Thursday, March 31, 2005

Lama of Chonggu Si monastery, 2001


Lama of Chonggu Si monastery, originally uploaded by mutikonka.

Here's what Joseph Rock wrote about the Chonggu Gompa during his visit in 1928:

I was led over a steep stairway to the left into a fairly good room - for that part of the world. It was the best the monastery could afford and was evidently the quarters of a living Buddha. The ceilings and walls were painted, and at the head of the room was a throne and bed, above which hung some Tibetan scrolls representing Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow sect."
To my left a door led into a tiny private chapel, wherein reposed the tutelary demon of Buddha. From below juniper incense seeped through my glassless and paperless window and through every crevice in the floor.

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