46) The Jokhang Temple - the spiritual centre of Tibet: Photos 21 to 41

The Jokhang is Tibetan Buddhism’s most sacred shrine, because the temple is not controlled by a particular sect of Tibetan Buddhism it attracts adherents of all the sects as well as followers of Bon-Po, Tibet's indigenous religion. Everyday, pilgrims from every corner of Tibet trek a long distance to the temple. Some of them progress by prostrating themselves throughout their journey until they reach the threshold of the temple. Pilgrims kindle butter lamps with yak butter, or honour the deities with white scarves while murmuring sacred mantras to show their pieties to the Buddha. Situated at the heart of the old town of Lhasa, it was founded by Queen Bhirikuti, the Nepalese wife of Songtsen Gampo, the seventh century unifying king of Tibet who made Lhasa the capital of his newly emerged nation. The temple was built on the principal geomantic power-place in Tibet, the heart of the supine ogress. This strange-sounding expression is an anthropomorphic description of the dangerous terrain of the Tibetan landscape, which king Songtsen Gampo tamed by constructing a series of geomantic temples. In 638, to facilitate the construction of the Jokhang, the Milk Plain Lake was filled in with earth, transported by goats. The previous name

Full Text Entry: 46) The Jokhang Temple - the spiritual centre of Tibet

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