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October 2003 - August 2004

Tibet, part III

Brett Voegele
2005-11-19 14:02:35

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and walking back to the encampment - event over. I'd really like to know how much had been eliminated.

I enjoyed my 3 days there, as it was a genuine event. There was no big-city cheating going on, but just honest transactions. Many pilgrims were there from small villages, and I always find them to be very pure of heart - always smiling. Nobody let the constant rain and deep mud put a damper on their enjoyment. I'd say it's one of the best, most genuine, large-scale festivals I've ever attended, and I felt honored to be there.

Ganden Thangka Festival

The next must-see event on my list had me on a bus for the 1 3/4 hour trip to Ganden Monastery. Ganden is considered one of the Big Three monasteries of Tibet, but was virtually destroyed during artillery fire and bombing in '59 and '66. It is undergoing extensive rebuilding, but that can't hide the many ruins. As I'd opted to arrive a day before the festival, I spent that day walking the kora and sitting on a hill overlooking the monastery and the surrounding valleys. At about 3 in the morning I was awoken from under my plastic to the sounds of buses, trucks, and cars negotiating the many switchbacks up to the monastery - the masses were arriving. Most people opted to leave early from Lhasa and thereby avoid spending a night at Ganden. I walked the kora again with the newly-arrived throngs, and then found a rooftop where I would have a good view of the proceedings. There were people everywhere, and the hills seemed to be on fire with all the smoke from the burning juniper offerings. As more and more Tibetans gathered in the open spaces below me, many took to throwing khatas against the wall of the assembly hall, where the great thangka would be hung. They were trying to get them to stick as high on the wall as possible. Horns and cymbals heralded the arrival of the great thangka, as the rolled painting ...