spirit of tibet

The Spirit of Tibet : 

Educating the World on the Meaning of Acceptance and Courage The Spirit of Tibet

Tenpa : 

Tenpa Rules for not getting sick in Asia: Don’t eat street food Don’t eat fresh produce Only drink bottled water Take your altitude medication Medicine and First Aid kit First four days in Lhasa to acclimate (11,450 feet) Our rock and the best example of servant leadership I know. Tashi Delay Khata

No Pictures Allowed in Tibet : 

No Pictures Allowed in Tibet His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

Lhasa : 

Lhasa Barkhor – circumambulate clockwise Jokhang - Tibet’s holiest temple Potala Palace – the Dalai Lama’s winter palace Tibetan Mastiff “Research”

The Pure Land of Avalokitesvara – the embodiment of compassion and the former winter residence of the Dalai Lamas : 

The Pure Land of Avalokitesvara – the embodiment of compassion and the former winter residence of the Dalai Lamas Potala Palace

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The Barkhor

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The Barkhor actually encompasses the entire Tibetan district of Lhasa

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Many small stalls sell everything you can imagine Pilgrims, Monks, Tourists and Townspeople all shop here Bartering is expected Many merchants know some English, especially money

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Calculators are essential tools for negotiations If you get gipped you will know, because a Tibeti will give you a “free” gift Tibeti, Yak bone and good are all words often heard Chinese will wear masks to get business

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The faithful will circumambulate the Barkhor in a clockwise direction Traditionally the elderly will chant and spin their prayer wheels or count their mala prayer beads Traditional dress The old people watch out for the young

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Om Mani Padme Hum in Tibetan

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Braiding my hair with the traditional colorful bundle of floss made the Tibetans happy. Little children would come up to me and smile and say “I love you, you are beautiful, you look just like us”

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The Jokhang Temple

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Tibet’s Holiest Temple

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Pilgrims come from all over Tibet to visit the Jokhang. Some of the devout come from their homes across the country, performing prostrations the entire way.

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Chinese Military Presence You saw some soldiers on the last slide What you probably can not tell by the photos is that they are circumambulating counter clockwise around the Barkhor in front of the Jokhang These soldiers are generally very young and are posted at every possible entrance and exit to the Barkhor This is a good time for some history

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Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsiEluJFsO8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWYPDj4XbCM The first clip shows some history of the violence in Tibet, and the events during rioting in 1987 It also shows you some beautiful images of Tibet and the Tibetan people This second clip is really a continuation to the 3:30 mark

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I did not know all of this before I went to Tibet. I expected to have my mind blown, I had this picture in my head that Tibet was going to be this amazing Shangri La (this was a term coined by a movie, so no wonder). I was not prepared for poverty, filth and oppression In a military occupied state. I could not take pictures of the military and I refused to photograph the beggars. My heart was broken. My Experience

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqoH6_sRwEs&feature=related What Tibetans Believe Here is another 2:22 minutes showing some amazing festivals and interiors As Robert Thurman says: “Tibetan Buddhism IS Buddhism.” The Indian Buddhists saw that Buddhist ways of living made believers vulnerable to attack. They introduced Buddhism to the geographically isolated Tibetan plateau for safe keeping

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I felt that Buddhism was doing the Tibetans no favors and I was disillusioned. Pacifist me wanted to fight for the Tibetan people. I spent a couple of months depressed instead.

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Seeing the movie helped me to know that the signs of war that I had seen and intuited while there were recent. The Tibetans did fight, even the monks and nuns. They got more oppressed. They accepted and they learned how to live in peace. They know how to smile and go on.

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Now let’s return to our previously scheduled event

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Thankga Painting Studio

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Each thangka is laid out in precise dimensions according to ancient specifications using pigments made of precious and semiprecious minerals and metals

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Sera Monastery

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Inside the Monasteries

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One big central meeting room Smaller chapels off of the main meeting room with statues and stupas Butter lamps Pilgrims bring yak butter or an alternative and money in tiny denominations for offerings

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Tibetan statues are uniquely gilded and robed in silk Tibetan art has been influenced by artists from India, Nepal and China throughout the centuries

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Monastic Libraries and Texts Nearly every chapel in a monastery has its own library Some ancient texts have pages painted with lapis lazuli and inscribed with gold

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Wrathful Deities Wrathful deities guard the entrances to monasteries and temples Some temples cover their murals or do not allow women into the chapels of wrathful deities

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Another Kind of Monastery

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Chomolungma The Mother Goddess of the World

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Nomads

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YAK!

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Yak Hair Tent

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Kharola Glacier

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Camera Ready

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Tibetan Farmhouse

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Tibetan Mastiff

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Yak Milk Cheese

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Weaving at Home

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Water Pump

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Kitchen in a Brand New House

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Poopies for Fuel

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The ONLY Legal Display of the Dalai Lama

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Tujechhe Thank you for giving me back Tibet!

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Images from Other Sources: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso http://www.dalailama.com/biography Monastery interior http://kimonovintage.blogspot.com/2006_10_15_archive.html Military in front of the Jokhang http://www.freetibet.org/newsmedia/life-tibet-today Barkhor side streets http://picturesoftheworld.110mb.com/china/tibet/lhasa/19960626-lhasa-market-31.jpg Monk buying robes http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n_pCCoD41vCgrl1layj59w Om Mani Padme Hum in Tibetan http://www.freewebs.com/sonamsan/ Giant robed Buddha http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/10/yangon-ngahtatgyi-paya-aung-thukha.html Monastery Library http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Jammu-and-Kashmir/blog-17089.html Tibetan text http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/UB008948.html Woman in braids http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/jokhang-temple06.shtml Tibetan women and families in Barkhor http://www.asia-insider-photos.com/tibetan-culture.html Wrathful Deities http://philosattva.wordpress.com/ Tibetan Flag http://www.freetibet.org/support Tibetan mastiff ad http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/06/tibetan-mastiff-craze-swe_n_673763.html#s123882

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References _______ . Color Symbolism in Buddhism. ReligionFacts: 2004-2010 accessed August 25, 2010. http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/symbols/color.htm _______ . Color Symbolism In Buddhist Art. ExoticIndiaArt, Article of the Month: February 2002 accessed August 25, 2010. http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/colors/ Beer, Robert. The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. Shambhala, Boston: 2003 Fischer, Robert E. Art of Tibet. Thames and Hudson Ltd., London: 1997 Rinpoche, Sogyal. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper, 1992. p. 187   Thurman, Robert. The Jewel Tree of Tibet. Audio Book Sounds True, 2006. Sessions I Part I Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion