Ganden Monastery
Established in 1409, before the cultural revolution, this monastery housed over 2000 monks. Now it's home to 200 monks and nuns. This was my favorite monastery visit for many reasons. First, the view from here is oh so awesome! It also was here that we received a blessing of a tap on the head from the real hat of Tsongkapa, the founder of this monastery in 1409. Inside the hat, were the slippers from the 13th Dalai Lama. Now that's a blessing! Also, in this monastery we experienced prayers of monks using vocal sounds we didn't think could emanate from a human being. Deep, reverberating - Ty calls them "devil voices". The whole dimly lit place was eerie yet amazingly peaceful.
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more 
