PARTIE 1: Staying with the monks in South Sikkim


Wedged between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, Sikkim , located in the northeast of India, extends over the southern mountains of the Himalayas.

Nepali is spoken here more commonly than Hindi and Tibetan as nepal influence directs lifestyles.

It was in the monastery of Rumtek, the second largest Tibetan monastery in Asia, we ask baggage, facing the green mountains under the colorful flags. A life among the monks.


 

 

 

PARTIE 2: Festival day at Rumtek Monastery


May 28, 2015 , in the monastery of Rumtek, where one of the most famous Karmapa Lama resides, drums resound .

Garchen Tse-chu dance, a renowned lama dance festival begins after a puja (prayers) of one week long .

Once a year, the Monk clothe ancestral costumes and reading the mantras conveys the atmosphere in a celebration of the afterlife.

The masks represent demons heads of animals, evil and scary faces.

When the body dies, the spirit goes to heaven. On his way , the dead will meet these characters, it will follow without being scared, otherwise get lost and end up in the bowels of hell.

The faces are terrifying, but they are the guides to the gates of heaven; in a lifetime, a Buddhist must attend at least one of these ceremonies to recognize those faces when the time comes.