Lhasa, Tibet

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Our first full day in Lhasa, we met with Tenzin, the manager at Windhorse tours, the company that Tibetan Connections had worked with to arrange our trip. Tenzin met us and Gelleck out on the street. There was still some confusion about the length of our stay, and our permit had been set up for only 9 days when we had actually requested that we wanted to stay for 10. There was continuing confusion throughout the trip about our itinerary as Windhorse seemed to be operating on our original itinerary that had us only staying at Nam Tso lake for one day instead of two. Tenzin assured us that it would be no problem to get our permit extended and he was true to his word.

After straightening out the permit, Gelleck took us to the Jokund, a temple in the Barkhor Square. Inside we looked at statues of Buddhas, former Dalai Lamas, and other assorted figures of historical importance. In what was to become a recurring theme in the various temples we visited, we would see three Buddha statues; the past Buddha, the present Buddha, and the future Buddha. Each Buddha had a slightly different pose by which you could identify which Buddha it was. I could only differentiate the future Buddha which was posed in a sitting position as if ready to stand up, where as the other two Buddhas were sitting with their legs crossed. Butter lamps burned throughout the Jokund, casting a warm yellow light on everything inside. Incense burned in many rooms.

After touring the Jokund, we went back out into the Barkhor. The Barkhor is a large open square packed with stands selling all sorts of items; small brass cups to hold butter lamps, prayer wheels on sticks, necklaces, etc. In front of the Jokund were two large white chimneys which burned juniper branches as incense, the white smoke curling constantly into the sky. Throngs of people walked the streets that encircled the Jokund in a clockwise kora around the Jokund (note: a “kora” is walking clockwise around a site of religious significance as an act of piety). The extremely faithful did the kora by prostrating themselves on the pavement perpendicular to the street direction, rising up, taking a few steps to the side, and repeating the prostrations, chanting all the while. The prostrators wore heavy aprons to prevent wearing through their clothes when they lay on the pavement, and wooden blocks protected their hands. Pretty hard core devotion if you ask me.

We took lunch at the New Mandala rooftop restaurant. I had my first taste of tsampa, the traditional Tibetan food made by mixing barley flour with a liquid such as water or beer to create a thick dough which was then molded into a ball and dipped in soup or some other sauce. Better than it sounds, and very filling, especially when it is made with yak butter. From the roof we could see Chinese soldiers on adjacent roof tops watching over the Barkhor. Chinese troops were everywhere in the Barkhor section of Lhasa. Every major road leading into the Barkhor was guarded by several armed soldiers. Groups of ten or so soldiers would periodically march past us.

At one point, Ido decided to break the well known injunction against photographing Chinese soldiers and tried to photograph a group of approaching soliders. Of course, he was instantly spotted and a soldier rushed over to Ido had a look at the pictures on his camera. Fortunately for Ido, he had not photographed the soldiers yet and so he was allowed to keep his camera and memory card.

In the afternoon, we went to the Norbulinka, the Dalai Lama’s summer palace. The compound was a little run down, but still interesting to visit. Inside we toured summer palaces built by various dalai lamas as a retreat from the stark Potala. Not every dalai lama had created his own palace, but several, including the current Dalai Lama, had.

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Photos

Kora around the Jokund, Barkhor Square, Lhasa, Tibet
Notice that nearly everyone in the photo is walking away from me. The Jokund temple is to the right of the people walking, thus they are walking clockwise around the Jokund on their kora.

Incense chimney, Jokund temple, Lhasa, Tibet
The white chimney is burning juniper branches as incense.
The man in the hat to the right is doing a kora around the Jokund. In his hand is a prayer wheel on a stick. On the cylinder at the top of the stick is inscribed the Buddhist mantra. As the cylinder spins clockwise, it is believed to release the mantra. Spinning the cylinder is akin to reciting the mantra over and over again.
Note the man prostrating himself on the ground. His head is pointing towards the Jokund and his body is perpendicular to the direction he is moving. On his palms that are clasped above his head are wooden blocks to protect his hands. The grey apron protecting his clothes is visible at his waist.

Barkhor Square, Lhasa, Tibet
Note the hill in the upper left hand corner of the photo with the radio tower. The hill was formerly the site of the Tibetan Medicine College. The college was destroyed at some point after the Chinese invaded.

Chinese communist monument across the street from the Potala, Lhasa, Tibet
Note the soldier standing guard at the base.

Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
Left to right: Kris, Dan, Ido

Norbulingka, Lhasa, Tibet
The Dalai Lama would watch events in the street below from the window at the top of the building.