"When my friends from other parts of China travel to Mount Qomolangma, they come to see me at the monastery," he said.

 

In 2014, along with other monks, the monastery sent him to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, to study at the Buddhism Institute of Tibet. The institute does not confine its curriculum to scripture, but offers courses in subjects such as law, economics, culture and computer studies -- things a young monk cannot learn in a traditional monastery.

 

"I learned a lot and my horizons have been broadened. But I still have a long way to go to obtain the highest degree of the Nyingma sect," he admitted.

 

When he graduated from the institute in 2016, he returned to Rongpo.

"Buddhism is extensive and profound. I must move forward one small step at a time," he said.