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Published: March 13th 2008
Potala Palace from Jokhang Temple
Gives an idea of the size of the Palace.One other thing about these blogs...there were places where pictures were not permitted or you had to pay for the privilege. I did this in one temple but not all.
The next day, we had a tour guide to take us to Jokhang Temple and Potala Palace.
In the book I was reading, Joyce Rupp wrote about feeling "called to the the hum of humanity." The book is called "Walk in a Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons from the Camino." It is about her pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. After a month of walking, she describes her impressions at the end of the pilgrimage. She wrote of the feeling of sense of unity with her fellow pilgrims. In the main temples, you can feel "the hum of humanity."
The only way to describe it is busy. It was wall to wall people - tourists and worshipers. People were walking around the outside of it as part of a pilgrimage. There were people prostrate on the ground. There were so many people it was hard to find the entrance. There was definitely a hum. A hum of prayers. A hum of fascinated tourists
My travelling buddies
On the roof of Jakhang Temple (including myself). A hum of street hawkers selling their wares. But there was also a sense of connectedness with the worshipers. The feeling that there is something bigger than ourselves. The devotion and the desire to find peace and happiness. I admit that as a Christian, I felt much of it was overkill. The prostrating on the filthy ground, spending money you don't have in hopes that the gods will smile favorably on your life and bring you wealth and happiness. HOWEVER, I was humbled by the devotion I saw. I am not always a devoted follower. Here, there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of people spending time away from making the money they needed to eat, to pay their respects to their god. Even when we do not agree with someone's beliefs, we can still learn from them to help strengthen our own.
Fortunately, our guide was able to direct us in. Inside, there were even more people. The temple had one door that led to the inner areas. There was one line for worshipers, (who were there to make offerings of money and yak butter), one line for tourists to enter, then the counter-line of people trying to
Jokhang circuit
This is where worshipers burn incense before entering the temple. exit. All through a door the size of a double door into a large building. I was carried through the door by the throng. The floor was slippery because of the yak butter. I could not even take a step. My feet just slid over the floor and I literally popped out on the other side like being squeezed through a tube.
The temple is 1300 years old and is the holiest of all the shrines in Tibet. It was built by King Songtsen Gampo to commemorate Tang princess Wencheng. It was built to house a a pure gold statue of Buddha brought by the princess to Tibet. (all of this is paraphrased from Lonely Planet and DK guides). I don't remember seeing the gold Buddha. I was just concerned with getting through the temple without getting crushed. I am sure I did.
We entered an area where the monks of the temple were praying and accepting gifts. There were a lot of gifts of food and fruit. While they were chanting, one group put on yellow robes and large black hats that were slightly cone shaped. The chanting had a very other worldly sound. The sound was
very low and almost gutteral. It is a sound that could easily help you slow down your mind.
The roof area of the temple had a beautiful view of the Potala Palace. We were also able to see the monks praying from above. It gave a better sense of the room. If you don't mind a crowd, then Jokhang Temple is definitely worth a look.
Then after a pretty yummy lunch, we headed over to the Potala Palace for our scheduled time to enter. We were a bit early, so we hung out taking pictures and watching the pilgrims. We headed over to the Palace just in time. We then realized that we had to walk up the mountain to the actual entrance.
Taking pictures is not permitted inside, so we spent a bit of time taking pictures in the courtyard at the base before venturing up. I entered a small building that was the house of Spe Zhi. I did not get very far, before a security guard ushered me out. I was taking pictures of the exhibit which I guess was a no-no. Spe Zhi must have been a Chinese man assigned to Tibet after
the Chinese occupation....the signs I did read were interesting. It praised the Chinese for improving the situation in Tibet....interesting and eye-opening to this new world-traveler. The weird thing is that it had signs and seemed open to the public. But all of a sudden it was closed. I wish I could say more.
Anyway, after being "escorted" out of the house Spe Zhi, we started up the stairs to the Palace. I am grateful for the writings of Joyce Rupp. In her book she talked of being aware of the needs of others especially when on a pilgrimage. Because of the altitude, our bodies were not ready yet for such a climb at a fast pace. We were all aware of going slow and helping each other to the top. Vicky seemed to have the most energy, so we sent her ahead to make sure we did not lose our slot to enter the Palace. Tourists enter on one side and worshipers enter on the other. This place is so enormous that noone can see it in a day. We say only a tiny portion and that took us 2-3 hours.
The oldest part of the structure was
pilgrims
We were there on a festival day which made for many more pilgrims than usual. Some pilgrims make their way by kneeling and at prostrating themselves every few feet. Basically they move forward slowly the length of their body. built by King Songtsen Gampo in 631 AD. It was merged into the parts that are seen today. The White Palace was built in 1645 and the Red Palace was built in 1693. I don't know what the structure is made of, but when looking at parts of it, some of the walls have sticks that look like straw. The red is just painted onto the "straw" and the white looks like a sort of plaster or adobe. I cannot imagine that the entire building is made of this substance. It could not last. This is something to look up one day.
The Potala Palace was the residence of the Dalai Lama before his exile. Inside are stupas (tall silver and gold structures that look similar to the stupas we saw in Thailand). These are the tombs of the past Dalai Lamas. Besides the current Dalai Lama, I think there is only one other whose remains are not in the Potala Palace. We also were able to see the living quarters of two of the Dalai Lamas. While it was very ornate, the overall living conditions were very simple by today's standards. I cannot imagine living in this palace.
It was a labrynth not just a maze. I felt almost like a hamster in a habitrail or a mouse being asked to find the cheeze at the end of a maze. There are little hallways and stairs that lead into rooms with several doors. I tried to imagine a young monk new to the palace being asked to deliver a message. How did he find his way around?
As we were nearing the end of our tour, of course the water we were drinking needed to find its way out. And just when we needed it, there was the "toilet." I could not bring myself to take a picture. It was just too gross. It was basically a wood floor with a long narrow hole cut out that looked down the side of a mountain. With years (possibly centuries) of .... I have lived in China long enough to see it all. I thought no toilet could surprise me anymore, but this one did. I think one of my travelling companions managed a snapshot. I don't know if that is a picture I want on file.
We came out overlooking another part of Lhasa. The views from
the Potala Palace are amazing. One the way down, we saw many prayer flags and stones that had been carved with prayers. Again, the devotion is humbling. There is a spirituality in Lhasa that transcends the hardships they endure, not just from the weather, but from their cultural adjustments.
We walked the base of the Palace back towards the Barkhor circuit to do some shopping. We had been told that this day was a day of giving alms to the poor. I put change in my pocket to do this. It was interesting. There was a monk who came up to me. I thought he wanted me to give him some money...but instead he was trying to show me that it was a day of giving to the poor on the streets. After he made sure I understood what I was to do, he walked up and grabbed the hands of Chris and Isaac. I found out later that is a sign of blessing from the monks. Very cool.
We finally made the journey back to the Barkhor circuit to shop and wait for our driver. There was one thing I really wanted from Tibet and that was
a yak wool rug. The driver took us to a place that, my guess, gave him a cut. That is okay. I found a rug that I liked right away. It has weave of llamas (the animal) and birds. Mario even found a rug that he thought Sandy might like. We then wandered the circuit and bought few smaller touristy items. I bought a ribbon hat for my mom and a fabric bag that I found out later is made of material from Nepal. Oh well, I still like the bag. I also bought Tibetan slingshots for the nieces and nephews. My nephew Jake got pretty good at. Hopefully now he is not using it against his sisters.
What a long day! We headed back to the hostel to rest. We had leftovers from lunch. The owners graciously allowed us to use their kitchen, such as it was. Vicky and I got to work heating up what we had. Our hostess made us rice along with a mixture of eggs and tomatoes to supplement. I appreciate my modern kitchen amenities and admire people who cook over a fire daily. We bought a bottle of wine and settled into a
nice relaxing evening. I think that evening was the highlight of our trip. But, there is more to come.....
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