Saying Goodbye to Tibet

---

Saying Goodbye to Tibet

After a late night filled with fiery political discussions and warm beer, our week of exploring Lhasa and Mt. Everest was technically coming to a close. All but three of us are leaving in the morning so the evening was filled with hearing what others enjoyed or hated about our adventure, swapping emails, passionate ideas on why the European Union will never work, all while enjoying some of the best late-night views of Barkhor Square on the rooftop bar at Mak Ye Ame. Along with Jenny and I, the wildly successful travel writer from India whose name escapes me although her constant complaining will be ringing in my ears for months, is also staying in Lhasa a few more days. We all end up laughing about our first night at the Music Bar as we walk home through the darkness, past the prostrating pilgrims and through the smoking embers of Juniper, under a vast, yet cloudy Tibetan sky.

So this morning we can be a bit lazy and end up sleeping in until 9am. We are staying an extra day in Lhasa because the 3-day train to Chengdu leaves only on even days (today is the 9th) so we can not leave until tomorrow morning on the 10th. Due to travel restrictions in Tibet we are forced to shelling out for an extra night at the hotel along with a day's private tour ($100.00 ea.) because the laws of Tibet say you must be with a travel tour company to enter/leave Tibet. So, our guide, Don Drop, will be showing us around personally today and we have planning on seeing attractions in the morning and afternoon and then wandering around the magical Barkhor Square to buy last minute souvenirs in the evening.

Jenny and I grab a light Chinese breakfast and chat about our next adventures; visiting the famous Drepung Monastery and the only nunnery in Lhasa, the Ani Sungkhung. I hop next door to the business office and I fire off an email confirming our tickets for tomorrow's train, and then we walk out into a light drizzle and meet our guide at the end of the alley of our hotel.

You can view all the pics from this day's adventure by clicking here...

It's a weekday here and even the small, Tibetan area of Lhasa is bustling. Don tries to hail a cab but gets no response so Jenny uses some of the skills she learned in China and we have one within seconds. Don leans in and tells the driver our destination and suddenly the driver zooms off and mysteriously leaves us on the curb in the rain. Interesting...When it happens a second time and we are now getting pretty soaked, Don politely explains that most of the taxi's are Chinese now and they do not like taking Tibetan's anywhere - even with foreigners. WTF?...these cultural conflicts can be seen everywhere now from the 'near misses' in traffic to rude service at grocery stores, there is an underlying tension here that is always evident but not as obvious as armed Chinese guards on every corner. Just another thing to hate about what is happening here in Tibet.

We grumble under our breaths knowing that we are going to have to change our attitudes before we get back to our home in tiny DanYang and start teaching our Chinese high school kids for another five months. We call each other out about our attitudes, perk up, and I flag another cab as Don waits inconspicuously as if window shopping a tiny fruit stall. The ruse works. Jenny tells the driver "Drepung" and slides in the front and Don and I quickly pile into the back seat and the cabbie doesn't blink an eye. I guess it helps that the Tibetan is just tagging along for the ride? The Chinese are so good at hiding their emotions, we need to get better at this too.

Drepung Monastery
Drepung sits at the foot of Mountain Gambo Utse, just a short taxi ride outside of Lhasa. We have seen dozens of important monastery's here in China but none of them compare to the grandeur of Tibet's monastic treasures. Drepung is one of the Three Great Monasteries, and at one time it held 7,700 monks, possessed 141 fazendas (farms) and 540 pastures in its pre-Chinese days. It's also the largest monastery of it's kind in the world. As we ride up we can see it's white construction and it looks like a mound of bright, white rice. This makes sense because "Drepung Monastery" in Tibetan means Monastery of collecting rice. There is even a Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta, Georgia built to honor this one. There end up being more relics here than I can put in this blog, along with flowery murals and the delicious smell of yak butter candles, moist stone, and plush carpet. It makes a huge difference having Don right beside us explaining the history as we can now hear everything quite clearly.

You can view all the pics from this day's adventure by clicking here...

We walk up, around, and through caves and temples and magical pagodas. As we walk Don's tone changes and he begins talking to us personally but not about the monastery. He tells us about his past life here in Tibet. Seems he was a monk for six and a half years. A monk! This the first Jenny and I have heard this so we just let him talk instead of peppering him with questions. He explains about how happy his life was until the Chinese came and basically all hell broke loose. The Chinese insisted, by force if necessary, that all monks disavow H.H. Dalai Lama (14th) and instead pray to the Chinese leaders, or they were beaten, or worse. Many of his friends and fellow followers disappeared during this time. In what little emotion I've seen from him in almost a week, he stoically tells us in a hushed whisper that he had to make a life or death decision. He decided to leave the monastery instead of following these new Chinese mandates.

"There are spies in monks clothes in all the monasteries now, listening for rumors of uprisings, looking for people who need to be disciplined." As we walk slowly down a cobblestone alleyway I ask him if he misses that life and he says simply, "Yes. But I had no other choice. You have seen Tibet, now you can understand for yourself." Both of us choke back a week's worth of empathy, sadness, and today dissolves into enlightened tears of resignation.

Nothing else needs to be said so we walk down a forest road in silence. Me, Jenny, and an ex-monk who makes his living speaking English to tourists walk quietly while listening to birds and the powerful sound of emptiness.

I look up and see that outside the temple grounds are hills with colorful rock paintings and thousands of streaming prayer flags. At first it looks like there was a huge rock-concert on the hillside but the chaos of litter and debris soon takes shape and the spirituality of the design pops into place. The flags are streamed from one painted rock to another, weaving their way up and down the hillside. The clouds are almost resting on top of the hills by mid-morning and it is surprisingly quiet. We spy several courtyards in the dense forests on the grounds and Don tells us this is where the monks debate on the sutras. He also confesses that the debating monks we saw at Sera Monastery were probably not monks at all - many of these are robed Chinese soldiers designed to entertain the tourists during peak season. I mumble, "Ignorance is bliss..." to myself quietly.

You can view all the pics from this day's adventure by clicking here...

We skip the challenges of getting a taxi and instead walk in the afternoon sun back down into the outliers of Lhasa. In about twenty minutes we are heading past Muslim tea stalls and butcher shops and are now walking along part of the Lingkhor pilgrim circuit. It is crowded with people at lunchtime and Don waves hello to dozens of friends as we realize we are now in precincts of the old Tibetan quarter. We come up to a yellow-walled area and walk inside a courtyard where there is a busy cafe. Everyone is smiling, it is peaceful and quiet and suddenly we have arrived at the only nunnery in Lhasa, the Ani Sangkhung.

Ani Sangkhung Nunnery
This nunnery probably dates back to the 7th century, but it housed a monastery until at least the 15th century. This place is special in many ways but mostly because we can take all the pictures we want - free of charge. I begin snapping away as we walk up to the 2nd floor and directly into the main assembly hall where about 50 nuns are sitting on cushions and chanting some of the most beautiful music we have ever heard. They all continue chanting but stare at us and smile, nod their heads as if we are welcome here, and Jenny is so affected she stops and just closes her eyes and leans against a wall covered with an intricately detailed mural from floor to ceiling. Don and I continue walking around and come to a rest in front of the principal image at Ani Sungkhung, a thousand-armed Chenresig.

Although the nuns are allowed a close buzz-cut for hair, they look very much like the men in almost every way. Their robes are the same, same sandals and boots, same smiles. They are very friendly here and don't seem to mind my pictures or short videos of their chanting prayers. We head outside again then down a small alley off to the side of the main chapel that takes us to a small doorway. Inside is the former meditation chamber of Songtsen Gampo, the 7th-century king of Tibet. It is tiny, like a cave, but inside is warm and strangely inviting.

You can view all the pics from this day's adventure by clicking here...

Back to the front again Don talks to a nun who happily poses for a pic with Jennifer and I ask him where we can make a donation. One of our friends in the tour group, Tequila (his name is really Swami but he loves Tequila) asked me to make a donation in his honor and I do so with pleasure. As she graciously accepts his money, one of the head nuns says his name will be read at their prayers and what would he like for a blessing? I select "A long life and happiness" thinking Swami would appreciate the sentiment. Then she blesses a long white silk scarf and places it around my neck, the same with Jennifer. We end up wearing our katas all day, proud that we have seen some of the authentic Tibet. Thank you, Swami!

We walk the rest of the old quarter just taking in what is left of genuine Tibet and Don says goodbye and leaves us for the day. We thank him for everything, wish him well, and he tells us sincerely that if we ever want to come back and see the 'real' Tibet to call him. He hands us a simple business card and confesses again that the tour company charges was too much money; he and his friends can give us personal tours all day for much, much less. We promise to come back and also to tell our friends what is happening in Tibet. Don smiles and reaches out and adjusts my kata, retying it a beautiful, yet simple, loose knot. He does the same to Jennifer, then says goodbye.

We hail a cab easily and we chat with each as we stare out the window at the industrial complex that Lhasa has become. It's ugly and we joke that it looks like every street in any Chinese city, including our own hometown, DanYang. We talk about how much we hate tour-group travel but agree that we did meet some incredible people over the last week. But that part of the way we are living now, exploring another culture in a year long adventure, includes saying goodbye and again I am struck with the feeling that I have been given a gift but don't yet know what to do with it.

We need a nap and then we are off to get a few souvenirs we just can't leave without, like the two white katas of delicate silk hanging around our necks...

Peace.

You can view all the pics from this day's adventure by clicking here...

---

Comments

[Becky]

Thank you for sharing
I have been planning to go to Tibet next march and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. I feel a bit hesitant to travel to a country that is undergoing cultural death, and I feel guilty to participate in the tourist rush that is only fuelling the fire. At the same time, I feel its important to see it before its gone. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[GypsyKing]

To Becky, from GypsyKing
Thanks for reading my blog, Becky. I did not understand the situation before I went to Tibet and didn't realize that much of my money was going to Chinese oppression, for example the tour company I used, Access Tibet Travel, is a Chinese-run company so I was putting money in their pocket. Now I realize the financial situation but I would still do the same thing again. However, there is no way to go to Tibet and see for yourself what is happening w/out some, or most, of your travel money going to the Chinese government. I felt it was more important to see Tibet and her people myself than to let the Chinese government continue oppressing and killing Tibetan culture by fostering the belief that it would be better for all tourists to "stay away!"...that is exactly what they want and I refused to accommodate. Everyone has to make their own decision though, personally, I am forever changed by going to Tibet and I believe you would be too... Peace.