We visited the Jokhang this morning, along with our local guide. He's very, very quiet, to the point that I usually can't hear what he's saying. I'm hesitant to say anything, though, since I don't know the pressures that he's under.
Jen took an amazing picture of some blue ceiling beams inside the Jokhong, shown below:
Image courtesy Jennifer Hodges :)Tibetan Buddhists come to the Jokhang to pay respects to the Buddhas with offerings of Yak Butter and money. Some of them prostrate themselves over and over - legs bound @ the knees, some with pads for their hands, others using cardboard cut outs to soften the fall.
The smell of incense is overpowering, and the temple is so crowded that not everyone can follow a clockwise path. Wizened women nudge us out of the way so that they can offer prayers and money to deities I don't understand. And that's where the dissonance comes in.
There are literally hefty bags full of money. Obviously I was (am?) naive, but I just didn't expect to see this sort of materialism out in the open. Thinking about it I know that we always knew what was tithed, but at least they counted the money in a special room in the back of the church. I've just got a little difficulty reconciling this.
After the tour we grabbed lunch and then Jen and I went to a grocery store. This is where we found the White Lightning for 40 cents a bottle, along with an even cheaper offering, not that we bought either. We did see twin Chinese girls staring at the tank of live fish, all of us sharing surprise when a fish leaped, breaking the surface of the water. We got water and Orion Pies (the Chinese equivalent of a moon pie) and took them back to the room.
Later we went to the Summit Cafe, which was outstanding. It's basically a western style coffee bar, with free Wi-Fi access. We both had a cappuccino, and *NERD ALERT* Jennifer bought a book about the Tibetan language.
After dinner we walked to the plaza near the Potala Palace and took pictures at night. We tour it tomorrow, so I'll save the discussion for then. In the meanwhile here's a picture:
The smell of incense is overpowering, and the temple is so crowded that not everyone can follow a clockwise path. Wizened women nudge us out of the way so that they can offer prayers and money to deities I don't understand. And that's where the dissonance comes in.
There are literally hefty bags full of money. Obviously I was (am?) naive, but I just didn't expect to see this sort of materialism out in the open. Thinking about it I know that we always knew what was tithed, but at least they counted the money in a special room in the back of the church. I've just got a little difficulty reconciling this.
After the tour we grabbed lunch and then Jen and I went to a grocery store. This is where we found the White Lightning for 40 cents a bottle, along with an even cheaper offering, not that we bought either. We did see twin Chinese girls staring at the tank of live fish, all of us sharing surprise when a fish leaped, breaking the surface of the water. We got water and Orion Pies (the Chinese equivalent of a moon pie) and took them back to the room.
Later we went to the Summit Cafe, which was outstanding. It's basically a western style coffee bar, with free Wi-Fi access. We both had a cappuccino, and *NERD ALERT* Jennifer bought a book about the Tibetan language.
After dinner we walked to the plaza near the Potala Palace and took pictures at night. We tour it tomorrow, so I'll save the discussion for then. In the meanwhile here's a picture:
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