Drilbu Ri Mountain Mandala

Sept 16^th Drilbu Ri Mountain kora (circumambulation)

5 a.m. with flashlight in hand and some provisions in a backpack, I started out in the dark to meet my guide S at a spot on the Drilbu Ri trail marked by a large barren tree.

I had spent the night at Kardang Monastery, and once again had the pleasure of the company of nuns. It’s remarkable how details of one’s life narrative can be dispensed with when there is just mutual warmth felt between people. We chatted with whatever English they had (and for my part, zero Tibetan) and with mutual hand gestures. They cooked thukpa noodles in a delicious vegetable soup. I hadn’t eaten much that day having worked through lunch shooting photos at Guru Ghantal, so I was happy to carb-up for the next day’s trek.

Drilbu Ri kora—my gosh, what can I say? Getting to the summit whooped me! At almost 15,000 feet (4400 meters) altitude, I was short of breath at the start, and then later gasping for breath every 10 to 15 paces of steep uphill climbing. We reached the top shortly before 10 a.m. My guide, bless him, was so patient, calm, and encouraging with the words, “Slowly, slowly…” which he repeated like a mantra, each time with a gentle head tilt, the infamous Indian bobble.

The last part was the steepest and most difficult. I marveled that I was still going on only half a Nutella sandwich, some pieces of chocolate, and two mango juices. Hardly nutritious, but then again, hunger becomes more of a concept, given the altitude and level of exertion.

Well, it was worth being reduced to crying “uncle.” When we got to Drilbu Ri’s summit, it was indeed a living mandala as the locals promised. 360-degree panorama of magnificent glacial mountains that take your breath away–literally and figuratively! No wonder the Himalayas is called “the roof of the world.” As you stand stuck in awe, the amazing height and expanse somehow melds with your inner sense of worldy, or maybe otherwordly, home. Yes, you, small and insignificant in this vast geological time and space, still get to be part of it all.

In fact, Drilbu Ri is sacred to Tibetan Buddhists as Chakrasamvara’s abode. It is important to understand here that none of the Buddhist tantric deities are believed to exist externally. Rather, they represent the ultimate and profound state of mind which sees that self and phenomena are empty of inherent existence. If this is an intriguing idea for you, then you may want to learn more about the distinctive Buddhist philosophy of dependent origination.

Chakrasambava is understood as a wrathful manifestation of Buddha for combating the compelling mental condition of perceiving things as concretely existing. Tantric yoga practices are essentially visualizations of the deity that enact illusion and dissolution of self through identifying with the deity’s Buddha-nature. With the initiation and guidance of a qualified teacher, the practitioner gains the benefit of seeing things as they really are—that is, illusory and empty of inherent existence. This is what’s called wisdom. Cultivating wisdom together with compassion form the complementary two wings for full flight to enlightenment.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that pilgrimage to sacred sites like Drilbu Ri is a great purification of self-centered concerns in order to adopt more expansive mental states that are conducive for wisdom. Overcoming hardships and challenges on a kora can act as a propeller on one’s spiritual path, especially if the site has been graced by the spiritual energies of realized practitioners. Masters such as Nagajuna, Ghantapa, Gotsangpa, Orgyenpa, Taktsang and Rangrik Repas have come to meditate on Drilbu Ri over the past millennia.

Traditionally, Tibetans have traveled hundreds or even thousands of kilometers, often in full body prostration, to complete such pilgrimages. I understand that Drilbu Ri and Mount Kailash are two of the foremost sites for kora. It is said that the completion of such circumambulations bring manifold results, multiplying divine merit.

As for me, I came here to research Indo-Tibetan mandalas as a visual artist. Then found, as I was told, that Lahaul does not have so much in the way of drawn images of mandalas. Rather, the land itself is a mandala which one should experience physically. I’m glad I did.

The weather was such a wonderful wide range all that day. Dawn began with some overcast clouds, which then gradually lifted later in the morning to give way to wholesome, crystal clear sunshine by late morning when we reached the top. After a picnic brunch of omelette sandwiches with Indian pickles which S brought with him, a light snowfall came to herald our time to pack up and start the hike down the other side of Drilbu Ri Mountain. The destination was Gondhala Village, where we would then get a bus or taxi back to Keylong.

Oh, and by the way, I thought making it to the top of Drilbu Ri meant the hard part was over. Not so. The return on the other side of the mountain was less steep, more graduated but MUCH longer distance. It was also colder and so windy at times that you literally had to resist being blown over a decline. I was so grateful S had brought me an extra jacket to wear.

Descending was a different stamina test, for the knees and thighs instead of the breath.

Later, I felt like my eyes were playing tricks on me because Gondhala never seemed to come any closer no matter how long and how far we walked! The village visually seemed like it stayed the same distance away.

I finally did get exhausted and waved the white flag. S could see that I indeed had had enough, so instead he lead me to the closest point on the road, and then called trusty ol’ driver D (thank you! thank you!) to pick us up for the ride back to Keylong. I was never so happy before to see a road—wonderful, smooth, FLAT road!

All photos © 2013, Eva Lee.