betintibet

Friday, March 27, 2015

Walking the Kora around the Kokhang

Walking the Kora around the Jokhang Temple January 2015

One day I took my camera and sat in a second floor coffee shop, watching the hundreds of faces pass by as they circled the Jokhang Temple, around the Bakor. Each group or family tells a story. Enjoy the beautiful faces and colourful clothing from various regions of Tibet. Soon there may be only people in down coats and jeans, but for now many people are sticking tightly to their beautiful traditions and clothing. Notice the large beads and colourful wool in their hair (men and women).

I sat in this quaint coffee shop, later filled with Tibetans and Chinese tourists.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

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!

Christmas in Lhasa, 2014

Celebrating Christmas is a quiet affair in Tibet. This year stores and large hotels decorated with Christmas trees and Santa Claus posters, but generally Hallmark hasn't taken hold.
Chris and I told the history and meaning to the English students together, then I decorated cookies, made trees and acted out the story in my classes. Some of the staff wished us "Sheng dan kuaile!" A cookie-making party with English teachers was a big hit with promises to get together in the spring. I made a nativity scene of decorated sugar cookies with the foster kids and they made and coloured Christmas trees. I wonder if the cookies made it to Christmas Day...... Our team got together to sing before some left for the states then the remaining 4 had a quiet celebration, lighting the last candle on a make-shift Advent Wreath. Very special! Finals were being held that week, so much of time was spent grading and reporting marks. I also invited a neighbouring couple with their cute 2 yr. old for pizza before they left for Beijing.
New Years I held a "Countdown" party with friends and teachers. We played a few games with Christmas decorations before settling in for a serious card game of "golf".