Zhigong Ti Monastery, also translated from Kongti Monastery and Zhigong Monastery, is one of the oldest monasteries in Tibet and the origin of the "heavenly burial" custom in Tibet. Today, the world's second-largest celestial burial platform is still here. In recent years, due to the increase in the number of tourists from the mainland to Lhasa, the sky burial platform near Lhasa has begun to prohibit outsiders from visiting the sky burial ceremony. In contrast, the environment of the temple is relatively relaxed, so many people who are curious about the celestial burial ceremony will choose to go to the temple.

In October, a group of four of us went to the Drikung Ti Temple. Lhasa's Eastern Suburbs Bus Station has a daily shuttle bus to the Drikung Ti Monastery.

The journey from Lhasa to Zhigong Ladder is more than four hours and the ticket price is 50 yuan. A little after nine o'clock, we arrived at the Drikung Ti Temple. As soon as you get off the bus, someone comes up and sells tickets to visit the Drikung Ladder Temple. The ticket is 35 yuan, and the ticket is printed with the words "It is forbidden to visit the sky burial".

The burial platform is located on the back hill of the Drikung Ti Temple. The area of the temple is not large, and we will be able to browse it in a short time. Then, we walked along the mountain road to the back mountain. Less than a mile out of the monastery, we saw flocks of crows circling in the sky. The crows here are so large that they resemble the eagles of the mainland, and if it weren't for their noisy chirping, we would have mistaken them for a flock of eagles. Not far from the side of the road, there are often one or two vultures looking around.

The burial platform is surrounded by a high wall, and there are observation decks at both ends of the wall, and the style of the building is a bit like the courtyard of some wealthy families in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. To avoid unnecessary trouble, we did not enter through the gate, but went around the fence in search of a spot where we could watch.

The place where I was standing was only twenty or thirty meters away from the celestial burial ceremony, and I could clearly see the whole process of the celestial burial ceremony.

Before the celestial burial began, hundreds of vultures stood on the periphery of the ritual room, and these vultures were in a restless agitation. In front of the vultures, there is a row of people holding hands to stop them from approaching. Behind these people is an open space, and behind the open space there is a table. Behind the platform is a monk preparing to be dismembered. As soon as the celestial burial began, as soon as the people holding hands in a row withdrew, the vultures swarmed up. As soon as the vultures withdrew, the crows, which had been hovering in the sky for a long time, descended at a rapid pace.

During the whole process, the crowd around was quiet, and no sound was made. I saw that their faces were solemn but holy.

There are three types of burials in Tibet, water burial, earth burial and sky burial. Tibetans have their knowledge of nature, of life, of death. Sky burial is the highest form of all funerals, and not everyone can enjoy this type of burial after death. There are many requirements for sky burial, and those who can enjoy the treatment of sky burial must be a respected person during their lifetime, and they must not die untimely or accidentally. Finally, it must also be recognized by the local living Buddha. Therefore, getting a celestial burial is also a glory after the death of the deceased.

I am reminded of the heavenly burial in the mouth of a young villager I met in Hoh Xili, this is a girl who studied Tibetan Buddhism in a Buddhist college, she said that the Tibetans have maintained the most simple admiration and understanding of life, they are actually the earliest people who have an understanding of the biological chain in the natural world, which is also one of the original origins of the heavenly burial. She said that a long time ago, the lifespan of vultures was only more than 20 years, but with sky burial, vultures generally live up to 80 or 90 years. She said that those who can give their bodies to living beings after death will definitely have a place in heaven.