Sera Bengqin Festival

This February is a busy month for Tibetans, for the Tibetan New Year, Losar, falls on 22, February this year. Before Losar, the Tibetans have many things to do, for example, decorating the streets and their own houses. Besides, as a tradition, they also go to pray during Sera Bengqin Festival which is four days before the Tibetan New Year.

Talking about the Sera Bengqin Festival, there’s something you need to know. First, it is a traditional religious event and it is annually hold four days before Losar in the Sera Monastery in the northern suburb of Lhasa (Lhasa is the capital city of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region). Second, as a tradition, the worshipers shall be touched on the head by the Vajra Pestle which is the treasure of the Sera Monastery. The Vajra Pestle was originally a weapon from India and it was introduced as a Tibetan Buddist ritual instrument in the late 15^th century.

On that day, if you happen to travel in Tibet, you may find that the Sera Monastery is crowded with devout men and women worshipers of different age and from different places praying and waiting to be touched by the Vajra Pestle to get the blessing from the Buddhas. It is believed that celebrating the festival and being touched by the Vajra Pestle can ward off disaster and hardship and bring happiness and wellbeing in the coming year.