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The Monasteries
Like other Tibetan peoples, the Khambas of Diqing Prefecture have always been very religious-minded. Monasteries, great and small, have been restored in recent years and are once again playing an active role in the life of the people. The most splendid of these, Guihua Temple, sits on top of the knoll, 5 km north of Zhongdian, that is the site of the monastic village of Songzhanlin. Several smaller monasteries and temples, including one old one sponsored by the former Mu rulers of Lijiang, lie on the rather steep southern slope of the knoll. The road to the top bends to the left, keeping these sacred buildings to the right, as per Tibetan custom, rounds a big chorten (Tibetan pagoda) and ends behind the Guihua Monastery.
Songzhanlin Lamasery
Several older monks live in the compound, while dozens of robed novices spend the daylight hours here but retire at night in nearby home villages or in quarters outside the compound in Songzhanlin. Recitations and chanting of scriptures take place regularly three times a day, while novices sometimes hold afternoon debates on doctrine in one of the courtyards.
The colour red dominates the interior furnishings-the posts, rafters, upstairs doors, benches, cushions and of course the robes of the monks. Silk banners and thangkas (religious scroll paintings) hang from the rafters and ceiling. Tibetan deities line the altar tables. And in front of them the devotees have placed associated religious paraphernalia, such as butter lamps, barley dough figurines, small lion and elephant sculptures, bronze bells and vajras (stylised thunderbolts), and portraits of famous lamas. The exterior facades are covered with fresh, brightly painted religious imagery, in the classic, fanciful Tibetan style.
The other major Khamba monastery in Yunnan is Dongzhulin, 105 km northwest of Zhongdian, in the mountains above Benzilan. The original was destroyed in 1959 and this new version sited on a ridge closer to the main road. The main hall is not as big as Guihuasi's, nor as fancy inside, but its exterior murals are equally superb. Small, boxlike quarters, with whitewashed walls and flat roofs, house Dongzhulin's monks. No views of snow peaks from here, just steep, rocky cliffs with little villages at the bottom, but it probably makes an appropriate setting for those who wish to pursue a life of contemplation.
Dongzhulin Lamasery
Smaller temple compounds, with at least a handful of resident monks, add to the religious life of Zhongdian County. On the hill behind the southwest quarter of Zhongdian's old town sits Baijisi (White Chicken Temple), a modest compound, also recently restored, quiet, intimate, and affording from the hill a great view all around. Somewhat larger, 10 km south of Zhongdian, is Dabaosi, a charming little temple on top of a wooded knoll. The entrance path is lined with chortens made of piles of mani stones-flat stones inscribed with the Tibetan prayer om mani padme hum. Prayer flags hang on the branches of nearby trees.
Like Songzhanlin, Dongzhulin and nearly every monastery, the monks belong to the Gelukpa (Yellow Hat) sect. But in the northern part of Zhongdian, Chengen Temple is home to Nyingmapa (Red Hat) monks, an older sect.
The other major temple compound outside Zhongdian lies just inside Weixi County, southwest of the capital. Named Damo Temple after an Indian disciple of Gautama Siddartha who spent ten years in the cave here before achieving Enlightenment, it was originally constructed in 1662. The spectacular masked lama dances that are an annual feature of the biggest monasteries are staged here in the fourth lunar month. Elsewhere they are winter events, held at Guihuasi the end of the 11th lunar month and at Dongzhulin a month later.
Known locally as Gedong, the festival is the most important religious rite of the year. The elaborately costumed dances narrate a battle between the gods and the demons. The choreography is often ponderously slow, but has sequences where the performers spin around and wave their weapons. The masks themselves are works of art, wonderfully detailed, bright and grotesque. As Tibetan protective deities often assume fierce and dreadful aspects when dueling the forces of evil, it may be difficult for the uninitiated to tell the good guys from the bad, so to speak, for horrific-looking characters dance on both sides of the battle lines.
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