For my second trip to Golok this summer, I make a b-line for Serta just in time for the annual dharma gathering (chos tshogs) at Nyenlung Gompa. Hundreds of visitors pack into the gompa: Tibetan monks from as far as Rebkong, lamas from nearby Jikdril and Padma, Chinese students from scattered provinces, and locals from surrounding valleys. Storage spaces become dorms. Monks rent their rooms out for the ten days. The driveway of the monastery is suddenly lined with restaurants and shops. Under a Blazing Sun There is a festival-like atmosphere as monks and laity pile onto a grassy hill beneath the teaching platform, which looks like a small cabin that opens out to the front. The sun blazes for several days, as people huddle under umbrellas to listen to teachings and recite prayers. Old folks ... read more

Recovered (for the most part) from a nasty flu that delayed my departure for two weeks, I finally set out for Golok. With a lingering cough and low energy, I decide to take it slow and make the trip in short stages. First stop is Chabcha where I stayed with an old friend, who is a teacher there, and his family. Next I head to Tongde where SRJ's brother is waiting for me on motorcycle. No time to think. Just jump on side saddle, backpack and all. Off we go to the outer edge of town where I hand out with his family for a few hours while they arrange a car for me to go to Raja Gompa, approximately 3 hours to the south. The trip, of course, took the rest of the day with ... read more

From the lap of luxury in Kathmandu, back to rugged roads of Tibet. In just a few hours, the ride to the Nepal border at Kodari took us out of the smog, past a series of check posts, and up to terraced fields of the Himalayan foothills. Delayed by four hours at the border due to irregularities in our group permit, my colleagues and I reach Tingri after nightfall in a deluxe landcruiser supplied by my favorite Lhasa travel agency, Windhorse Travels. We enjoyed thukpa (Tibetan noodle soup) around the fire and had to track down extra covers to stave off the alpine chill. The morning greeted us with stunning views of snow-capped mountains, including Everest in the distance. But I could barely lift my head to look. After boasting of my imperviousness to altitude after ... read more

Wutai Shan is the abode of the bodhisattva Manjushri, who brandishes the sword of wisdom (at least in Tibetan images of him). At Wutai Shan, I was surprised to discover another, wholly different image of Manjushri, in which he appears more like a Taoist immortal with an imperial pose and grand beard. We saw both styles of iconography there. A Curious Mix Indeed, Wutai Shan contains a curious mix of Tibetan and Chinese architecture, ritual forms, and images. Though the temples are for the most part Chinese, one can see Tibetan chorten dotting the landscape, statues of Tsongkhapa (founder of the Geluk sect) displayed inside temples, and prayer flags hanging in the breeze. Some temples feature the Chinese form of Avalokitesvara—the benevolent female figure of Guanyin—while others displayed the Tibetan form of Chenrezi with 11 heads ... read more

October is an ideal time to visit Lhasa. What a joy to arrive to blue skies and golden leaves, to see the Potala Palace towering over the city, and to walk the Barkhor again. In late October, there are few tourists, just enough (in fact) to keep the restaurants open that serve western fare for the weary traveler. Parade of Pilgrims The Barkhor is the heart of Lhasa. It bustles with Tibetan pilgrims circumambulating the Jokhang temple and vendors selling everything from trinkets and T-shirts to fine paintings and jewelry. My host SV (now in her second year at Tibet University) and I take a stroll around and have lunch on the porch of the Gakyiling Restaurant, overlooking the Jokhang and the parade of pilgrims. In a series of coincidences, I run into a dozen or ... read more