During the night, John’s fever came back, but he decided to chance our day tour. Our first stop was the Potala Palace.
Once the home of the Dali Lama, today it feels more like a museum and a reminder that the Dali Lama has had to move his base to India. We were fortunate to be able to start at the northern end and work our way downward vs. making the huge climb to the top.
Of the 1000 rooms in the Palace, only about 20 are open to the public. During the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards destroyed most of the relics from the palace. We had an interesting chat with one of the monks who warned us about speaking too openly with the locals. Evidently, there were underground police everywhere- even in the ranks of the monks.
After a rest for lunch, we headed to the Jokhang Temple, the most revered religious structure in Tibet.
After a rest for lunch, we headed to the Jokhang Temple, the most revered religious structure in Tibet.
It was founded sometime between 637 and 647, built by King Songtsen Gampo to house a Buddha image brought to Tibet as part of the dowry of his Nepalese wife, Princess Bhrikuti. At the same time, his Chinese wife, Princess Wencheng brought another Buddha image, Jowo Sakyamuni, to Tibet as part of her dowry. After the death of the King, the Princess Wencheng brought the Buddha to Jokhang for protection.
The Tibetans believe that Princess Wencheng chose the site for the Jokhang and discovered the presence of a demoness. She established, through geomantic calculations, that the heart of the demoness lay beneath a lake in the center of Lhasa. She felt that the demoness needed to be tamed before Buddhism could be embraced by the Tibetans. So, she set about draining the lake (the life-blood of the demoness) and built a central temple that would be placed on the heart. Since it was a very powerful demoness, a mere stake through the heart was not enough, so she had a series of temples built in 3 concentric rings to pin down the extremities of the demoness.
The Jokhang today is a very active temple, crowded with pilgrims. The main assembly hall (dukhang) was lined with a long row of glowing butter candles.
The most important shrine in Tibet is the Chapel of Jowo Sakyamuni, which houses the image of Sakyamuni (Present Buddha) at the age of 12.
After seeing so many movies about Lhasa and the Dali Lama, it was a bit like living on the set of “Seven Years in Tibet”.
The street scene around the Jokhang, called the Barkhor, was wild. Pilgrims were everywhere, following the circuit around the Jokhang.
After seeing so many movies about Lhasa and the Dali Lama, it was a bit like living on the set of “Seven Years in Tibet”.
The street scene around the Jokhang, called the Barkhor, was wild. Pilgrims were everywhere, following the circuit around the Jokhang.
The most amazing part of the city was to find everyone with a ready smile amidst all the poverty. We took a walk around town and found a great restaurant, Dutch owned and managed, next to the Yak Hotel. Cold beers and an English-speaking bartender.
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