In the darkness, on his way towards the outer region of the Tibetan Plateau, Tsangyang Gyatso looked grimly outside the window of his carriage. The scenery was very different from the place where he was born and raised. The shepherds who returned home late stopped their busy steps. They couldn't comprehend why these horses and their passengers were sprinting away from the direction that they and their families had always wanted to go one day. They wondered why was that scene they just saw appeared to be a little bit desperate, when desperation was rather rare in the valley where everyone had lived in peace for possibly most of their lives.
These questions, however, could only be answered by Tsangyang Gyatso himself. He was not only running for life, he was also running away from a life someone else had planned for him. A life which he had absolutely no control of. "I lost everything, but I was free at last". Tsangyang Gyasto mused. The carriage and the horses continued moving fast towards the horizon of the unknown. What would happen next?
Before going to Tibet, I did a search on itineraries offered by all sorts of Tibetan tour operators. I was somewhat surprised to find out that all of them were exactly identical: almost all of the tours advertised the exact same 3-day Lhasa itenerary:visiting Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery, and Drepung Monastery. Of course, my own Lhasa itinerary contained these places as well.
Potala Palace from Medicine Hill
After the first not-so-restful day in Lhasa, our group hit the grand Potala Palace the next morning, We still waited in line for about an hour to reach the entrance, although we had our tickets reserved in advance by the tour operator. The Potala Palace allowed only 2,000 people each day to visit. Most of the 2,000 visitor quota was reserved for organized tour groups. Many of the domestic Chinese backpackers actually had problems getting the rare admission tickets; and many had to pay hefty prices if they did not go with a tour group. As for Tibetans, not only can they visit the site for free, they also enjoy the privilege of visiting the palace anytime without worrying about the 2,000 visitor per diem quota.
The Snow Lion and Potala Palace
Originally built by King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century, the Potala Palace had served as the seat of the Tibetan ruler until 1959. In the 17th century, when the Fifth Dalai Lama took the political control of Tibet, the palace was expanded to today's scale and thus became the residence for all successive Dalai Lamas. Since the exile of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the palace had become more like museum. There are only 50 or so monks residing in the palace today as caretakers, in compare to the time when the Potala used to house thousands of monks during Dalai Lama's time.
Potala Palace
The reason why many Tibetans today still hold the palace holy is because the Potala houses the tomb stupas of all Dalai Lamas since the Fifth, except two. I was totally amazed by the craftsmanship of these tomb stupas. I was especially stunned by the stupa of the Fifth Dalai Lama, which was statistically the largest stupa of them all. Tibetans built stupas based on the accomplishment done by the person the stupa was dedicated to. The Fifth Dalai Lama was someone who unified Tibet after the collapse of the Tibetan Empire in the 9th century, and established the theocratic system Tibet had adopted until 1959. With such paramount importance in Tibetan history, it was no surprise that people would find the most decorated and the most grandiose stupa belonging to the Fifth Dalai Lama.
Potala Palace
So who are the two exceptions?
The first exception, without any suspense, is the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, who is still alive. The second exception is the Sixth Dalai Lama, whom many believe to be a man named Tsangyang Gyatso.
Curtains at Potala Palace
Tsangyang Gyatso was a man who could not control his own fate. He was born in a remote village called Tawang (in India) and was chosen as the Sixth Dalai Lama when he was young. As a Dalai Lama, the young kid was expected to learn a tremendous amount of Buddhist knowledge- he must learn that desire is the source of all sufferings.
Potala Palace
However, Tsangyang Gyasto enjoyed luxurious lifestyles. He enjoyed spending time with different women and drinking expensive wines. These hobbies of his were totally against the anti-materialist Buddhist teachings. He was also known as one of the greatest romantic poets in Tibetan History. His actions soon drew the discontent of certain Tibetan elites. Eventually he was kidnapped and disappeared on his way to Beijing as a prisoner. The official records didn't say much about how he disappeared. Many believed that the lack of information regarding the 6th Dalai Lama's disappearance might hint that he was assassinated, and his body was disposed in the wilderness. I guess the official records, as well as all sorts of speculations stemmed from the the official records wanted to tell people just one thing: There are bad consequences for having too much desire.
Tourists at Potala Palace
There are, of course, some Tibetans believing that the Sixth Dalai Lama eventually escaped the life that wasn't meant for him, and lived happily as a hermit somewhere in Qinghai until his death. Some others say that playboy Tsangyang Gyatso became a great Buddhist lecturer who brought enlightenment to many remote villages across Qinghai and Mongolia.
I admit that the Potala Palace sometimes does look like a prison
We exited the Potala Palace from its back, which took our group to the pilgrim route Aurelie told me about the day before.There were faithful Tibetan pilgrims prostrating around the palace, totally ignoring those who simply stared at them with amazement. Suddenly I was approached by a young Tibetan lady:
"Look at these marvelous beads. I can sell these to you for 120 Yuan."
I told her that I wasn't interested in buying any beads. She continued to chase after me. At one point, she said:
"I can sell you these for 100 Yuan. But what happened to your face?"
I asked my group mates for what happened. They told me that there was red clay on my face.
Then I found out that on the back of my jacket there was red clay everywhere as well. I realized that these must came from the wall of the Potala Palace I leant on while waiting for others.
The Blessings From The Potala?
Scene on the pilgrimage circuit at the back of the Potala Palace
On the way back to our hotel, I was stopped by an even younger Tibetan girl, who was trying to sell me some beads that just looked like the ones the previous lady was trying to sell. She followed me at least 5 intersections, attempted to convince me to buy her beads for 15 Yuan a piece.
Later on I asked our guide: Were the two ladies trying to sell me the exact same thing?
The guide told me: "Yes".
I suddenly began to understand why everyone has been saying that in business, location matters.
I also realized that if one's desire for owning these beads were too strong right after visiting the Potala Palace, their wallet would "suffer" tremendously.
The City of Lhasa from back of the Potala Palace
Chapter Two：A Monk Before the Fifth Dalai Lama moved into the Potala Palace, his predecessors resided in a place just outside of Lhasa called Drepung Monastery. The monastery is still the largest Tibetan Buddhist Temple on the Tibetan Plateau, as well as the most important monastery in the yellow hat Gelug pa sect. It serves like some sort of a university for Buddhism. You don't have to pay tuition to go there, but you need something more - a life dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism.
Drepung Monastery
There were once as many as 10,000 monks at Drepung Monastery. After the Chinese incorporation of Tibet, the number was reduced to about 500 as of today. Our guide told us that becoming a monk had become even more difficult than ever before. Not only will the monastery interview the candidates, now these candidates will be interrogated by the religious affair bureau as well. To qualify as a monk in today's Tibet, the candidate must not hold pro-independence beliefs and have family members who are involved with such movements. A thorough investigation will be conducted to ensure that the candidate meets these two qualifications. The candidate must also be willing to learn about Communist Party guidelines and Marxist philosophies.
Drepung Monastery
Inside the monastery, giant cooking pots where five or six people could sit in reminded people of the glorious days when thousands of monks could be fed at the same time. Chapels that could house hundreds of Buddhist students were now guarded by three or four elderly masters whose job was to simply maintain the facility for tourists- cleaning the floor, wiping off the dusts, and collecting donations people put right in front of the Buddha statues. Inside one of the back alleys, I saw one young monk cautiously leading two secular visitors into the residential area within the monastery. Who were these people? Were they the young monk's relatives? Or were they simply the people that young monk did not want the rest of us to know who they were?
A monk and two people in the residential area of the monastery
Lhasa from the Drepung Monastery
Our guide told us that the monks' activities were very often monitored by the authority. Peter from our group told us that at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, Gansu, they literally saw soldiers with guns walking around the monastery. In Drepung, the only thing we saw were surveillance cameras, and they were literally everywhere.
Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery
In front of the main chapel, a group of monks gathered together and were eating their lunch on the ground. I could tell that they were having funas if they didn't care anyone - curious tourists or passionate authorities paying any attention to them.
Monks at the Drepung Monastery
Tsongka Pa and mantras
In the evening, I contacted Mr. Cui, whom I met on the train to Lhasa to see whether he would like to take some night shots of Lhasa together. I was in luck, he was leaving for Nepal the next day. We planned to meet at the Jokhang Temple Square, but I was behind the schedule. By the time he saw me, I was literally sprinting towards him.
Fountain and the Palace
"No no no no no no. Stop running buddy. It's dangerous! You are at high altitude, it could do something bad to your body."
He hadn't changed a bit from two days ago.
He hired us a rickshaw to Medicine Hill, where Aurelie and I went the day before. It was late evening, but Mr. Cui and I couldn't find a spot up on the hill! Cameras and tripods stood in extreme high density like machine guns - all pointing at the Potala Palace, waiting for the exterior light to be turned on. At that moment I imagined the D-Day landing, thinking when the allies landed on the beaches of Normandy, they must saw some real machine guns pointing at them in high density.
Potala Palace in the evening
As the late Tibetan sun disappeared, another source of light appeared - It was from the Potala Palace. Eventually Mr. Cui and I were able to take two spots when fully satisfied fellow photography enthusiasts began to leave.
Potala Palace at night
After guards at Medicine Hill kicked us out at 9 o'clock sharp, Mr. Cui and I bid our final farewell. He offered me a taxi ride to my hotel, but I declined as his hotel was in the total opposite direction. In the end I returned to the Jokhang Temple Square, and entered Barkhor Street after a thorough body search by the police.
Potala Palace from the Potala Palace Square at night
Potala Palace
In front ofthe Jokhang Temple, pilgrims were still prostrating at the entrance. The lights were out by 10 o'clock, but I could still hear monks chanting inside the temple. Around Barkhor Street, the shops were closed and the tourists were gone. The clockwise circuit became the ground mostly for faithful Tibetan Buddhists who were unable to complete their holy pilgrimage in the clueless crowd during the day.
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