Thread by @TibetCollective

The celebration continues 2 or 3 days. The celebration includes religious ceremonies & mask dances performed by the monks in #Tibet.
@NetTibet @CultureTibet

Dra Yerpa hermitage, about 16km northeast of #Lhasa, is one of the holiest cave retreats. Among the many ascetics who have sojourned here are Guru Rinpoche & Atisha, the Bengali Buddhist who spent 12 years proselytizing in #Tibet.
@TibetPeople @TibetCouncil @AartiTikoo

Songtsen Gampo also meditated in a cave, after his #Tibetan wife established the first of Yerpa’s chapels. The peaceful site offers lovely views and is a great day trip from #Lhasa.
@freetibetorg @SFTHQ @CanadaTibet

At one time the hill at the base of the cave-dotted cliffs was home to Yerpa Drubde #Monastery, the summer residence of #Lhasa’s Gyuto College at the Ramoche Monastery.
@GordonGChang @TibSolidarity

The #monastery was destroyed in 1959 by #PRC. Monks have begun to return to Yerpa but numbers are strictly controlled by the government, which carries out regular patriotic study sessions.
@sangyalkunchok @rfatibet