EBC Trip, Thursday 8th November Gyantse In the morning we visited Pelkor Chöde monastery, home to the impressive 35m tall Gyantse Kumbum, the biggest chörten (stupa) in Tibet. Over six floors it houses 77 chapels containing 100,000 images (the literal meaning of 'kumbum') and statues of the many deities and buddhas; the protector deities in particular, typically found in the chapels closest to the entrance of a monastery, have quite a malevolent appearance and are supposed to ward off evil spirits. Needless to say, it took a while to explore the whole kumbum. The protector chapel in the monastery felt rather eerie as, along with all the images and statues depicting fearsome protector deities, there was a monk sitting cross legged in the corner, reciting a mantra while deep in meditation and striking a large gong
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