"Sometimes when I think about death I get some kind of excitement. Instead of fear, I have a feeling of curiousity and this makes it much easier for me to accept death. Of course, my only burden if I die today is, 'Oh what will happen to Tibet? What about Tibetan culture;' What about the six million Tibetan people's rights?' This is my main concern. Otherwise, I feel almost no fear of death". Dalai Lama.
It's incredible to see the people of Tibet, who have suffered so much under the Chinese occupation and although poor are so rich in spirit. The Chinese, may have taken their land, taken their homes, and taken a large number of their friends, relatives and loved ones, but they cannot take their spirit.Their spirit is Tibet. It's an offence to even have a picture of the Dalai Lama in Tibet. The middle staircases (see left) of the monasteries reserved for the Dalai Lama are overgrown and grassy. He may not return physically but his spirit is still there. Does a blind man need a picture?
Everywhere - The Dalai Lama - Below Left - A woman's feet as she prays at the Buddist temple in Lhasa.
Below (right) are the cooking pots at the Drepung monastery outside Lhasa the former main residence of the Dalai Lama before the Potala Palace was built. The signficance here is that the pots represent the numbers of monks pre- and post-Chinese occupation. The large upside-down pot is before and the upturned now, almost half the monks disappeared. |
