Sertar Larung Gar Buddhist Institute in Sertar, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture, Sichuan, China, is the largest Tibetan Buddhist center of learning
in the world. The institute's name, Larung, is an abbreviation of a Tibetan
expression, Lama Lungwa, meaning highly respected monk. 20,000 monks and nuns
live here, spending their days in study and ascetic practices. Every Chinese
Tibetan hopes to visit Larung Gar once in their lifetime, despite the remote
and inhospitable location - winter temperatures in the Larung Valley go as low
as minus 36 ℃.
This is a precious repository for traditional Tibetan culture in contemporary China: many believers rely on the Institute for the Tibetan Buddhist funerary rite called sky burial, and during Grand Dharma Assemblies the valley attracts over 40,000 pilgrims.
Among the Institute's students are many Han Chinese, disillusioned with China's breakneck economic growth and seeking answers in the ancient sutras.
Foreign media are not permitted in the valley and the Institute has received almost no media coverage. This program is a compilation of footage taken over the course of about a year by a young Chinese filmmaker.
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