Special Visit to the Xi'an Lama Temple

We visited the peaceful Lama Temple in Xi'an.  When we arrived our delegatation was welcomed by some of the monks and we were given white scarfs as a token of appreciation for our visit.

1,000 armed Avolokatsvara

A close up of the many extended arms/hands of the statue...

Lotus root and blossoms blooming all around...

Circumambulating the outside of the temple we spun the prayer wheels.

Tim lights a candle and places it on the altar.

We were invited to climb the steps to get a closer look at the upper portion of the giant Buddha statue.   First we had to put our feet in this silly machine to put a protective plastic cover over or shoes.

View from the top!

Amy from Portland and I sitting on the ornate couch in the temple masters private quarters.

Our group was given the rare opportunity to see the private area of the temple and we even had the pleasure of hearing the temple master chant a sutra.

This seat is reserved for the Pinchan Lama whenever he visits.

In this room was an old picture of Mao and the Dalai Lama before their falling out (to put it lightly)...

Fellow art educator and Chicago native, Margy, poses with the temple master.  She amazes me with her dedication to her craft; she is always sketching away in her sketchbook...everywhere we go.

As a sign of respect we tied our scarves on the door or a tree before we left.