Lhasa, Tibet: "The Ceiling of the World"

I think everyone at least once in their life envisions scaling Mount Everest. I am no different. However, the driving force behind me personally venturing into Tibet had a lot more to do with my views regarding the Tibet and China conflict rather than purely enjoying the aesthetics of the world's summit.

Tibetan Historic Boundaries

To start my journey, getting into Tibet was a bitch. This is the first time I've swore on my blog and it will hopefully be the last, but there couldn't be a more accurate way of describing the situation. Tibet is one of the most difficult places in the world to travel. You have to be supervised at all times by a sanctioned tour agency and go through a several month long process to obtain a group visa. Once you have the group visa you must remain with those in your group at all times. After you have all of that cleared up you can set off to Tibet. On arrival you are pulled aside for approximately 45 minutes, while immigration heavily scrutinizes your group visa especially if someone in your group doesn't look exactly like their passport picture. Afterwards, you go through security and are held at the airport until your tour guide picks you up. Like I said, it is a bitch.

Arriving in Tibet

Once you are "free" of the Chinese government at the airport you can begin to appreciate the stunning mountainous landscape. Our tour guide also gave each of us a Tibetan white scarf on arrival, which symbolizes good luck. For whatever reason, the airport is over an hour drive to Lhasa. After several security stops, these happen frequently throughout your travels in Tibet, you reach the outskirts of Lhasa. I had watched the 60 Minutes report on China's "ghost towns" a few years prior, but to see it in person was shocking. There were completely unoccupied already built city blocks for several kilometers on the outskirts of Lhasa with more development in progress. This is one of several reasons why China's economy has been able to grow like clockwork at above 5% for more than 30 years creating a potential Chinese economic housing bubble. Lhasa's city center was well populated and the city has approximately 170,000 people, but in my opinion there is absolutely no reason for any significant amount of money and/or resources needed to continue developing an already mostly uninhabited area.

Lhasa is the religious and administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China; we have different definitions of autonomous. It rests at 3,490 meters (11,450 ft.), which makes it one of the highest cities in the world. The city is famous for containing many of the most culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites; Lhasa literally translates to "place of the gods."

Matt and I Enjoying a Lhasa Beer Our First Night

We reached Lhasa in the late afternoon and spent the evening exploring a bit of the downtown area, while also getting acclimated to the elevation, which made its presence known throughout my travels in Tibet. We checked into the Yak Hotel conveniently located in central Lhasa and went to bed unbelieving at our current place in the world.

Map of Central Lhasa

The first full day of our tour of Tibet brought us to the Drepung Monastery, the biggest Tibetan Buddhism monastery in the world. It was founded in 1416 and is one of the "great three" university monasteries of Tibet (Ganden, Sera). Drepung was the residence of the Dalai Lamas until the Fifth Dalai Lama constructed the Potala Palace, which will be discussed in detail below. The second, third, and fourth Dalai Lamas are buried here.

Today, this college is divided into seven distinct colleges that have different emphases, teaching lineages, or geographical affiliations. At one point, this monastery was thought to have housed up to ten thousand monks. According to Wikipedia, "Since the 1950s, Drepung Monastery, along with its peers Ganden and Sera, have lost much of their independence and spiritual credibility in the eyes of Tibetans since they operate under the close watch of the Chinese security services." Due to Chinese government enforced population caps, the monastery presently holds 300-500 monks. It is believed that approximately "40% of the old monastery town was destroyed after the Chinese arrived in 1951", which is a percentage significantly lower than many other areas of Tibet that were devastated during that time.

As I mentioned above, the driving force behind me visiting Tibet was to get a first-hand experience of the Tibet and China conflict. Unfortunately, I was enormously disappointed to learn that our tour guides would refrain from answering any question that was not phrased in such a way that they could give a 100% academic response. Anything beginning with "Why...?" or "What if...?" would not be answered or entertained. They merely responded, "You may research that yourself", which defeats the purpose of having a tour guide. I must say I was not shocked, but filled with sorrow and forlorn at the inescapable truth of the Tibetans' predicament. The oppression instilled in our Tibetan tour guides was palpable; it was the first time I had witnessed such an overt act of despotism... and one I will not forget, ever. The thoroughness of their disregard for my questions left me defeated and after the first day I did not ask any more controversial questions because it was obvious that it made the guides uncomfortable to field such inquiries.

Drepung Monastery

Temple at the Top of Drepung Monastery

Me, Aaron, and Matt

Buddhist Prayer Wheels

Landscape Around Drepung Monastery

Hill to the Left of Drepung Monastery

Stairs Leading to the Top of the Monastery

Monks' Sleeping Quarters, Great Assembly Hall

Tamdrin, Main Assembly Hall, Drepung Monastery

Tamdrin, or Hayagriva, has the ability to cure diseases and scare away demons. The terrifying demeanor of Tamdrin is to help individuals overcome internal egotism and external obstacles.

Buddha

Buddhas

If you look closely, you will notice the differences in hand position of each of the Buddhas. Each variance in hand position, or mudra, is symbolic and represents a different meaning. There are over a hundred variances.

Detailed Beam in a Courtyard

Hole in the Wall

The objective is to get your finger in the hole in the wall with your eyes closed starting from about ten meters away. If you get your finger in the hole you will have good luck.

Aaron, Me, and Matt at the Sera Monastery Entrance

After exploring the Drepung Monastery, we spent the afternoon of our first day at the Sera Monastery (1419) where I saw young Tibetan Buddhist monks' debate. This monastery is a restoration of its previous form because in 1959 the monastery "had been destroyed by bombardment, which resulted in [the] death of hundreds of monks... [and] destruction of ancient texts and loss of innumerable, invaluable, ancient and antique works of art" (Wikipedia). Following the incident, the majority of its over 5,000 population fled with the 14th Dalai Lama to India. Today, the Sera Monastery has 300-500 monks.

Sera Monastery Entrance

Sera Monastery Smaller Entrance

Entrance to Main Temple at Sera Monastery

Debating Monks in Courtyard

Learning how to think, reason, logic, and debate are vital skills for Buddhists, which is why Buddhist examinations are oral and require the student to argue logically when encountering a problem. The questioner has to present the case for the topic, all cases are related to Buddhism, and the debater has to answer within a fixed time frame. The debate is decided by the questioner who is as concerned with examining the debater as misleading the debater into poor reasoning. The questioner claps after each question with the strength of the clap denoting how strong the debater argued their case. If the debater answers incorrectly the questioner will gesture three circles with his hand around the debaters head followed by loud screaming to unnerve the debater.

Monks Debating

The following day in Lhasa I was headed to the heart of Tibetan Buddhism... the Potala Palace.

Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, Potala Square

In front of the Potala Palace sits Potala Square; home of the Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. The exiled Tibetan government claimed that "the monument would serve as a daily reminder of the humiliation of the Tibetan people" (Wikipedia).

The square is well designed and provides beautiful views of all the scenery surrounding it, unfortunately the purpose behind its existence feels completely fabricated. To enter the square you need to pass through metal detectors and have your bag go through an x-ray. At all times there are armed soldiers present in the square, that you are not allowed to take pictures of, whose sole purpose seems only to remind those present that the Chinese government is never too far off. The entire situation seemed a bit too 1984 for my liking.

Potala Palace as seen from Potala Square

Aaron and I in front of the Potala Palace as seen from Potala Square

The Potala Palace was built on top of fortress ruins dated 637, but did not become the prominent modern day palace until the 5th Dalai Lama commissioned its colossal expansion in 1645. The location was ideal as it sat conveniently between both the Drepung and Sera Monasteries. After its expansion it became the primary residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th, and current, Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 during the Tibetan uprising. The palace consists of thirteen stories containing over 2,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines, and 200,000 statues to create an absolute labyrinth. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Our Tour Guide Puchung at the Potala Palace

Potala Palace, Red Palace (At the Top)

The Red Palace is devoted entirely to religious study and Buddhist prayer. It consists of an endless array of halls, chapels, golden stupas, tombs, and libraries.

An important note about the palace and the majority of temples I visited is that pictures are not allowed. This means that I have no way of showing you the unfathomable amount of gold, precious gems, or artistic excellence that exists within the palace. To put it into perspective, the tomb of the 5th Dalai Lama alone had 3727 kg (8,216 lbs.) of gold and over 18,000 precious gems. The current price of gold is USD $38,661 per kg, which means that the value of that one tomb only factoring in the value of its gold is worth over USD $143 million. Crazy. For anyone who has been to the Vatican, this is the Buddhist equivalent in grandeur and splendor.

Aaron, Matt, and I in front of the Potala Palace

Halfway Up I'm Winded, Darn Elevation!

White Palace Entrance at the top of the Potala Palace

The White Palace is the living space of the Dalai Lama and his monks. As I was walking through the Potala Palace, a bizarre thought came to me. Everything about walking through the palace made it feel like a museum, but it is not a museum. It is the rightful home of the 14th Dalai Lama, which is bizarre to consider since you are standing looking at the bedroom of a man who has not seen his own bedroom for over fifty years. Bizarre, particularly when I have attended two of the 14th Dalai Lama's talks while I was going to school in Madison, WI.

Matt, Jozef, Aaron, and Lies in Line to Enter the White Palace

Matt and I After the Potala Palace Tour

Matt, Me, Aaron After the Potala Palace Tour

After my life changing experience at the Potala Palace the tour led us to Barkhor Square for lunch. Now, Aaron had warned me about Tibetan food and to be as polite as possible it is bland. The infamous Tibetan butter tea, the name is self-explanatory, tastes like it sounds and sets the tone for all Tibetan cuisine, unappetizing.

Barkhor Square contains many restaurants, shops, and art galleries making it the liveliest area in Lhasa. The area has also been a historically popular area for protests. In 1989 when the 14th Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize, residents celebrated in Barkhor Square. Shortly thereafter, the Chinese government denounced the award and residents who continued to celebrate were arrested.

Barkhor Square

Barkhor Square, central Lhasa, is an important area to Buddhists because the Jokhang Temple rests in its center. The Jokhang Temple is considered by most Tibetan Buddhists as the most important and sacred temple in Tibet. It was initially constructed in 642 and has remained a center for Buddhist pilgrimage. The temple has been sacked several times by the Mongols and most recently by the Chinese in July 1966 during the infamous Cultural Revolution. Thousands of scriptures were unceremoniously looted and burned.

Jokhang Temple Entrance

Touring Jokhang Temple was actually pretty brief as quite a bit of the interior is restricted to Buddhists only. The most intriguing part of visiting the temple was watching the pilgrims arrive at the temple. Buddhist pilgrims will travel thousands of miles on foot if necessary to visit this temple. This may take years as every third step the pilgrims will do a full prostration, which means the pilgrim will clap three times, then lay flat on the ground, face down, and stretch out as a way of prayer throughout their travels. This will endlessly be done every third step, incredible. The video below shows a young girl practicing.

Barkhor Square, Buddhist Prostration

Jokhang Temple Entryway, Several Doing Buddhist Prostration

Jokhang Temple Inner Courtyard

Matt, Aaron, and I on the Roof of the Inner Courtyard

View from the Jokhang Temple Rooftop

Wall Paintings in Jokhang Temple

Statue in Jokhang Temple

A few additional photos from within the temples in Lhasa:

My impression of Lhasa was a city that at any particular moment could potentially turn explosive. The city has largely been white washed, filled with condescending national monuments by the Chinese government, and it is difficult to watch the overt hostility directed at Tibetans in most public places. It is even more difficult to think that a Nobel Peace Prize winner, not to mention a genuinely peaceful and kind man, could be so unwelcome in his own home. The entire situation is a difficult one that has no simple solution. Even if you were to ignore the historical issues between China and Tibet, the land is abundant in rare resources that makes Tibet valuable beyond measure both economically and logistically.

Next up, I take a road trip through the Tibetan countryside toward Everest and finally the Chinese - Nepalese border.