- note: this place was closed for foreigners in June 2016 shortly after my visit-

Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, also known as Serthar Buddhist Institute, sits in the Larung Valley at an elevation of 4,000 meters, about 15 km from the town Sêrtar, in Sertar County, Garze Prefecture in the traditional Tibetan region of Kham, in west Sichuan, China.

Getting to this place takes a bit of effort and time.

I took local transport from Chengdu and it took me 3 days to get here changing countless minivans/buses, travelling through dirt roads and getting used to the acclimatization.

If you are not used to the altitude, you feel it very soon.

The religious establishment of Larung Gar was founded by Dudjom Lingpa in 1880 and was rebuilt 100 years later by Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok. According to local Buddhist practitioners, the monastery aims to “unite Buddhists in harmony, uphold pure precepts, and study and reflect upon and practice the sacred Dharma; finally, to propagate the Dharma and benefit all beings.”

Funeral Procedure - Vultures to Eat the Body

Practice of sky burial is closely related to philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetans believe that if the vultures come and eat the body, it means that the dead has no sin and that his or her soul has gone peacefully to the Paradise. And the condors on the mountains around the celestial burial platform are "holy birds" and only eat the human body without attacking any small animals nearby.

At dawn on a lucky day, the corpse is sent to the burial site among mountains which is always far from the residential area. Then "Su” smoke is burned to attract condors, Lamas chant sutras to redeem the sins of the soul, and a professional celestial burial master deals with the body.

Foreigners are not allowed to the ceremony.