Tibetan monk at the well

Monk at the fountain

06/2011 We saw this Tibetan monk at the well in a monastery near Shigatse. The red-hatted monk is a member of the Tashilhunpo monastery in Xigaze. Although Xigaze is one of the larger cities in Tibet, many things here are still like they were in the Middle Ages. The monks in the monastery are like teachers. Tibetans have the option of sending their children to the monastery to live with the monks. However, there is no longer an obligation like there used to be.