Lhasa: A Pilgrams Perspective

An interuption of the previously schedueled Great Wall post with this breaking announcement from my time in Lhasa. Video of this adventure upon my return to America.



First a few definitions



Jokang Temple- the central temple in Lhasa's sacred geography. One of the first temples to be built there.



Barkor- the circular path of buildings, offering fires, and goods stalls that surrounds the Jokang.



Lhasa, Day 3

My day began with a charcteristically bland western breakfest that Carly and I shared before venturing off for the day. Carly had schedueled some time with our professor to interview some local hui muslims near the mosque in town and I had an unplanned day ahead of me with only a hope of visiting a few supermarkets. After breakfast Carly and I went our seperate ways and I headed back to the hotel. On the path back to the room is the Jokang temple. The day before we had walked part of the Barkor path encircling the temple before heading down a side alley for lunch. As I watched the offering fires fill the square with incese and the many pillgams flow round the temple like a flowing river, I decided that I should not let the opportunity to enter pass me by. First I am greeted by questioning glances as the morning is the time for pillgrams to walk the circut and afternoon is the time for tourists. I steel my nerves dispite the many looks and make my way into the flow with thoughts of an early exit. Just as the thought of leaving entered my head I got a tap on the shoulder. I turn and a young monk bows his head, lifts a neckless of of his neck and places it onto mine. Tujay chay (thank you) I quickly reply as it is the only tibetan I know and is an apt opportunity for its use. He motions for me to follow him and I pull out my phrase book to tell him that it is beautiful and I appreciate the gift. He walks over to a stall selling robes and puts one on. Many interested tibetans come up looking at the phrasebook and the spectical that is a westerner and a monk. The browsing that the monk is doing made me slightly uncomfortable since I didn't know where this interaction was going. Then the monk puts down the robes and directs me to a spot I thought I was familiar with from the other walk. We move behind the second offering fire to a small building that houses a prayer wheel as big as the room and a shine directly behind. The monk pulls my hand to the wheel and we spin shrouded in candle light and chanting. We exit the room after a few spinsand head down a small alleyway off of the barkor and headed for the center of the jokang. The ally is packed full of people who are lining up into a doorway. Tibetan drums pound away as we enter the room. A 9 foot Budda presides over a room full of dieties and their devotees. The second story of the building is even more filled as the line up spans the stairway and the room. Blessing are being given by a monk to 7 or so people at a time. Each set kneels before the chanting monk who proceeds to tap each person on the back of the head with a golden lightning bolt then a round of liquid is poured over each bowed head while prayers are said. The ritual prompts me to pull out my video camara to start filming but the monk motioned that it was time to go. We reached to alleyway through the crowds. The monk sees the small camara in my hand and asks to see it. I hand it over and from this point on the monk is filming the experiance. We walk down the alleyway more toward the center and pass a hall lined with small spinning prayer wheels. Each passerby spins the wheels as they walk. We walk up a staircase to the second story balcony.



Some places convey a sense of centrality. Where the essence of a people, an institution, or an occurance is clear, evident, and simple. A place where there is not one more secret hidden behind a locked door or something missing that deminishes a wholeness of experance. The jokang temple is meant to be such a place. It was built with a sacred geometry in mind. The Jokang is the center of the mandala that Lhasa was designed upon. When I stepped out of the Barkor encircling the temple and headed straight to the physical center of the circuit, I walked into the spiritual center of Tibetan Buddism. I saw clearly the collective power and unity of Tibetan Buddism in action.



From the second story, I had a long view of hunderds of people chanting and spinning prayer wheels in an open courtyard. Everything was in constat motion as the prayer wheels spun and the devotees entered and exited with offereing. This is Tibetan Buddism in action, not like to empty Potala only traveled by tourists. Nor was it the tourist filled afternoon Barkor filled with chanting merchants hawking their wares. This was the real thing. The real people in a very real place. The soul was intact. This was a place for the Tibetans not the tourists.



We made our way down to the courtyard floor and I began to feel my own presance as heads turned to see the camera wielding monk with the westerner in tow. I kept to following my guide monk directing tashidaley (good forturne) and tujay-chay (thank you) to all those we past. We emter the shrine room where people were offering yak butter and other liquids to the numerous dieties in the room. We circled through the room and made our way to the roof. Again togeather we were an intreguing sight and I was asked many questions that language barriers kept me from answering. We found a quiet corner filled with elder tibetans and an anny (nun) chanting and laughing with their prayer wheels in hand. They offered us a seat and we accepted. The monk handed me a prayer wheel and spoke the chant for me to repeat. "Ohm-pani-mani-sih" The group had a good laugh at my ackward spinning (its harder than it looks). A few new people came and we gave up our seats for the elders, bowed our heads, and headed back for the Barkor. On my way out to the courtyard and elderly woman stuck out her hand for a donation. I was feeling generous as I knew that I had been given all ones as change at breakfast and that was a sign that I should be giving. I put a bill in her hand and five more emerged. I would later find out that this is a temple frequented by many beggers. By the time we made it back to the Barkor, I had only one kuai for the monk. As we began to circle again on the Barkor, I pulled out the my phrase book to ask the monk his name. I point to the phrase, no reply, only a quick conversation with with some chinese tourists that ends in a laugh. I ask again, he motions to his mouth as if he wants to eat. I ask again, he puts his hand on my neck and pulls our heads togeather and he says thank you in english. I open to the page to ask him if he wants to eat but we are interupted by a Chinese tourist fascinated by a monk and a westerner interacting and when we look at him as he trys to take a picture he say "keep talking." We walk past him into the Barkor square where we started this story. This time through a new character emerges, TASHI DALEY a Tibetan professor of archetecure and art who speaks flawless english. He come up to me and asks me about my relationship with the monk, "Is he your friend?" The monk continues walking. I keep an eye on him as I reply, "No, I just met him this morning." The monk moves into a crowd and the smoke as TASHI says, "You must be careful there are many fake monks around." The monk dissappeared and TASHI DALEY emerges.