Day 7. April, 16. Lhasa-Shigatse

Unexpectedly, we've been in a difficult situation. First, the altitude of 3,5 km above sea level without a preliminary acclimatization does the part - the brain begins to function in slow motion. Second, as it has turned out, we shouldn't expect to have the stable Internet - it is enabled sometimes, but doesn't work, and more often it isn't enabled at all. Third, unavailability of Google tools - mail, documents, disk, calendar - it freaks me out. I rashly hadn't taken into account, that Google doesn't work in China anymore, and now I faced the consequences... Well, I think we'll cope with it quite quick - if our Chinese colleagues will be able to provide us with the Internet-modems, what they haven't done yet. Sergey Bogomolov has his work e-mail on mail.ru, so he has problems only with Facebook - it doesn't work here as well...

 

Because of the lack of Internet and for want of anything better to do, I began to view the old photos of 2004, and suddenly I found the photo of Dalai Lama from Potala - must be at that time it was permitted to take photos. In 11 years the statues haven't change much. It can't be accurately identified, which one Dalai Lama is that - they all are similar. And you can understand that it is not Buddha only because it has a yellow hat on its head -  it's quite hard to tell the difference visually. The guides are not highly qualified here to distinguish Buddha Shakyamuni from Avalokitesvara without reading an inscription, but if to read it - especially with English translation - everybody can tell the difference. By the way, I was hasty to say in yesterday's post that there is almost no palmers: today after lunch they massively went out to work in the streets, and I had written that post in the restaurant at lunch.

The work of palmers is to rotate the prayer drum clockwise. Small drums they hold in the hands, the bigger ones are attached to the walls of buildings and are rotated by hands, the biggest ones are the stupas made of ctone, monasteries, Potala and the globe. When rotating it's supposed to say 'Om mani padme hum': the same text, repeated multiple times, is inside the prayer drums and at the Tibetan small flags of different colours. Since physically, of course, it's hard to rotate the stone stupas and monasteries - they are rotated figuratively: palmers walk around them clockwise, rotating them in that way. Jokhang monastery situated not far away from our hotel, and there are a lot of palmers, walking around it - the way around the monastery takes about 15 minutes.

Some of palmers want to work harder. They not just walk, but move in a certain way, which is called 'prostration'. Similar exercises my friends practice at wushu classes.

The correctly performed prostration consists in several easy movements: a person stands, then falls forward - kind of crawls- and then stands again, and thus, just like a caterpillar, moves forward. 

For clothes not to be ripped, they use the special small planks, attached to elbows and feet. Those, for whom it is tough or cold to lay on the ground, use a special mattress made of foam-rubber like for sport trainings, which they lay under their torsos. The strongest start to move that way right from their houses, those who are weaker moves only around the monastery. Some people take three usual steps between the prostrations, in short - each in his own way. Some people additionaly do it in front of the entrance to Jokhang, and the number of prostrations can be of thousands.

I've found one more funny photo from Potala of 2004. In the photo the monks sort the donations to the lamas, patriarchs and buddhas to deliver them to the bank. Last time Tolik and I gained an understanding in details of who the monks are and what their position is, and I don't think it has changed a lot. At that time all monks were considered as government employees and got wages, and all donations were considered as some kind of gain and were transferred to the state income. In fact, church could be considered as the state or public establishment, but one major modification has happened within these years. It is about the status of Dalai Lama.

Without going into details, it is possible to describe the situation with Dalai Lama as follows. Historically after the death of an actual Dalai Lama, a new Lama (his reincarnation, new body) was chosen among the boys under the age of 3 year old by a special technique, it was believed that the soul transmigrates not immediately at birth, but a little later. The boy was taken, raised in a special way, and from the period of growing up and until his death the boy became a real Dalai Lama. This is the principle difference between Dalai Lama and the Pope, which is chosed at adult age, and whose elections often become the reason of serious political battles; not once in the Middle Ages, if the elections hadn't been accepted by one of the sides, were announced as false, the Pope - as false-Pope and so on. In short: there were no false-Dalai-Lamas in Tibet until present moment yet.

But everything changes, and few years ago I drew my attention to one article in some news paper. The article said, that Communist Party of China with the purpose of struggling against the other customs of Tibet announced, that the old technique of chosing the body, in which Dalai Lama is incarnated, is wrong and  now Dalai Lama will be chosen by Communist Party. As it is known, Dalai Lama, after the takeover of Tibet by China, escaped to India, where he lives now. He is a prominent public figure, travells around the world, writes books, etc.

It would seem, that everything is pretty clear - Dalai Lama is in years, and when the time of the next reincarnation will come - his successor will be elected by Communist Party of China under the new technique, what is sad. But far from it! He has been elected already. He has already taken up his duties, by the way... The guy with big face, about 30 year old in appearance. So now there are two current Dalai Lamas. Our guide is shy to talk on that topic, because he is a Tibetan, and his national feelings conflict with the policy of Communist Party of China. Whatever, if we nave an opportunity, we'll get him talking.

While things are being decided, we've gone to Shigadse - it is the second-large city of Tibet. It is very, very beautiful here in Tibet, but the beauty is stark. Such a mountain beauty, it is impossible to convey the beauty by photos. We've stayed at the hotel with the monastery, have had dinner and went to the market to buy pillows and blankets. We'll use them in BC and ABC for warmth and comfort. The altitude here is of 3725 m above sea level. Tomorrow we'll ascend the mountain above the monastery and we'll move to the next point, the last place, where the normal shower and toilet will wait for us - the city Shegar.