Fulbright in India

Tabo Monastery: Himalayan Setting and Meditation Caves

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Sept 6th, Tabo Village, the Spiti adventure continues…

Tabo Monastery within Tabo Village
Tabo Village, where Tabo Monastery is nestled in Spiti Valley unlike other Buddhist monasteries that were built as fortress-like compounds on hilltops

Well, here we are in Tabo! The famed Tabo Monastery is known as the oldest continually functioning Tibetan Buddhist monastery, the art of which the Dalai Lama said “delightfully expresses the vigor of the transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet and the dynamic mingling of cultures.” Established in 996 C.E. by the Buddhist king of Guge in Western Tibet, Yeshe O’d, and the The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo, it flourished in a golden epoch of Indo-Tibetan collaboration in spreading Buddhist culture.

Tabo Monastery complex behind stone walls in Tabo Village
Tabo Monastery complex behind stone walls in Tabo Village, Spiti Valley, India

Tabo’s existing sacred artwork and architecture have unique historical significance, not only for the aesthetic evidence of such cultural exchange, but also for its rarity. Due to the enormous destruction during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, where over 6000 monasteries and their artworks were destroyed between 1959-61, practically none of the early examples of Buddhist culture have survived in Tibet. Consequently, the monasteries of the Western Himalayan border areas of Spiti, Lahaul, and Ladakh, once part of Tibet, is of great importance for its legacy of early Tibetan Buddhist culture, and in particular, its connection with India.

Street view of Tabo Chokhor
Street view of entrance to Tabo Choskhor,Spiti, with the museum and library in building on right
Upon entering Tabo Monastery complex, the first building one sees is Tsug Lhakhang, the grand main assembly hall
Upon entering Tabo Monastery complex, the first building one sees is Tsug Lhakhang, the grand main assembly hall
The Tsug Lhakhang, TAbo Monastery, Spiti
The Tsug Lhakhang, Tabo Monastery, Spiti

Of the monasteries I’ll visit, Tabo, Alchi, Mangyu, Lamayuru, and Lhalung strike me as being of special importance. These have exceptional murals, unusual in cross-cultural style and depiction, executed in astounding refinement, with ornate clay sculptures that are cantilevered off the walls in Vajradhatu mandala arrangement of sacred space (more on this in the next post!) This type of work is specific to the area and is not found in any other Buddhist temples in the world. These monasteries also date back to that fertile period of Buddhist philosophical exchange and revitalization from India to Tibet beginning in the 10th century during The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo’s time.

Documenting the extant artwork and architecture of these sites is essential because they are remarkable, and extreme Himalayan winters and potential earthquakes, such as the one that occurred in 1975, continue to threaten their survival. Proper conservation and restoration is critical for art history and posterity. Of immediate concern is the effects of climate change and increased rainfall in the normally more arid Spiti that has damaged Tabo’s murals and architecture. This 2010 article entitled “A Monastery’s Fading Colours,” published in The Indian Express, is about the challenging circumstances facing the monastery’s care under the maintenance of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).  The Times of India recently questioned the national organization’s general efficacy in its article, “92 ASI-protected Monuments Missing.”

Rear view of Tsug Lhakhang, Tabo Monastery, Spiti
Rear view of Tsug Lhakhang with workers currently repairing the mud exterior. Its back walls are as thick as 2.5 meters!
Workers repairing the mud exterior of Tabo Monastery
Workers currently repairing the mud exterior of Tabo Monastery, Spiti

I find myself wishing these monasteries were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as the early Buddhist Ajanta Caves are in India, or considered World Monuments. Perhaps this would bring more international attention and expertise to help hasten the appropriate preservation and protection against man-made as well as environmental challenges.

Fortunately, I was able to arrive in Tabo with all my equipment fully charged because the electrical power was mostly on during my previous night in Kaza, Spiti. But unfortunately, I was unable to photograph due to administrative details still to iron out. Perhaps by tomorrow, after the special 6:00 a.m. morning prayers for the recently deceased and venerated abbot of Tabo which will be performed as part the traditional 49 days’ observance. Despite not being able to photograph, the monk in charge of the monastery kindly showed me most of the temples in the complex.

What is so immediately striking is the contrast between the simple exterior architecture of mud brick and the resplendent interiors. Wow, the ornate interiors leave you speechless, what treasures of Indo-Tibetan art, history, and philosophy! Especially the dramatic, dark, moody, pensive main assembly hall (Tsug Lha-khang); the older Dromton Temple (Brom-ston Lha-khang), founded by the main disciple of the great teacher and adept Atisha; Initiation Temple (dKyil-kHor-khang), where monks are initiated; Bodhisattva Maitreya Temple (Byams-Pa Chen-po Lha-khang), with a 20 foot high painted mural of the future Buddha Maitreya; and the Golden Temple (gSer-khang).

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View of Tabo Monastery complex showing Dromton Temple on far right and Bodhisattva Maitreya Temple left of it, Spiti, India

Oh, news flash! For incredible floor plans of these temples, including elevations, sections, 3D models, photo montages, and more, see this excellent website of an Austrian research team at Graz University of Technology that has been studying the architectural heritage of the Western Himalayas.

And did I mention caves? Yes, caves on a steep cliff above Tabo Monastery and village where, according to archeological evidence, monks had lived and practiced meditation since the 11th century. Now it is an ASI protected site. Most caves are open spaces showing evidence of ancient occupation–sooty interior walls and carved out niches, etc., as well as perhaps picnic use by modern visitors. But while exploring with my flashlight, I peered into an opening of a small closed door of a dark cave only to find a blanched seated figure looking back at me! Startled and flustered, realizing this was a real person and not a phantom, I muttered a quick, deepest apology, and left in a hurry! Well, I guess today there are still some practitioners who retreat to these caves. Whether this was a tourist trying it out, or a yogi, I have no idea.

Path to Tabo caves
Path to numerous caves above Tabo Monastery and village, Spiti, India
Tabo caves
One of numerous caves carved into the cliffs above Tabo Monastery, used by monks from the 11th century on, Spiti
View of Tabo Monastery from inside cave
View of Tabo Monastery from inside a cave, Spiti

Have a virtual walk-through here of the insides of some of these caves:

View inside a Tabo cave
View of the inside of the above Tabo cave, Spiti
View of Tabo caves
View of Tabo caves located on a steep cliffside above Tabo Monastery, Spiti
View of Tabo Village from cave sites, Spiti, India
View of Tabo Village from cave sites, Spiti, India

Ok, I hope I have a headache-less night’s sleep tonight.  Day four at high altitude and I’m still adjusting, but Tabo is at about 10,000 feet high, 2000 feet lower than Kaza, so it should be better.  Need to get up early to make it to 6am puja!

All photos © 2013, Eva Lee.

Key Monastery: Marauding Monastics and the Western Himalayas

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September 8th     A Return to Key Monastery

View of Key Monastery from across the Spiti River Valley
View of Key Monastery from across the Spiti River Valley

A second try today to document the ancient interiors of Key Monastery, whose abbot had in the 11th century been none other than The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo himself, proved to be a challenge. However, in a nice turn of events, we discovered upon arrival that a special demonstration of sacred dances was in progress. The occasion was the visit of an important official from Shimla.

Entrance to Key Monastery, Spiti
Entrance to Key Monastery, Spiti

The main interior courtyard was filled with visitors and administrators, with the monastery abbot presiding over the ceremony, as junior and senior monks looked on.

Key Monastery monks demonstrate ritual dance, with abbott presiding over the ceremony, Spiti
Key Monastery monks demonstrate the Black Hat cham dance, with abbott presiding over the ceremony as young ones watch

Key Monastery monks demonstrate ritual dance, with abbott presiding over the ceremony as young monks look on, Spiti

Young monks attending a ritual dance demonstration performed by more senior monks
Young monks attending a ritual dance demonstration performed by more senior monks

A word about the architecture of Key…Built on a hilltop with a fortress appearance, this reflects typical Western Himalayan monastic architecture after circa 12th century, influenced by the development of invaders.

Key Monastery built atop a hill, characteristic of the later period of post-12th century Buddhist architectural development, Spiti
Key Monastery built atop a hill, characteristic of the later period of post-12th century Buddhist architectural development

Earlier period structures such as late 10th century nearby Tabo Monastery and Alchi Monastery (in Ladakh) are located in the valley on flat open land, integrated with their villages. Invaders were oftentimes rival Buddhist sects supported by the might of the Mongolian military, such as the Sakya sect who headed Key Monastery in the 14th century, and the Gelugpa sect who headed it in the 17th century. The latter came to dominate the majority of monasteries in Spiti.

In fact, most of us don’t associate monastics with marauding, but post-12th century onwards, the region saw inter-sectarian clashes, conquering by bloodshed, innumerable invasions by Chinese and Mongolian forces, shifting power structures, and political unrest throughout the Western Himalayas. Thus, that illustrious period of refined Indo-Tibetan art and architecture under the guidance of Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo and the collaboration of Kashmiri artists eventually came to an end.

View of Spiti en route to Key Monastery, with a village nestled in its valley
View of Spiti en route to Key Monastery, with a village nestled in its valley
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Vast and dynamic view of Spiti River Valley

All photos © 2013, Eva Lee.

Key Kye Kee Ki Monastery and the Fine Art of Imprecision

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September 5th – Spiti adventure continues…

Key, Kye, Kee, Ki Monastery, Spiti
Key, Kye, Kee, Ki Monastery, Spiti

Spelling is a flexible art in India. One often finds multiple spellings for names, places, and in signs. Take Key Monastery, for instance. It is also known as Kye, Kee, and Ki Monastery. It’s all good, take your pick! I’ve even had one monk spell his own name twice for me because sometimes he goes by Tanzin and sometimes Tenzin.

For a stickler about spelling like I am, this is an interesting lesson in imprecision. Especially if you’re asking for directions to a certain street or hotel, and you find that it’s spelled differently by different people, and you can’t help but wonder if you’re talking about the same place. Well, it’s okay, you’ll just do what you have to do, which is, you’ll find out!

It seems to me there’s a kind of accepted uncertainty principle here. It even extends to what people say. If, for example, you ask someone for directions, and he doesn’t know where the place is, he will not say he doesn’t know. He will give you information about where it is. Yes, that’s right, he will tell you something about what he does not know. My Western mind with its penchant for exactness doesn’t get it at all, but let me take a stab and guess:  This fellow might think to himself, it may not be right, but it may be approximately right, so it will help.

I have noticed that when my Indian friends need directions, they will ask numerous people the same thing. One time, I was driving with a friend and we were looking for a particular site. He stopped to ask probably half a dozen people within only a half mile’s distance, a kind of cross-reference overkill. A precision begotten by statistical probability. The wider you cast your bets, the better your chances are to get the (flexible and imprecise) jackpot. At least, I think it’s something like that…

It seems to me that here in India, it’s implicitly understood that circumstances, and the world, and the universe, are not exact. And more importantly, we are not masters of these spheres, we are just part of the process. Everything is relative, everything changes, everything has the potential for uncertainty at any time. It is readily, deeply accepted and tolerated that things might or might not work out.

One Indian friend quipped, “I.S.T.–Indian Stretchable Time,” (instead of Indian Standard Time) when he told me a story about his friend who was supposed to come pick him up in a remote area by car, but arrived three days later than expected! Okay, so maybe that example is an extreme one, but the moral of the story is not that the friend let him down, but that he came despite the fact that he had deterring factors that prevented him from coming on time!

Oh, the power has just come back here at the hotel, praise be! So I’m quickly plugging everything in to charge. Spiti has been largely without electricity for the past eight months! And it is being doled out to different areas at the moment, so no power here until about 8 or 8:30pm, supposedly anyway, because the past two nights here have been powerless. I can’t understand the reason why exactly. I mean eight months is a long time to have a vital civic repair apparently unattended to, or not tangibly improved.  Not sure if it’s because of devastating natural disaster or simply government mishandling and bad infrastructure. Maybe both. I do know that the next state, Utterakand, has suffered devastating floods and landslides recently, so it’s perhaps spillover?

Today was a bit hard to get kickstarted since I had another headache-filled sleep last night—altitude adjustments still. It’s Day 3 at about 12,000 feet high. Hope tonight will be better. I woke up disoriented, not knowing the time because my iPhone was out of power, head splitting. But we ended up going to Key Monastery after I spent the morning charging at a nearby café. The owner is getting power from the petrol station’s generator across the street. Thank goodness for their help! Otherwise, I literally would not be able to continue my work without charged batteries for my camera, or power to backup files onto laptop!

En route to Key Monastery, Spiti, India
View of Spiti Valley en route to Key Monastery, India

Key Monastery’s current spiritual leader is Lochen Tulku, the 19th reincarnation of Losatwa Rinchen Zangpo, the Great Translator wand former abbott who was so instrumental in this area for revitalizing Buddhism, translating all the original Sanskrit sutras, and building new monasteries in the 10th-11th centuries.

It turned out to be difficult to get permission to photograph the older murals here, despite my having a Spitian connection to a high level administrative monk. The concession is I can photograph the new assembly hall, which is nice but not so interesting for my Indo-Tibetan mural and mandala project. Nonetheless, the day spent at the monastery was pleasant. The monks were kind and invited us to tea, showed us the older temples, and merely asked that we not photograph. J’s local Spitian friend has offered to do some further investigation on my behalf, and we will see if possibly in a couple of days, there may be an opportunity to shoot the older murals.

View of Key Monastery's new main temple, Spiti
View of Key Monastery’s new main temple and assembly hall, Spiti

All photos © 2013, Eva Lee.

Dharamsala Return, Monsoon Mist, and Midst

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving teachings at Namgyal Monastery. Photo by Abhishek Madhukar
His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving teachings at Namgyal Monastery. Photo by Abhishek Madhukar

I loved that last week I happened to get back to Dharamsala just in time again for the Dalai Lama’s teachings. This one was on Nagarjuna and Tsongkhapa‘s writings, at the request of a Taiwanese group. Great bookend that I arrived Dharamsala first in August to attend a teaching before leaving for the High Himalayas, and then arrived again to attend a teaching after my journey! This one was four days long, and included an initiation for Vairocana tantra. The town swells with visitors and cars during these times, and then very quickly shrinks back when the teachings end.

I was so happy also to return to my little home-away-from-home here. Very grateful to a friend for helping me find this place, in prime location close to Namgyal Monastery, with wraparound terrace, mountain view, morning sun streaming in. It’s clean, no bad mildew or mold odors like many spaces here are stricken by because of monsoon.

Speaking of monsoon, it is still raining here! Locals said it not only began early this year and would normally be over by mid-September, but is still lingering. I have been caught in it again and totally drenched, thinking rueful thoughts to myself as my pants were soaked and my shoes like wet squishy sponges that would take days to dry. I had expected that by my return in October the rainy season would be over. But, well, who am I to complain? I haven’t even had to live through months of this!

And let me quickly add, it’s better. Did I mention the sun? Yes, many mornings it does come streaming into my room. Such a joy to wake up to! The weather pattern currently is, some sun in the morning, and then by afternoon or evening the mist and clouds roll in. The whiteout this creates make the visibility of the switchback roads about 12 feet ahead.

Sunny view, Dharamsala
Sunny view, Dharamsala
Monsoon mist view, Dharamsala
Monsoon whiteout mist view, Dharamsala

Upon my return, I met with two geshes for further guidance on research resources and references. I’ve now got thousands of photos and image management to do, and will be spending time identifying what I’ve shot.

I think I will be frequenting the Tibetan Library & Archives a lot. Oh, and what a sight to see when I toured it! It has been, and is still, undergoing renovations since I was last here three years ago. The director is commendably bringing it into the 21st century! I’m thrilled to see that the old museum, previously saddled by poor lighting and exhibition conditions, is now newly expanded and nearing completion. There will be proper track lighting, display cases, and descriptive placards to do its fine collection of paintings and sculptures justice. The library stacks are newly organized in archival and accessible contemporary shelving. Their collection of sacred texts, which are tens of thousands of leaves of text traditionally bundled and kept tied together in fabric, is now being digitally scanned and stored.  What else…Oh, a New Media Department! A room with computer monitors dedicated to storing and presenting its new collection of videos and other digital media on Tibetan subjects. Lastly, soon to come will be a new floor of offices and administrative space.

Meanwhile, J organized a film night in which my work was featured along with an American documentary filmmaker, Ronny Novick. In attendance were two chodpas, lay tantric practitioners who do special meditation practices at cemetaries in order to cut through ego and realize emptiness, and who were interested in my latest animation Into the Midst because they said it’s just like what they visualize when they practice Chod. Wow. The conversation that ensued with these Kagyu yogis about some of their inner experiences was eye-opening.

Chodpas are also spiritual healers, and as traveling mendicants, may be invited by community members to conduct prayers for the deceased, the living, and those believed to be wandering spirits.  See them in a Chod prayer session here.

Tibetan Buddhist chodpas, Dharamsala, India
Two chodpas, Tibetan Buddhist mendicants who live by travelling and receiving alms for their prayer services, engaged in a Chod session. Tibetans have a strong tradition of welcoming chodpas to stay at their home for a day or two to say prayers for the deceased, the living, and wandering spirits.
Photo by Tenzin Tsundue.

Out of Order in the Himalayas

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It will be a bit out of order, but what the heck….Of course, I mean out of sequence, not broken!

I’m working on retroactive blog posts of basically all my experiences from last month’s travels through Spiti, Lahaul, and Ladakh to research and document Indo-Tibetan murals. Why didn’t I just post along the way? Because, internet stick and four SIM cards later, I was not able to access the internet while on the road. Especially in electricity-challenged Spiti, where kerosene for generators is even rationed, and Ladakh, border security area where cellular and other signals are highly controlled. I gave up trying and decided I would post when I got back to Dharamsala.

And here I am back in Dharamsala…but I did not think it would take long to back-post since I’ve already written a lot of material while still traveling. However, with image management and identification of thousands of photos shot in monasteries, it’s proving to be more time-consuming to present with accompanying photos. And who wants to read text here without the images? Not me!

So here’s what I’m going to do.  I’m going to toggle back and forth between posting about the present, and posting about last month, as I continue researching here in the lower Himalayas. In addition to Dhangkar and Lhalung Monasteries which are already here on this blog, stay tuned for accounts of what I saw and did at Key Monastery, Tabo Monastery, Kardang, Guru Ghantal, Shashur, Tayul, and Poekar Monasteries, including Phakpa in Triloknath and Markul Devi Temple in Udaipur sojourns. Then Alchi, Mangyu, Lamayuru, Likir, Shey, Thiksey, Hemis, and Mulbek Chamba Monasteries.  Yes, jam-packed with history, anecdotes, incredible landscapes, and ponderings!

Dhangkar and Lhalung Monasteries in Spiti

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Dhangkar Monastery is seen on the ridge in the upper right. It consists of multi-storeyed buildings perched together, containing five different devotional halls.

September 4th

Our first day out to photograph was at Dhangkhar and Lhalung Monasteries. Both places granted permission because of local and monastic support. I was on my first documenting journey, and how positive an experience it was!

Dhangkar Monastery's Lha O-pa Gompa
Entering Dhangkar Monastery’s Lha O-pa Gompa.

Dhangkar Monastery
Dhangkar Monastery clings to its rocky outcrops. Shown here is the level in which the Dukhang and Lhakang Gongma may be accessed.

I’ll let the images speak for themselves, but it bears saying that Dhangkar was an original home of the ruling Spitian kings over a thousand years ago, built on a ridge and rock outcrop as a fortress. It clings to the mountain with its whitewashed buildings and traditional thatched roofs. Some buildings seem to be built one on top of the other.

Dhangkar Monastery narrow passageways
Dhangkar Monastery narrow passageways

The interiors are navigated by narrow stairs (more like ladders, they’re so steep) and often low-ceilinged passageways. And when you scramble higher and higher, some stairs lead to the rooftops where you climb some more, on gravelly footpaths next to sheer cliff drops, in order to get into other adjacent buildings. Whenever you step outside, you are stunned by the incredible panorama of Spiti Valley in its splendor before you, dotted by the verdant, partitioned farmlands below, and the rigor of the sun casting impressive shadows across the mountain ridges.

View of Spiti Valley from rooftop of Lha O-pa Gompa, Dhangkar Monastery
View of Spiti Valley from rooftop of Lha O-pa Gompa, Dhangkar Monastery

Inside the Dukhang, which was the former assembly hall for monks before the new one was built a few years ago, sits a life-sized statue of Vajradhara, the “Diamond Being” who sees the ultimate nature of reality. One who does so is said to have wisdom, or right view.

Vajradhara statue, Dhangkar Monastery, Spiti
Vajradhara statue, Dhangkar Monastery, Spiti

Kanjur Lhakang, library, Dhangkar Monastery
Kanjur Lhakang, library, Dhangkar Monastery

In the lower level Kanjur Lhakang (library containing Buddhist scriptures) are three wooden figures: Lama Chodrag, Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, and Maitreya, the future Buddha. On the walls are faded and sooty murals, which one can barely see. It’s easy to understand from these murals alone why in 2006 Dhangkar Monastery was named by World Monuments Fund as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world.

Kanjur Lhakang, library, Dhangkar Monastery
Kanjur Lhakang library of Buddhist scriptures, Dhangkar Monastery, Spiti, India

In the uppermost building of Lha O-pa Gompa is Lhakang Gongma, which has the most to see in terms of murals. Its central back wall dominates with Shakyamuni, Je Tsongkhapa (the reformer and Gelugpa founder of the 14th century), and Lama Chodrag.

Lhakang Gongma murals, Dhangkar Monastery
View of murals on the back central wall of Lhakang Gongma, Dhangkar Monastery, Spiti

The adjacent walls depict various manifestations of Buddha. I was struck in general by how varied the paintings are in terms of color, style, and deterioration. It’s clear evidence of selective repainting over the centuries. In the back central wall, for example, Shakyamuni is obviously brighter and more saturated in color than the other two figures. According to Peter van Ham’s book, The Forgotten Gods of Tibet: Early Buddhist Art of the Western Himalayas, only a few of the paintings have been left untouched. The rest stylistically suggest a date of around 17th century.

Buddha murals, Lhakang Gongma, Dhankar Monastery
Buddha murals, Lhakang Gongma, Dhankar Monastery, Spiti

Buddha murals showing evidence of repainting over the centuries, Lhakang Gongma, Dharkar Monastery
Buddha murals showing evidence of repainting over the centuries, Lhakang Gongma, Dhangkar Monastery

Of note in the murals is the frieze below the main figures, which largely depicts the life of Prince Siddartha, who became the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. Tabo Monastery has a similar frieze in its Tsug Lhakang, the main assembly hall. Much of it is faded but the below two images are readily identifiable as the life of Siddartha at the palace of Kapilavastu, and the death of Buddha.

Dhangkar_Lhakang Gongma frieze
Life of Prince Siddartha at the palace of Kapilavastu, painted frieze at Lhakang Gongma, Dhangkar Monastery

Life of Prince Siddartha at the palace of Kapilavastu, painted frieze at Lhakang Gongma, Dhangkar Monastery
Death and cremation of Buddha, painted frieze at Lhakang Gongma, Dhangkar Monastery

We were told by locals that Dhangkar is older than the famous Tabo Monastery because, as the ancient home of indigenous kings, it contained a private temple from before the time of The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo, pre-dating 10th century. Indeed, at the very top of the Dhangkar citadel are the remains of the palace, which you climb up to through a sleepy and steep quaint village that looks like it has maintained its same way of life for millenia.

Later in the day, we went to Lhalung Monastery. I really loved this small temple pictured below.

Lhalung Monastery, Spiti
Lhalung Monastery’s Serkhang or Golden Hall, Spiti

Lhalung Monastery, believed to be founded by The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo, late 10th century C.E., was quite impressive. You enter through a narrow passageway to get to its Serkhang, which means literally House of Gold, but more often referred to as Golden Hall. Attached to its walls are sculptures of deities and other Buddhist personages. Three-dimensional figures in relief against the interior architecture of Buddhist temples are a distinctive feature of Indo-Tibetan artistry in Spiti and Ladakh areas. Similar ones are found at Tabo, Alchi, and Mangyu Monasteries.

Experience the rare and beautiful interior of Lhalung Monastery’s Serkhang by seeing a walk-through video here.

Entrance to Lhalung Monastery's Serkhang or Golden Hall
Entrance to Lhalung Monastery’s Serkhang or Golden Hall

Once inside, the splendor of the ornately gilded and polychromed clay figures strikes you. The sculptures fill the temple practically from floor to ceiling. There are over 51 figures mounted on the walls or placed in the temple, arranged in mandala formations on each wall. Geshe-la said that these types of cantilevered relief sculptures are specific to the Trans-Himalayan region and are not found in Buddhist temples anywhere else.

On the central wall is Shakyamuni in the middle, flanked by two elaborate groups of five figures, each dominated by a deity–identified as Dharmadhatu Vagishvara, a complex form of Manjushri on the left, and Vajrasattva on the right. These figures are set in architectural alcoves, while the others are contained within lotus motif scrollwork, accented by decorative animals and dancers.

Serkhang, Golden Hall, Lhalung Monastery
Maitreya, Guru Rinpoche, and Rinchen Zangpo (partly visible on right behind the column) form a trinity in the Serkhang altar of Lhalung Monastery, Spiti

Visible below is the right wall with sculptures arranged in a Prajnaparamita mandala, with Vairocana in the center surrounded by four Dyanibuddhas or Buddha-families: Ratnasambbhava, Akshobhya, Amoghasiddhi, and Amitabha, and their female attendants.

Serkhang, Lhalung Monastery, Spiti
Rinchen Zangpo statue among a pantheon of sculpted deities, Serkhang (Golden Hall), Lhalung Monastery

On the left wall (photo below) is a Vajradhatu mandala arrangement around the three-faced and eight-armed Saravid Vairocana. Around him are the 16 deities in his cycle, including once again the Buddha families of Ratnasambhava, Akshobya, Amitabha, and Amoghasiddhi.

Vajradhatu Mandala, Serkhang of Lhalung Monastery, Spiti
Left wall with Vajradhatu Mandala, Serkhang of Lhalung Monastery, Spiti

So now, that’s a lot of deities in one small temple! Their plethora really conveys not only aesthetic richness but also the complexity of Tibetan Buddhist tantric practice. What do all these deities represent in these mandala arrangements? Put simply, mandalas are visual guides for a practitioner in their meditation. They are aids in the realization of the true nature of mind and reality. As an oral and esoteric tradition, one needs a lineage teacher. Experiential understanding of this leads to liberation from conditioned existence–that is to say, leads to enlightenment or nirvana. Here is a succinct description of what the Five Buddha Families represent.

Geshe-la had said that the temples in these areas really demonstrate only the lower three tantras, not highest yoga tantra, which is mainly what Tibetan Buddhists practice today. The lower three are more concerned with purification, whereas the fourth level is actualizing self and deity, and therefore, enacting profound experience and understanding of emptiness. In The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo’s time, late 10th century, focusing on the three lower tantras was a way to go back to roots and revitalize/reform tantric practice in Tibet which had grown distorted. This was partly the reason for the enormous interest in the original texts and their teachings, translating them from Sanskrit to Tibetan.

Lastly, the coffered ceilings were painted with delightful and folk-looking decorative motifs. Now I know what scholars mean when they speculate that these must reflect 10th century Kashmiri–influenced textiles.

Coffered ceiling of Serkhang, Lhalung Monastery, Spiti
Coffered ceiling of Serkhang, Lhalung Monastery, decorated with Kashmiri-influenced patterns that scholars believe reflect 10th century textile designs.

All photos © 2013, Eva Lee.

 

Spiti Adventure Begins

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My home corner in Dharamsala, with Namgyal Monastery entrance at right.

September 1st

J and I started off for Manali 6am from Dharamsala, watching the sun rise along the way. At a certain altitude, the sun in full array, we saw a veritable Roerich painting before our eyes. It was snow-peaked mountains appearing to float above a thick, solid, fluffy white cloud bank. I always thought the man took artistic license with his imagery, but sure enough, the chiseled facets cast by morning light on the Himalayas were in orange and purple-gray displays, the base of the mountains nestled in airy clouds. The scene looked like a fairytale setting.

My first encounter with Nicholas Roerich-like scenery. I always thought the painter used artistic license to enhance colors and compositions of his Himalayan scenes, but they in fact look this dreamy and stunning
My first encounter with Nicholas Roerich-like scenery. I always thought the painter used artistic license to enhance colors and compositions of his Himalayan scenes, but they in fact look this dreamy and stunning

The main road where Rohtang pass is looks by our standards like a single lane dirt road.  There is no railing at the irregular precipitous edge, and passing the slow trucks that ply the road means a lot of honking on the driver’s part and then a wing and a prayer to get back in lane without encountering oncoming traffic. Might makes right on Indian roads so trucks have the de facto right of way. Somehow it all works out, amazing.

I got a bit carsick from the descent, switchbacks all the way, the driver taking them maybe a bit faster, with blind passing, than my stomach could take. The diesel fumes and road dust was killing me. The smell of diesel alone is enough to nauseate me. Fortunately, there was AC which I asked for halfway through. We arrived around 1pm, with pitstop for breakfast at cheesy hotel bar/dining hall (J said she’d have to work on the driver to get him to choose better stops). Well, anyway, the aloo parathas (potato-filled flatbreads) were tasty and it was good to use the bathroom. Otherwise, it’s a roadside affair of finding a large rock or bush to go behind when nature calls!

We stayed at a place called Leela Huts after finding that J’s fave old Johnson’s Lodge, with English-styled cottage accommodations, was under renovation and closed. Leela Huts has a hilarious website: www.leelahuts.com. The sentence that had us in tears with laughter was, “Leela Huts swear sheer solitude to that tired man who has retired to the valley for a bracing vacation, away from the irksome crowd.”  Now there’s some florid Indian English for you! But anyway, it was a well-kept, walled off little oasis with two and three-bedroom houses with full kitchen and baths. We opted for just the hut with single large room.

We hightailed it to Manali because Khandro Thrinlay-la was in town for the afternoon before needing to leave for her next teaching engagement, and she invited J and I to come for a visit. OK, so here is one bit of convoluted family history. Her older brother is Sey Rinpoche, their father a great Drukpa Kagyu practitioner named Apho Rinpoche, who descended from the great grandfather Shakya Shri, who began this special lineage of masters in the Six Yogas of Naropa, a Milarepa tradition. These are the accomplished meditators who retreat for three years, three months, and three days to practice the secret tummo and other methods which develop, I am told, levitation skills and various abilities that defy convention. You would never know who was a great practitioner usually because they can look like any humble villager, and they never reveal their abilities normally.

Bhutanese-style temple, Manali
Khandro-la’s Bhutanese-style temple, Manali

Sey Rinpoche was supposed to be in Manali upon our arrival to meet with us, and make arrangements for access to monasteries in Lahoul where the family hails from, but we found he had left for Pangi where he is building a new retreat center. Instead, his sister Khandro-la (www.khachodling.org) was at home briefly, a lovely Bhutanese-styled house with colorful painted motifs on the crown and windows. She received us in her prayer room where she was doing prayers for safe travels, since it is the astrological snake year, and by Tibetan beliefs an obstacle year for those born in snake years.   I thought snake year was auspicious for snakes, but this must be the Chinese thinking. We discovered we all three are snakes.

Khandro-la has an international following which includes a lot of Australians, and women. She has a feminist approach, and is educated in the U.S., with MA in psychology, completed by the advice of none other than His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I find her interesting and contemporary. After learning about my Fulbright project, she asked me to photograph the murals at Gandhola, which turns out to be Guru Ghantal where I had planned to visit and document. She said it’s the oldest temple in Lahaul and she is interested in preserving its heritage properly.

We went back late in the afternoon to see Khandro-la’s assistant, and her younger brother who runs Druk Expeditions. He gave suggestions on places to visit in Lahaul, and so did Khandro-la’s assistant. It turns out that there is not so much to see in the way of murals of mandalas in Lahaul, but rather, Lahauli temples and area are structured spatially like a mandala. The suggestion was to go for a kora (a clockwise circumambulation around a sacred location) of Drilbu Ri Mountain, a holy site of the tantric deity Chakrasambhava, near where Guru Ghantal is, and experience the mandala physically, but to hire a guide so as not to get lost, and also to help carry things. Sounds like a nice idea, but we’ll see how I adjust to high altitude by then! I have so far been suffering from night headaches (like having a vice grip around my head!) and shortness of breath, bit of loss of appetite.

Often the road in Spiti is nothing more than rocky terrain in which one must ford a glacial stream.
Often the road in Spiti is nothing more than rocky terrain in which one must ford a glacial stream.

Next morning 5am we were off to Spiti.  Aaah, at last the journey to high Himalayas truly begins!  Our driver was a nice man, very good careful driver, and not as aggressive as some others. He drove a Toyota Qualis which J remarked didn’t look like the most comfortable car, but it was a tanker, and boy, I was happy about that.  You wouldn’t believe how parts of the road were like fording small rivers and waterfalls, with large rocks and vertiginous drops!  These are areas where glacial melts can wash out the road by afternoon.  After a couple of particularly nerve-wracking spots, we cheered our driver for his skillful driving! J said many a car or truck has been caught stuck in these.  One has to be on the road early enough to pass these before the water starts rushing down in the warmest part of day.

Kunzum la with herd of yaks, altitude of about 15,000 feet
Kunzum la with herd of yaks, altitude of about 15,000 feet

I took a lot of photos en route, what spectacular vistas! We had also many pit stops at big rocks where we could hide and relieve ourselves by the side of the road. Kunzum-la was quite windy. It’s a high point at about 15,000 ft altitude, and marked by three stupas and small shrines to the Dalai Lama and Karmapa and other lamas. J and I made incense offering here as a Geshe-la (title of a learned Tibetan Buddhist scholar akin to a PhD) suggested was an auspicious thing to do en route. I was feeling the shortness of breath by now, and when the wind blew the incense into my face, the odor caused me to feel nauseous. However, I totally loved seeing the wildly billowing and plentiful, layered, colored prayer flags blowing in the wind. We ended up not picnicking at the Nechung stupa as originally planned because J thought it was too windy and cold.  She was mindful not to be exposed too much in case of causing illness.  We instead ate in a large, flat valley, which was also windy, but at least less so.

Tibetan prayer flags and stupas mark Kunzum la pass
Tibetan prayer flags and stupas mark Kunzum la pass

Exhilarated and a bit short of breath at Kunzum la pass, altitude approximately 15,000 feet high
Exhilarated and a bit short of breath at Kunzum la pass, altitude approximately 15,000 feet

The Spiti Valley is grand beyond belief! While passing Kullu Valley earlier was stunning, too, for its lush steep landscape, cascading, tall waterfalls that put Yosemite National Park ones in the kids’ playground, grazing sheep and goats, impossibly tall and regal pine trees, Spiti land looks like gigantic rock and sand slides of barren beauty, with a wide river valley that equally shocks one with its scale.  The river rushes in what looks like silver rivulets wending its way within the valley from the road high above, but any of its strands would dwarf a normal inland river.  J said this is what is characteristic about Spiti, and at every switchback turn on the road, another great Roerich-like view is to be had.  If I had stopped the car every time I wanted to take a photograph, we never would have arrived in time.  Manali to Kaza was about a 10-12 hour jaunty, bumpy car ride.

En route to Kaza, Spiti, a high altitude desert landscape
En route to Kaza, Spiti, a high altitude desert landscape

Magnificent rock structures, nature's sculptures, en route to Dhangkar Monastery, Spiti
Magnificent rock structures, nature’s sculptures, en route to Dhangkar Monastery, Spiti

Spiti Valley heading towards Dhangkar Monastery.
Spiti Valley heading towards Dhangkar Monastery. The grandeur of scale is stunning!

En route to Dhangkar Monastery
Himalayan scale is overwhelming. What looks here like squiggly bits of green is actually massive farmland. En route to Dhangkar Monastery

En route to Dhangkar Monastery. Spiti Valley in any lighting is stunning.
En route to Dhangkar Monastery. Spiti Valley in any lighting is stunning.

All photos © 2013, Eva Lee.

 

When it Rains in Dharamsala

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View of Dharamsala from my balcony near Namgyal Monastery
View of Dharamsala from my balcony near Namgyal Monastery

I’ve arrived in Dharamsala! “Land of the Mahayana,” as one monk fondly referred to it. It is the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. It’s as I remember it from three years ago.  With some new construction, new businesses, but largely as before, though I had not seen it in monsoon season. It’s warm but wet everywhere. Sheets of rain whip through during different times of the day. Honking cars with foggy windows (how can drivers possibly see?) ford overflowing water which rushes down the narrow hilly roads like a bowling ball follows a gutter. Shopkeepers and street vendors shuffle their wares in and out of shelter.  Pedestrians dodge canyon-sized potholes and sludgy puddles. I’ve been drenched twice while foolishly attempting to get to my next destination with a measly umbrella that may as well be one of those toothpick paper ones you get as a decoration on a cocktail. The rain just soaks everything, and wet clothes take days to dry.  Now I know what Tibetan poet Tenzin Tsundue means when he writes, “When it rains in Dharamsala/raindrops wear boxing gloves/thousands of them/come crashing down and beat my room.”

In fact, I read that Dharamsala area is one of the wettest monsoon places in India. Residents here tell me stories about how this season defies your attempts at staying mold-free. Electronic equipment, beware of condensation. A photographer friend told me he has to store his cameras in a small closet where he keeps a light shining for warmth and dryness.

I’m also told that monsoon will end in about two weeks. How do we know? The sun is beginning to shine more in between the rain bouts, and the fog lifts for some sneak previews of the beautiful vistas here in the foothills of the Himalayas.

No rest for the weary here, as I prepare for my trip to the higher altitudes. And I am weary, believe me, still getting over jetlag, and overjoyed when I can sleep for more than four hours and wake up when it’s dawn instead of the dark of night!

I arrived just in time for the second day of the Dalai Lama’s three-day teachings at Namgyal Monastery—nice way to begin! His Holiness looks as warm and jolly as ever. The temples and mezzanine areas have been outfitted with large flat screen TVs and speakers for translations.  For security reasons, all electronic equipment is banned and one must check in these items at a designated counter. This includes even small items like USB sticks and earphones. It used to be that you could bring in transistor radios and headphones to tune into the channel that translated in your language. After being issued my ID pass to attend the teachings, I passed security and found my way to the Kalachakra temple where English-speakers are directed.

The Dalai Lama was seated in the adjacent main temple, and from my spot in the rear kitty-corner, I could see him faintly through a glass window, albeit distorted from the reflection of ambient light. I marveled that I was once again in this temple where I had previously filmed Yamantaka ritual three years ago, as monks generously served butter tea with the morning breakfast of Tibetan bread (like a large English muffin). Yes, they actually cook and serve this to all the masses of people who come for the teachings, picking their way through everyone seated knee-to-knee on the floor, pouring tea from large steaming metal kettles and handing out bread from buckets.

Aside from attending the teachings, I have also been delivering letters of introduction, and meeting with Tibetan administrators, advisor, and a Geshe. This is a Buddhist scholarly title roughly the equivalent of the PhD title of Doctor, although it takes many more years of study to earn. Geshe-la shared with me some of his critical and historical knowledge of the areas I’ll be visiting as well as the images I’ll see.  I’ve now acquired my letters of support from various Tibetan offices for my research.  I will bring these with me to monasteries of the Himalayas seeking permission to photograph. These last few days have also been filled with meeting old friends and new ones over meals, tea, and even movie screening of Escape from Tibet one night, followed by discussion.

Tomorrow I leave bright and early for Manali, en route to Spiti. Today’s agenda is to pack, buy katas which are offering scarves, food for the road, pick up my internet stick and hope that it might work in the high altitudes. I am told, good luck! Spiti may sometimes lack electricity even for charging your electronic devices. Fingers crossed that I can keep my camera charged to be able to document monasteries and murals! J, my travel companion and longtime resident of India, has arranged for a meeting with Khandro-la, an exceptional female Buddhist practitioner, so we must hightail it to Manali and arrive before she leaves for her next teaching engagement.

Vandana’s Guest House and PBJ

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I always marvel when I travel that it isn’t all that difficult to change one’s reality. Here I am! India! Landed three days ago. United Airlines, Newark to Delhi direct, I highly recommend it. Smooth flight, quiet fellow passengers, seats have personal touchscreens for entertainment, and more importantly, power! You can plug in your device for charging. I was relieved to find this because I wanted to at least be able to text home that I’d arrived, and call a local if I needed help.

Vandana's Guest House rooftop garden rooms, Delhi, India
Vandana’s Guest House rooftop garden rooms, Delhi, India

Speaking of this, I’m thankful for help from others who look out for me! Fulbright sent a driver to pick me up at the airport. It was fantastic because after a long flight you emerge with jetlagged fuzziness. I found myself equally concerned with whether I could still purchase duty-free, as I was with completing an accurate customs form. Then later, there’s the confusing ruckus of countless drivers looking for passengers, holding placards or not, congested by the exit where travelers are also wending their way with loaded luggage carts. As it turns out, I couldn’t find my driver because I was standing in the wrong place, but he found me by looking in this wrong place!

The ubiquitous tuktuk or auto rickshaw
The ubiquitous tuktuk or auto rickshaw

They also prearranged my weeklong stay at lovely Vandana’s Guest House. It’s home away from home for now, run by a warm, helpful family who live here, too. My garden rooftop room with adjoining kitchen which I share with the next door Fulbrighter is perfect because I can stow away my PBJ fixings. Don’t laugh, those sandwiches, which I make and pack for the day as emergency snacks, have proved to be vital in our face-paced quest to complete paperwork as quickly as possible so I can get to the Himalayas in time. Yesterday we didn’t have time for lunch all day, shuttling to and fro in tuktuks from USIEF to University of Delhi where I am affiliated, to Connaught Place for errands, to Archeological Survey of India from whom I’m seeking permission to photograph the interiors of monasteries under its jurisdiction. This glycemically-challenged traveler was happy to think straight after snarfing my PBJ on the run!

Fulbright also offered a ‘Facilitator’ to help with the initial transition. Thank goodness! He has been an enormous guide through Delhi these past two days, fording me through congested traffic, bureaucracy, electronic logistics, and procedures! Yes, i need an ATM machine, Citibank is great. Oh and yes, an Indian SIM card please, micro chip with reception in the Himalayas. Yes, I will definitely take that surge protection power strip with universal plugs!

To top it off, he has been a great conversationalist–interested, approachable, frank. Bustling with vision and ideas. We even discussed caste, a subject often considered delicate and charged in this nation’s changing order.

Today’s largest agenda: complete registration at FRRO, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office. Quite an exercise in following directions. Three copies of this, originals only of that, retrieve this signed form from here, fill out (or ‘fill up’ as Indians say) this form online, etc. One fellow Fulbrighter quipped, carry lots of extra passport photos and copies of your passport, they love them here. Indeed! For example, for a foreigner to get a SIM card, you need to supply both.