke curled up and spread all over the temple.

Where can I see the Buddha Exhibition Festival? There are exhibition platforms in the three major monasteries in Lhasa: Sera Monastery, Gandan Monastery and drepung monastery.