Yungdrungling Monastery

 

This is a much different monastery than you might think. By just looking at Yungdrungling, it appears as a typical Buddhist Monastery. but it is not! It is a Bon Monastery. Bon is the original religion of the Tibetan people dating back thousands of years. In the past, the two religions were in a type of competition. However, recently, the Dali Lama recognizes the Bon as one of the official spiritual schools of Tibet.

A very important tradition and practice to take note, when visiting a Bon Monastery, always enter a temple or start a Kora in the counter-clockwise direction. It can be difficult to remember because if someone didn’t tell you, you would think you are in a Buddhist Monastery.
The Monastery suffered a great deal of damage during the cultural revolution. Evidence of that can still be seen. I prefer to hike to the Monastery, which is not that far from the Northern Friendship Highway.  Yungdrungling is situated between Lhasa and Shigatse. Again, this monastery can be visited as a day trip from Lhasa, but many people stop by as a side trip during the drive from Lhasa to Shigatse.