"It was a cold morning in Lhasa. Temperatures tend to be in the low teens through the alti-plano nights but warms up to a bright and sunny 35 during the day. The light is so beautiful that it is a visual treat not normally seen in the higher latitudes. The heat was turned off as we were the only guests in a rather large hotel structure. The Gurkha waiter had to be woken up for our promised tea and toast. The young Nepali Hindu brought joy to my heart and fantastic thoughts travelled through my mind ;a Hindu man in a Buddhist land keeping the promise of the ancient religions bound through the trials of time. Unfortunately on quick questioning I found out that he had capitulated to the Han attraction and married a Chinese peasant girl.
The Jokhang temple awaited us. It is the first Buddhist temple in Tibet built by Songtsen Gampo in 642. It is the holiest of holy sites visited by Buddhists of every sect all over Tibet and China. A world Heritage Site, it was a spiritual roller coaster to watch the pilgrims going about their rituals. Upon approach from the heavily guarded Jokhang square one sees incense smoke wafting through the air. In this smoke darkened atmosphere one hears wood board claps, plastic swishes and metallic whirls amidst a flurry of human movements. Upon closer approach we were astounded to see hundreds of pilgrims performing ritual prostrations-'surya namaskaram' for hours at a time .Some do 'prostration circumambulation' around the 6 acre complex. The clapping sounds heard were the wooden boards worn in their hands to prevent wear of their gloves, plastic sleeves worn during prostrations which consist of a back stroke motion against the cold ground and the metallic whirls from prayer wheels carried by all pilgrims as they circumambulate the complex 108 times, every morning. This goes on 365 days of the year for 20 hours a day or more. A human surrender to the great Sakyamuni Buddha. These are not prescibed by books, demanded by clerics nor a time table established for these practices. This is the way they choose to live, unlike other fertile crescent religious societies that are clashing each other lately.
The route for circumambulation consists of the ancient Barkhor street. Here one finds everything a Tibetan needs to live his life. This is a circular street with the temple in the middle. A great sight to see and be there amongst the pilgrims.
Entry into the temple consists of long lines akin to going to Tirupathi in India. Tourists are given priority and are allowed to enter at will. The cultural revolution in China saw thousands of monasteries destroyed. The Jokhang was relatively untouched as the daily throngs of people would not allow it. Today the Jokhang stands as the only symbol of religious foment against the Chinese. Its monks have been tortured and killed over the years. Today crack riot troops and snipers stand like a hellish presence surrounding the haven that is Jhokang.
Every alter, monks assembly rooms and the main shrine was an enervating experience. The peasants who had walked for days and weeks to be here touch every inch of the temple and place their hands on their heads. Such devotion brings tears to the onlooker. One can draw a parallel to the wailing wall of Jerusalem which unfortunately has lost its spiritual impact, at least for me. But I am sure the feeling is deep inside every Jewish pilgrim.
Monstesicm was the foundation of Buddhism in Tibet. There were over 6,000 monasteries in Tibet, but nearly all were ransacked and destroyed by the Red guards during the cultural revolution Most of the major ones have been at least partially re-established but many still remain in ruins. This I welcome as the Chinese government seems to have redeemed itself. Here is the bad news. In 1951 Tibet had 1.5 million citizens with 35% of the male population as monks. Today Tibet has a population of 2.5 million with 95% adhering to Buddhism and a few thousand monks.
Chinese policy has been one of patience. They have restricted the number of monks to a few hundred in every monastery.They have encouraged inter-marriage. They have introduced the one child policy in the 3 big cities and restricted country folk to have 2 children. In the next 50 years the Tibet will be totally integrated into Han China. Interestingly they have also brought a lot of comforts to this harsh land. The older Tibetans do not complain as they have electricity, phones, good transportation and access to medicines. The younger ones are waiting for China to become a democracy so that all these policies can be reversed.
I believe they have a chance. I pray for that to happen." Om Mani padme Hum
To be continued..........................................................
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