Tibet

Following a stop-over in Chengdu on the way from Kunming to Lhasa, the airplane  ascends steeply and you get the feeling that it is having a hard time passing over the steep mountains of the Himalayas.  It is a powerful sight to see the sea of mountains that are 5000 or 6000 m and even higher. 

In Tibet, it is a surprise to see the high sand dunes which climb up the mountain slopes in the Valley of Brahmaputra. On the 100 km journey from the airport to Lhasa, you pass many monasteries, Buddhas carved into rocks and farmers tending to their yaks.  The bridge over the Brahmaputra is under heavy military protection.

In the center of Lhasa is Tibet’s most sacred site, the Jokhang Temple. Along the innermost of the three pilgrim routes, pilgrims move around in the temple in a clockwise direction while walking on a 800 m long barkhor.  When in front of the temple, many throw themselves flat along the ground. Some pilgrims also move this way from their home villages to the temple, and measure the path in the number of body lengths.

Spinning the prayer drum or prayer mill means that the prayer is being read for every turn.  In addition to Buddhas and Ahats, the inside of the temple contains the Yo-Yo-Buddha. He was once a slim boy when the Chinese Princess Wen Cheng brought him here during a 2 year journey following a peace agreement in the year 822.   Now for each donation of around € 2000, the Buddha receives a new coating of gold.  As a result, he now has a round face.  He is the most sacred Buddha statue in Tibet.

The sight of women laboring as construction workers is still always a surprise. 

From the temple’s roof you receive a beautiful view of the Potala Palace.

The Potala Palace is now in front of us.  It is the winter palace for the Dalai Lama.

The white sections serve worldly purposes, while red sections serve spiritual purposes.  The view from the roof is also breathtaking.  When making the steep climb, you may experience breathing problems.  Lhasa is located at an altitude of 3600 m above sea level. Some monks somewhat agressively begged us, saying “money, money,..“. In addition, we saw how generously the simple pilgrims donated their money at the temple and realized how unpleasant the Stupa of the 5th Dalai Lama was inside the Potala, with its 3500 kg of pure gold.    Especially in light of the fact that monasteries in Tibet do not have any social responsibilities, such as giving meals to the poor.

The Drepung Monastery is closely built into the mountain.  Together with the Sera and Ganden Monastery, it is one of the three elite monasteries in Tibet.  At one time, there were over 10,000 monks living in Drepung. Today there are just  450. Some of them were seen as reincarnations of Buddha. In addition to a series of small meditation and common rooms, there are large ceremonial halls which serve as gathering places for group prayers and meditation.  The monks appear to have a very simple life, even if some of them have the latest generation of cell phones.

The kitchen did not appear to be very inviting.

 In fact, one of the main virtues of Buddhism is humility and modesty. This was not really evident in the begging we saw on the streets.   We guess that about one third of the money gained through begging is used for everyday living.  A third goes to the Dalai Lama and another third goes to weapons for the underground movement.  This is the reason that 250,000 Chinese soldiers are stationed in Tibet, which also brings in a lot of buying power.

Since we had the chance to observe Tibet with our own eyes, we suspect that the opinion spread in the West of the oppressed Tibetan people is not quite all it seems.  In addition to health measures, the Chinese have invested great amounts of money in infrastructure and education in Tibet. In contrast, the Dalai Lama need only renounce his secular claim to leadership.  Little can really be seen besides excellent marketing.  As one of the richest people on Earth, he does not seem to feel any social responsibility towards his people.

The Dalai Lama’s summer palace underlines this impression.  Each Dalai Lama builds his own palace on the property and the Potala is expanded by every Dalai Lama.  Each Dalai Lama gets to build his own meditation rooms.

The Sera Monastery once held 7000 monks, yet today there are only 250. Yet this  monastery is equally important as the Drepung Monestary. Here the monastery’s own print shop can be visited.  Some of the shelves with scripts can be passed from below.  Passing below the scripts means that you have read the scripts.

A unique feature is the monks’ debates in the courtyard.  Discussions are started when someone asks a question.  While doing this he claps his hands loudly.  The person seated in front of him then replies.  The next day the rolls are switched.  The debates are in part conducted very intensively.