The fabled mountains of the Himalaya hold a special place in my heart. I was once lucky enough to spend the better part of 13 months circumnavigating this region on foot. The most mystical, dramatic & heart-wrenching of that time was the 7 weeks I spent traversing the Tibetan plateau.
Any attempt to encapsulate the entire story of Tibet in a medium of this limited space is sure to come up woefully insufficient. However, I've tried to provide plenty of links to further reading & learning.
Join me for an overview of this resplendent country region about which we've all heard, but few of us can begin to comprehend.
Cross-posted @ The Laughing Planet
All photos by author except where noted.
(Click photos for larger images at host)
Fast facts:
* Over 90% of the local (Tibetan) populace adheres to strict Mayahana Buddhism (Lamaism)
* The region has been under Chinese rule since the suppression of an uprising in 1959, the same year that the Dalai Lama fled to permanent exile in India
* Outside of the few cities, most people survive as nomadic livestock herders
From the official website of the Tibetan government in exile:
Tibet lies at the centre of Asia, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometers. The earth's highest mountains, a vast arid plateau and great river valleys make up the physical homeland of 6 million Tibetans. It has an average altitude of 13,000 feet above sea level.
Despite over 40 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Tibetan people refuse to be conquered and subjugated by China. The present Chinese policy, a combination of demographic and economic manipulation, and discrimination, aims to suppress the Tibetan issue by changing the very character and the identity of Tibet and its people.
The Tibetan plateau covers an area 3 times the size of Texas.
From Students for a Free Tibet:
March 10th 2009 will mark 50 years since Tibetans rose up to protest China's illegal invasion of their homeland. It will also be one year since unprecedented protests broke out across Tibet showing China and the world that after 50 years of occupation, Tibetans are determined to be free.
With the recent opening of the railroad link to Lhasa from mainland China, life in Tibet has been irreparably altered. The migration of Han Chinese has been called "modernizing" at best and "genocide" at worst. The influx of all things Chinese into this fragile area has been fast and furious. The clear parallel would be the "discovery" of America by Columbus. But instead of a slow and steady upheaval of the natives over 5 centuries, the land has been overtaken in just 5 decades.
The red line indicates my path overland through Tibet which started in the Yunnan province of China and finished in the Muslim region in the west known as Xinjiang, "Uyghurstan" or "East Turketstan" depending on who you talk to
My journey began on foot through waist-deep snow. This shot is from the summit of the trail though the aptly-named Snow Mountains that connect the remote Nu River Gorge to Tibetan China. The surrounding forest is said to contain over 25% of China's endangered wildlife species. The family with whom I stayed were lovely, friendly folks who live in a small Tibetan Christian community. For those wanting to know more, my guide Alou, has a website.
The following came to me this week from the Facebook cause "International Campaign for Tibet". (Currently 65,918 MEMBERS):
Losar, the Tibetan New Year, begins next week on Wednesday, February 25. Usually, Losar is a joyous time for Tibetans in Tibet and those in exile around the world.
This year’s celebration will be very different.
An anonymous Tibetan blogger posted the following on a Chinese-language, Tibetan-run website recently:
"The 2009 Losar was always going to be unusual because so many people have been killed. In our family, our father can never come back, our mother has visibly aged, uncles and brothers have been detained—some of whom we still don't whether they're dead or alive. Last night, the eldest brother in the neighbor's family was taken away...
"I myself will not be celebrating the new year because those who died were my compatriots, and I knew several of those who died—they were shot dead. I haven't dared call home since March of last year because I don't want to cause them any trouble. And so I don't know how they are. I've had no information on them, and just hope they're okay."
Please consider joining the cause to show solidarity if you are a Facebook member. Donations to the cause benefit: International Campaign for Tibet A 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
More from the Facebook cause "International Campaign for Tibet":
We encourage all of our friends to observe a moment of silence next Wednesday, February 25 - whether it be for prayer, meditation, or quiet contemplation - and to light a candle in symbolic support of this cause that unites us with 6 million Tibetans and countless others around the globe.
For more about the current situation inside Tibet, read our recent news report, "Tibetans ‘in mourning’ as Chinese New Year begins" at http://www.savetibet.org/...
(Photo Source)
Wherever you go in Tibet, you will see people spinning prayer wheels and reciting mantras with the help of prayer beads (to count their incantations).
Lhasa
The Potala Palace is the former residence of the god-king of Tibet. Since the 14th Dalai Lama fled in 1959, the palace has been without its resident and has been turned into a museum by the Chinese government.
The palace was slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese in 1959, when Chinese shells were launched into the palace's windows. It also escaped damage during the Cultural Revolution in 1966 through the personal intervention of Zhou Enlai, who was then the Premier of the People's Republic of China but who personally opposed the revolution. Still, almost all of the over 100,000 volumes of scriptures, historical documents and other works of art were either removed, damaged or destroyed.
The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.
The humility of the Tibetan people permeates their rituals. Living simply yet giving from what little they have is reflexive.
Sera monastery in Lhasa is one of the few places in Tibetan China where tourists can monks "debating", a way of testing their knowledge of Buddhist scripture.
The god of compassion, Avalokiteśvara, is the more revered deity besides Buddha.
His Holiness The Dalai Lama is its 14th human incarnation.
The Dalai Lama (pronounced taːlɛː lama) is a lineage of religious leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and was the political leader of Lhasa-based Tibetan government between the 17th century and 1959. Referred to by his followers simply as "His Holiness" (HH), or "His Holiness The Dalai Lama", many Tibetans usually call the Dalai Lama by the epithets Gyalwa Rinpoche, meaning "Precious Victor", or Yishin Norbu, meaning "Wish-fulfilling Jewel." "Lama" (meaning "teacher") is a title given to many different ranks of Tibetan Buddhist clergy.
The Dalai Lama believed to be the current incarnation of a long line of Tulkus, or Buddhist Masters, who have become exempt from the wheel of death and rebirth. These ascended masters have chosen of their own free will to be reborn to this place in order to enlighten others.
The Communist government enforces a strict policy against the photographic visage of HHTDL within China. So instead, the people hang thangkas (hand-painted cloth scrolls) of Avalokiteśvara everywhere.
At the center of Lhasa sites the Jokhang, the temple which can be construed as the "spiritual center of Tibet". Here more so than at the Potala, you can get a sense of the devotion of the Tibetan people as pilgrims circle the structure in prostration for hours on end every day.
The highest city on Earth is Litang on the Chinese side of the eastern edge of the TAR border. It is literally breathtaking at 15,000+ feet above sea level.
A large portion of these pictures come from Litang, which I visited on a separate trip in 2003. The people are hearty beyond compare to be able to survive year-round at this altitude.
(Photo Source)
Monks beckon colleagues to prayer sounding the haunting traditional horns.
I never got over the most unbelievable fact about Tibetan people living under Chinese rule. They follow the example set by their leader who states that he holds no ill feelings toward the Communist leadership or the soldiers & other oppressors. Instead they pray for them and live in a joyful, playful happy way unlike the citizens of any other culture I've come in contact with. It is ubiquitous and pervasive beyond description.
Ornate traditional dress does not distract young monks from their hours-long chants during festivals.
The yak is vital to the people as a food source. Its butter, combined with tsampa (barley flour) it the staple food for most Tibetans. Copious amounts of salty "butter tea" is the primary beverage beloved to locals as much as it is loathed by tourists.
Spinning of prayer wheels sends the mantras inside into the ether. Most wheels have thousands of such Buddhist scripture inside.
Lake Manasarovar
Lake Manasarovar may just be the holiest lake on Earth. It’s said that if one submerges in its waters the sins of 100 lifetimes are washed away. In my case it washed away the dust and grime of 5 parched days on the road as well. The turquoise depths of the massive lake represent the female realm complimenting the phallic spire of Mt. Kailash visible from its shores. The kora tests the fortitude of the pilgrim with variable weather & harsh dry surrounds. The wind seems to blow only counter-clockwise (resulting in a bitter cold headwind) or not at all. If you think the latter sounds better, think again. Swarms of gnats make the acquaintance of the visitor whenever the wind dies. But the hell hounds guarding shepherds’ homes were the most annoying of all. Slinging rocks to keep them at bay drained precious energy reserves needed for the last leg of the 110-kilometer trek.
Holy Mount Kailash, the most revered place on Earth for Tibetans and Hindus alike. (Also the Jain and Bön faiths view it as their most sacred mountain).
Hindus cite this as the place where Shiva, the most powerful god in this era, resides with his mate, Parvati.
Tibetan Buddhists have come to accept this as the holiest landmark in their very spiritual homeland despite that Chomo Langma (Mt. Everest) is also in Tibet. In my opinion, it lived up to its billing as the world's most beautiful peak, and it the most stunning scenery in all of Tibet along with Rawok-tso in the east.
For Buddhists, completing 108 revolutions around the mountain is said to assure enlightenment in this lifetime. The act of prostration (splaying out touching one's face to the ground with every step) is the ultimate form of submissive prayer. Many pilgrims will even complete a "prostration kora" around holy sites. Such prostration koras around Mt.Kailash take roughly a month to complete.
These Bön nuns were thrilled to procure the final of the handful of photographs of the Dalai Lama that I had smuggled in. The reverence with which people viewed his photo was overwhelming.
Nowhere else does Buddhism pervade every aspect of life quite like it does in Tibetan culture. The serenity on their faces makes the Dharma all that much more appealing to anyone who might have as interest in the Buddha's teachings.
I encourage everyone to visit the region as soon as possible. The culture is quickly evaporating as the youth turn to the pop culture & capitalist ideals promoted by China.
More resources:
Tibet Online : "information on the plight of Tibet and serving as a virtual community space for the movement."
http://www.tibetsun.com/ : A newly launched online newspaper.
http://www.savetibet.org/
http://www.freetibet.org/
http://tibetanuprising.org/
You can find travel tips & a few potentially amusing stories I wrote about Tibet here.
List of Past & Future DKos Travel Board Diaries:
USA
Alabama
left my heart
Arizona
Phoenix - Leftcandid
California
Northern CA - SallyCat
Northern Orange County - Seneca Doane
Sacramento - tgypsy
San Diego - SDChelle (can offer advice)
Southern - Jbeaudill
Colorado
Lakewood/Denver - carver
DC area
lulu57
Florida
Oceanview - ObamOcala
Panhandle area - panicbean
Hawaii
Big Island - Purple Priestess
jlms qkw
Indiana
Southern part of state - kathryn1812
Maine - Cartoon Messiah
Coastal Islands - ksingh
Massachusetts
oceanview
Boston - tnichlsn
Minnesota
Minneapolis - parryander
Missouri
St. Louis - GoldnI
Montana
Big Sky Country Part 1 - Ed in Montana
New Jersey - Blue Jersey Mom
New Mexico - linc
Santa Fe and north - claude
Albuquerque – votingformydaughtersfuture
Southern – 4 corners
New York
New York City - plf515, LarryinNYC, DrSteveB
North Carolina
Charlotte - eeff
Chapel Hill - chunyang
Oklahoma - karesse
Oregon
Portland – arenosa,
Portland – Hardhat Democrat
coastal - Jbeaudill
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh - Pandora's Box, housesella
Lancaster - spedwybabs
Central PA, Harrisburg - wishingwell
South Carolina
Charleston – CamillesDad1
Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains – RantNRaven
Nashville – fiddlegirl
Chattanooga – Sandy on Signal
Texas
Dallas-Fort Worth – drchelo
West – 4 corners
Utah
Salt Lake City – jlms qkw
Vermont
North-central - 4freedom
Virgin Islands Caneel
Washington
Leavenworth - marlakay
I-90, WI-MN border - 1864 House
Other countries
Belgium - Cartoon Messiah
Cambodia - LaughingPlanet
Canada
Alberta – TexMex
Montreal - dragOn
Thunder Bay - Howth of Murth
Vacounver - Purple Priestess (can give information)
China
Shanghai – mweens
Sichuan – LaughingPlanet
Yunnan - LaughingPlanet
Colombia
Bogata - bogbud
Costa Rica - Alice Olson
Croatia - seenos
England
London – shazzbot
North England – Cartoon Messiah
France
Lyon - melanchthon
Germany - lizah
India
Northern States - LaughingPlanet
Indonesia
Sumatra - LaughingPlanet
Italy
Rome - lizah
Japan
Tokyo – YoyogiBear
Korea - LaughingPlanet
Laos - LaughingPlanet
Mexico
Cancun, playa del Carmen, Tulum - davidseth
Colonial Mexico - TKWow
Jalisco (SW Mexico) – mango
Pakistan
Northern Areas- LaughingPlanet
Scotland - linc
Edinburgh - SDChelle
Spain - Cartoon Messiah
Thailand - anniesamui
Bangkok – Shunpike
Tibet - LaughingPlanet
Wales - linc
If you are traveling, you may contact the person listed to see what they can do for you. They may be able to host a person, or have a meal, or just offer advice. Note they are not obligated to anything these are just people who have told us what areas they live in or have expertise. Also, any arrangements you make are between you and the person you write to.
If you care to volunteer for future weeks in this franchise, please contact plf515 or mention where in the comments below.