Befriended By a Tibetan, Lhasa, Tibet
Walking down the Barkhor pilgrimage circuit in Lhasa, I was in a tourist stupor, dazzled by the Tibetan pilgrims rotating their prayer wheels and the architecture, when I was interrupted by a "Hello". I looked over expecting to see an outstretched hand, palm up, wanting money (begging is very common in here). Instead after I return the hello P.O. introduces himself as a Tibetan art teacher and comments that 90% of the surrounding architecture on the famous Barkhor circuit is Chinese. "Oh," I say, "maybe you can point me in the direction of some authentic Tibetan architecture?" And with that, we're off, in search of Tibet in Lhasa.
It turns out P.O.'s father is a lama who was exiled in 1959 to Switzerland via India and P.O. learned art from his uncle. He now runs a school of sorts with 700 students, though with the amount of art his students churn out it seems a bit like an art factory. Some of this art is commissioned for hospitals and doctors or tourists, but most of it goes to restoring monasteries that were destroyed by the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution. They are also building a new monastery in the fast eastern part of Tibet. Of course, the Chinese only allow the monasteries to be restored for tourism, not so the Tibetans can practise their religion.
With P.O. I visit Tibetans making sculptures out of clay, bronze, silver, and wood. I find that they construct the giant Buddhas in place in the monastery because they are too big to bring through he door. We see many people painting, a difficult skill, in that it is very geometrical. A study guide book looks like Leonardo's Vitruvian Man sketch. The coolest thing about all the art, architecture included, is that they only use authentic techniques, the same ones used for hundreds of years. For example, to make paint they start with rocks from near Mt. Kailash and stir them in a big wooden mortar with a water mix for ten days. I didn't know people still made paint this way, but sure enough there are 6 people sirring away, working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. Our Tibetan treasure hunt also took us to a nunnery and several monasteries in Lhasa very close to the tourist circuit, but there wasn't a single tourist at these authentic Tibetan places. Along the way I got a lesson in Tibetan Buddhism and the meaning behind the iconography. I must say it seems quite a strange religion to a westerner. For example, on the way out of Lhasa to P.O.'s village we passed the holy sheep. There are 6 sheep that make their own circumnavigation of Lhasa, clockwise of course, and are fed by the local people. Only in Lhasa! But there's also something of a community feel among the mysteriousness that is really attractive. I can only wish I had a better understanding.
Despite P.O.'s effort to continue the Tibetan art tradition, the overwhelming Chinese influence in Lhasa is astounding and disturbing. There are a zillion shops and booths in central Lhasa selling prayer wheels, prayer flags, etc, but it's all fake, made in Nepal and India for tourists and almost exclusively sold by the Chinese. The Tibetans can only rent space from the Chinese, they can't own (I only managed to track down two Tibetan stores), and they aren't treated well by the Chinese tourists. Unlike a century ago the western tourist are now allowed in and are well-liked. This seems to be because westerners tend to romanticize Tibet and we generally sympathize with their plight and according to P.O. they cause no trouble.
This July the first train to Tibet is opening from Golmud, China and the expectation among Tibetans is that the situation will only get worse. Already there are fake monks that keep an eye on other monks at the monasteries and there are video cameras on top of the Jokhang that monitor Barkhor Square. Ninety percent of Lhasa appears Chinese. Fortunately Tibetans cling to their culture with a death grip and hopefully they can endure, though the future does indeed look dismal. There is no doubt it would have been amazing to visit this place 60 years ago.
Also in Lhasa:
Lhasa is amazing as a place to go for a walk. The number of pilgrims with prayer wheels and prayer beads, the yak for sale, the atmosphere; it's all other-worldly. And the grandeur of the Potala is impressive. One afternoon I biked off to the Sera Monastery to view the debates. Unlike the lack of tourists I saw with P.O., the Sera courtyard is a veritable zoo. But it's no wonder because the scene is amazing. A few hundred monks gather to debate the morning's lesson; they are taught to question the lesson. To punctuate their point they wind up as if to throw a baseball and slap their hands together creating an ongoing popping sound throughout the courtyard. I can't resist joining the camera happy tourists at this event. The monks are so animated and their faces filled with so much emotion and passion it looks as if they're not discussing religion but the Superbowl.
For photos of Lhasa, click here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39463330@N00/sets/72157594170561976/
It turns out P.O.'s father is a lama who was exiled in 1959 to Switzerland via India and P.O. learned art from his uncle. He now runs a school of sorts with 700 students, though with the amount of art his students churn out it seems a bit like an art factory. Some of this art is commissioned for hospitals and doctors or tourists, but most of it goes to restoring monasteries that were destroyed by the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution. They are also building a new monastery in the fast eastern part of Tibet. Of course, the Chinese only allow the monasteries to be restored for tourism, not so the Tibetans can practise their religion.
With P.O. I visit Tibetans making sculptures out of clay, bronze, silver, and wood. I find that they construct the giant Buddhas in place in the monastery because they are too big to bring through he door. We see many people painting, a difficult skill, in that it is very geometrical. A study guide book looks like Leonardo's Vitruvian Man sketch. The coolest thing about all the art, architecture included, is that they only use authentic techniques, the same ones used for hundreds of years. For example, to make paint they start with rocks from near Mt. Kailash and stir them in a big wooden mortar with a water mix for ten days. I didn't know people still made paint this way, but sure enough there are 6 people sirring away, working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. Our Tibetan treasure hunt also took us to a nunnery and several monasteries in Lhasa very close to the tourist circuit, but there wasn't a single tourist at these authentic Tibetan places. Along the way I got a lesson in Tibetan Buddhism and the meaning behind the iconography. I must say it seems quite a strange religion to a westerner. For example, on the way out of Lhasa to P.O.'s village we passed the holy sheep. There are 6 sheep that make their own circumnavigation of Lhasa, clockwise of course, and are fed by the local people. Only in Lhasa! But there's also something of a community feel among the mysteriousness that is really attractive. I can only wish I had a better understanding.
Despite P.O.'s effort to continue the Tibetan art tradition, the overwhelming Chinese influence in Lhasa is astounding and disturbing. There are a zillion shops and booths in central Lhasa selling prayer wheels, prayer flags, etc, but it's all fake, made in Nepal and India for tourists and almost exclusively sold by the Chinese. The Tibetans can only rent space from the Chinese, they can't own (I only managed to track down two Tibetan stores), and they aren't treated well by the Chinese tourists. Unlike a century ago the western tourist are now allowed in and are well-liked. This seems to be because westerners tend to romanticize Tibet and we generally sympathize with their plight and according to P.O. they cause no trouble.
This July the first train to Tibet is opening from Golmud, China and the expectation among Tibetans is that the situation will only get worse. Already there are fake monks that keep an eye on other monks at the monasteries and there are video cameras on top of the Jokhang that monitor Barkhor Square. Ninety percent of Lhasa appears Chinese. Fortunately Tibetans cling to their culture with a death grip and hopefully they can endure, though the future does indeed look dismal. There is no doubt it would have been amazing to visit this place 60 years ago.
Also in Lhasa:
Lhasa is amazing as a place to go for a walk. The number of pilgrims with prayer wheels and prayer beads, the yak for sale, the atmosphere; it's all other-worldly. And the grandeur of the Potala is impressive. One afternoon I biked off to the Sera Monastery to view the debates. Unlike the lack of tourists I saw with P.O., the Sera courtyard is a veritable zoo. But it's no wonder because the scene is amazing. A few hundred monks gather to debate the morning's lesson; they are taught to question the lesson. To punctuate their point they wind up as if to throw a baseball and slap their hands together creating an ongoing popping sound throughout the courtyard. I can't resist joining the camera happy tourists at this event. The monks are so animated and their faces filled with so much emotion and passion it looks as if they're not discussing religion but the Superbowl.
For photos of Lhasa, click here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39463330@N00/sets/72157594170561976/
posted by Deb Shea | 12:25 PM
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