Recalling those years spent in Lhasa, Dungtsho Pema Dorji remembers a life devoted to study and in acquisition of knowledge, with a strict monastic discipline. However, he also recalls happy, magical moments during the great festivals of the Tibetan religious calendar. In particular, he remembers with emotion the Losar (New Year) festival, when sacred dances and horse races took place at the foot of the Potala. The celebration was followed by three weeks of rituals to mark the Monlam Chenmo (Great Prayer). On that occasion, all the monks from the monastic universities of Lhasa gathered around the Jokhang to celebrate the new year rites. There were more than 25,000 monks from Sera, Drepung, or Ganden, thronging the streets of the Tibetan capital, transforming it into a symphony of gold and crimson.

Tashi Delek, May-June 1998 (Druk Air In-Flight Magazine)