During your Tibet trip, temples and monasteries are must to visit. Visit temples in Tibet is one of the most sacred pilgrimage tours for Tibetans. In the olden days, it was different to visit temple in Tibet than than visiting monasteries because in the olden days, temples in tibet were basically a house to a specific Buddha's statues. Example Jokang temple in
Lhasa. In the olden days, Jokang temple was not a monastic college and there were not many monks. The temples were just dedicated to the statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, brought from China of Tang Dynasty and there were very few monks who were taking care of the statue and the temples so in the olden days, when there was a temple, it was clear that there was no monastic life. When there was a monastery, there was a monastic life and it was similar to a Buddhist college in the present day.
Nowadays, it has become different than before and there are more monks in some of the temples including Jokang temple and they also have monastic life including studying Buddhist philosophy. To visit temples in Tibet, you don’t need to take your shoes off like in other Asian Buddhist countries including Thailand but you must take off your hat and It is very important to be very quiet when you visit the temples and monasteries in Tibet. The Tibetans visit temples or monasteries by taking lots of Yak butter to make butter lamp offering to the Buddha and Bodhisattva inside the temples and monasteries.
In 7th century, the 33rd Tibetang king Songtsan Gampo built 108 small temples both in Tibet and Bhutan. Traduk temple in Tsetang and Buchu Lhakang in Nyingtri are two of 108 temples in Tibet and Kyichu Lhakang in
Bhutan is also one of the 108 temples built by King Songtsan Gampo. The temples of Tibet are the embodiment of culture and the center of life on the roof of the world. From the incredible artwork to the unique blend of sophisticated spiritualism and ancient superstition, the temples of Tibet are endlessly captivating and it is always interesting to visit temples in Tibet during your Tibet tour.