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Other entries in Lhassa

Attitude Sickness - Part 1

After a brief breather and something to eat I made my way to the Jokhang. This was the most revered temple in Lhasa and only a few minutes walk from our hostel.

The guide had told us that there was to be a rare gathering of Buddhist monks in the sacred temple this evening. It seemed too good an opportunity to pass up and so along with the 3 others in my group I went to see this uncommon sight. The rest of the party consisted of two girls from Holland (who refused to eat any of the local food and seemed to loathe Lhasa more than I) - who we will call Double Dutch - and Jin, a Canadian Chinese guy who was taking a little detour before visiting his extended family in Shanghai.

After fighting our way through the ceaseless deluge of people around the Jokhang for several minutes I realised that the respectful way to walk around temples was in a clockwise direction. We were fighting the tide as every other person in sight was striding in opposition to us. Once we joined this great froth of people we were very quickly able to reach the doorway to the Jokhang.

The sheer jostle and tustle of the assembled worshippers only increased inside as almost frenzied supplicants were vying with each other to pay their respects. We all had to keep moving or face being shoved, barged and probably trammeled underfoot by religiously ravenous Tibetans. The line of people waiting to enter the inner sanctum, where the Monks were chanting, was seemingly endless and it looked as if we would have to wait a long time.

The Double Dutch girls cowed by the zealous agitation, bordering on mania, of these devotees opted to leave after seeing the majority of the temple. But Jin and I were not to be deterred and started to queue. After 20 mins or so of being pushed past by Tibetans queue jumping (how thoroughly un-English) and us remaining in the same spot I decided to try something.

Sarah and Glen (people I met in Beijing) had queue jumped the protracted line that waited to see Mao's Mausoleum. I sought to try her tactic here or face waiting until perhaps the reincarnation of future Buddha. I breezed up to the security/police at the doors of the inner sanctum, while people buzzed and swarmed around me like angry fundamentalist bees, and smiled my sweetest.

ME: Can we come in? We are tourists.

The official glared at me with utter distrust. I guess we didn't look very touristy as I was supposedly the Chameleon Kid when it came to nationalities and Jin obviously looked Sino. I tried again.

ME: We just want to see the monks and go. I am English (and then the coup de grace pointing at Jin) and he is American.

JIN: (aware of the scheme at hand) Hey man! Hi!

The official looked unsure of himself and deliberated for a second before waving us on. In general, it is an unspoken rule everywhere I have been so far that tourists are to be tolerated and as much as possible accommodated. And within the higher echelons of the tourist hierachy the Brits and Yanks are weighty stalwarts. He might have denied one of us entry but together we were unstoppable.

What a team! Tony and Dubya would have been proud!

It was worth the deception as at the heart of the Jokhang sat a resplendent gold Buddha sometimes wrapped and caressed by wafts of heavy and redolent incense smoke. Sat around this central piece in simple pews were the monks.

We leaned against the railings that separated us from the clerics and listened to their chants and ululations. It was as if time had no meaning in this shielded core of the temple. Everything was as it had been and would be forever more... well for an hour at least and then I saw a monk answer his mobile phone.

The bubble had been burst. I still ponder whether I am right in thinking that something has been lost when I see Buddhist monks with mobile phones, North Face coats, Ray-Bans and cigarettes in their hands. But who am I to deny them the future? Why should they have to be suspended in time? Are they more religious because they don't have a mobile with a dig-cam?

I don't know.

Similarly, I don't know what Buddhism has to say about this but I do know that I had seen what I had come to see and now I was seeing something I didn't. So we left.

Photos / videos of "Attitude Sickness - Part 1":