World's largest Buddhist Academies....

"City of the Sky" and "City of the Nuns"; world's largest Buddhist Academies

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the west of 𝗦𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 is home to two of the largest Buddhist schools in the world.

𝗦𝗲𝗱𝗮 𝗪𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆, also known as Larung Gar is located in the Larung valley in Sertar County and was founded in 1980 by Jigme Phuntsok, Nyingma lama and Terton from Sertar County.

𝗬𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆, also known as Yaqen Orgyan Temple is situated in Baiyu County, about 100-150 km south-west from Larung Gar. The monastery was founded in 1985 by Lama Achuk Rinpoche.

Both academies are located at an altitude of about 4,000 meters and home to thousands of monks, nuns and students. While the Seda Wuming Buddhist Academy is often called “𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝘆” because of the altitude, Yarchen Gar Monastery is sometimes called “𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗻𝘀” as nuns make up a large proportion of the population.

The Seda Wuming Buddhist school is renowned for students from China and abroad while Yarchen Gar is especially known for its meditation practices. A unique meditation practice in Yarchen Gar are little white huts scattered in the hills around the monastery and community where nuns will stay in solitude and meditate 24/7 for up to 100 days. Only leaving for necessary toilet breaks, food and drinks are brought to them by fellow nuns.

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