Walking the Kora     January, 2015

Kora (Tibetan: སྐོར་ར, ) is a transliteration of a Tibetan word that means "circumambulation" or "revolution". Kora is both a type of pilgrimage and a type of meditative practice in the Tibetan Buddhist or Bon traditions. A Kora is performed by the practitioner making a circumambulation around a sacred site or object, typically as a constituent part of a pilgrimage, ceremony, celebration or ritual. Pilgrims seek to attain religious merit by performing koras, which are a major merit generator. The more potent the power place destination the greater the merit accumulated. A kora is performed by walking or repeatedly prostrating oneself.  Kora may be also be performed while spinning prayer wheels, chanting mantra, or counting rosary beads. In Lhasa, there is a shorter kora around the Jokhnang Temple, one around the Potala Palace, and a longer one -approx 10 km, around the city, plus a huge one around Mount Kailash.
In January we chose to do one around the city centre, starting before dawn, joining hundreds walking, chanting, and prostrating. We stopped at one temple, then proceeded along the busy streets of Lhasa. Here are a few photos:

This woman lays down her walking stick..

Takes off her hat (they must do this when entering a temple also)..

...stares in devotion...

bows in reverence...

...stands up...

bows again, over and over...

Then she picks up her hat and stick and continues her walk.

We followed this older woman for a block; how she struggled to walk!