Pilgrimage to the "Roof of the World"

Text and photos:DUC TUAN – HOA MINH

Sacred peaks of the Tibetan people

Perched high in the Himalayas at an average altitude of approximately 4,900 meters, Tibet is considered the "roof of the world." There are four routes to Tibet: Qinghai-Tibet, Sichuan-Tibet, Tiananmen Square-Tibet, and Xinjiang-Tibet. We traveled to Tibet via the Qinghai-Tibet route, a journey of nearly 2,000 km. The journey involved crossing many grasslands at altitudes of several thousand meters, which was very dangerous, but in return, we had the opportunity to admire many beautiful, majestic, and spectacular landscapes.

The concept of space offered by the Tibetan Plateau is truly magnificent. It not only encompasses three dimensions—three-dimensional space with snow-capped mountain ranges reaching 6,000 to 7,000 meters—but also a profound fourth dimension: the mystique that reigns in the human psyche. Things we might consider vague, such as reincarnation, the existence of deities, or the invisible pilgrimages of supernatural beings traversing the mountain peaks, are self-evident to the Tibetan people. Their religious belief is simple yet powerful. They believe that since the gods have granted them this highest place, there is no reason to descend and live crowded together with the rest of the world!

Throughout our journey from Qinghai to Tibet, we had to cross vast, silent grasslands. All we saw was wind, lonely snow, and absolute silence enveloping the mysterious Hadads (cloths used for drying scriptures – sacred objects of the Tibetans). This is a quote from a Bolivian pilgrim of German descent, written in a book...The White Cloud Path:"I felt a strange joy and a sense of reverence, a feeling of complete belonging, standing alone amidst the boundless nature, between heaven and earth, as in the distant past, before humankind was created."Wandering across the grasslands surrounded by the colossal walls of the Himalayas, Qilian Mountains, Pulao Mountains, and Kunming Mountains, perpetually covered in snow, allowed us to partially share the overwhelming emotions and happiness that filled our hearts at that time.

Lhasa - A sacred site of Buddhism

As the car emerged from a winding gorge, Lhasa, the remaining capital of the ancient kingdom, appeared in a beautiful valley. The city is a blend of modernity and ancient elegance. At the foot of the mountains, the tranquil Lhasa River meanders.

Lhasa, located in central Tibet, is the capital and the main political, economic, cultural, and transportation center of the region. This ancient city has a history spanning over 13 centuries and sits at an altitude of 3,700 meters above sea level. Lhasa is also known as the City of Sunshine (Sunlight City) because it receives more than 3,000 hours of sunshine each year.

Lhasa is also known as the "Holy Land of Buddhism," so ancient temples can be found everywhere. Behind the bustling metropolis lies the solemnity of a sacred Tibetan Buddhist realm. The most prominent and magnificent is the imposing Potala Palace against the deep blue sky, considered the symbol of Lhasa.

Potala, meaning "Buddhist Holy Land" in Sanskrit, is the residence and workplace of the Dalai Lamas, the spiritual leaders of Tibet. Built on Mount Mabuge, 9 meters above Lhasa, the palace is visible from several kilometers away in any direction. Thirteen stories high, the palace's walls are painted white and red, with rows of windows and roofs of varying heights. From the top of Potala, one can admire the magnificent beauty of Lhasa.

The Potala Palace was built by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century and was restored twice, in the 17th and late 20th centuries. The Potala Palace is a magnificent and splendid architectural complex, resplendent with gold and jewels. A series of structures such as palaces, stupas, temples, monastic quarters, and platforms create an unprecedented, complete complex that is both glorious and serene, like a mystical painting. The Potala complex includes the White Palace in the east and the Red Palace in the west. The main palace is built on the southern slope of the mountain, rising to the summit. It is 360 meters long from east to west and 140 meters wide from north to south. The main building materials are stone, earth, and wood. The complex has more than 1,000 rooms, over 10,000 Buddha statues, and 20,000 sculptures. Potala is the epitome of ancient Tibetan architectural art, a precious jewel in the land of the roof of the world.

Not far from Potala are two temples built in the 7th century, Jokhang Temple and Jokhang Great Temple, which were recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000. Both Jokhang Great and Jokhang Temple house countless rare Buddha statues, notably valuable Mandala and Tangka paintings. The legend of Princess Wen Cheng using goats to fill in the swamp to build Jokhang Great Temple and the story of Jokhang Small Temple being built where the goat's wheels sank into the mud are both tales of the Tang Dynasty princess's affection for the Tibetan people.

Another quite famous monastery is Tashilhunpo, built in 1447, which is the residence of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual leader of Tibet after the Dalai Lama. This monastery also houses a museum of Tibetan Tantric Buddhist art, including the world's largest bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha, standing 27 meters tall, weighing 150 tons, and covered with 6,700 gold leaf sheets.

About 8km west of Lhasa lies Drepung Monastery, built by the disciples of Tsongkhapa (the greatest religious reformer in Tibetan history). It was as large as an entire village, and at its peak, it housed up to 10,000 monks from all over the country. Buddhism had been introduced to Tibet a long time ago, but it wasn't until the 14th century that the great master Tsongkhapa founded the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, with the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas still in existence today. He was the most important religious reformer, responsible for reforming the monastic rules, reviewing all Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, and constructing many important temples and monasteries.

The procession of Tibetan pilgrims to Lhasa stretched endlessly. Every few steps, they would clasp their hands above their heads, lower them to their foreheads, chins, and chests in a respectful bow, then prostrate themselves on the ground. This form of prostration, called "five-body prostration," is unique to the Tibetans. Only much later did we truly understand why this plateau is considered the most mysterious place on Earth, a phenomenon that exists both in nature and in humankind. Another extremely mysterious form of Tibetan belief is the practice of chanting Buddhist scriptures using a "prayer wheel." Buddhists go to the temple and use their hands to rotate metal cylinders, which are used to rotate Buddhist scriptures. Inside these rotating cylinders is a Tibetan Buddhist text. By making it rotate, the Buddhists are performing a form of chanting and reciting Buddhist scriptures.

Interspersed among the Tibetan pilgrims are tourists from afar. From the foot of Potala, you have to climb hundreds of steps to reach the main temple, which is 117 meters high. Potala has a secret basement that not everyone can access. This is where the coffins of deceased Lama reincarnations are kept. When a high-ranking monk passes away, his body is wrapped in gold, a practice called Golden Burial, one of the five forms of Tibetan burial. Later, the person considered to be the reincarnation will come to the statue to identify it and hear the words: "This is the mummy of my past life."

Most of the lamps in the temples of Lhasa are lit with candles made from dwarf buffalo butter, which produce no smoke. Buddhists and pilgrims visiting the temples never forget to light candles, believing that each candle lit brings good fortune. Nowhere else is there such a shimmering, magical light; it makes one's perception drift as if lost in the realm of Buddha. Throughout my journey in Tibet, I kept wondering what is the most sublime thing that reigns in the Tibetan consciousness: God, Buddha, the afterlife, or the worries of daily life? And I found the answer when I heard a common saying that Tibetans often use to warn each other:Beware, your next life might arrive before tomorrow!

Mount Kailash andYamadrok Sacred Lake

When discussing the religious beliefs of the Tibetan people, one must certainly mention their pilgrimage to the sacred Mount Kailash, located over 1,000 km west of the capital Lhasa. This snow-capped mountain range is considered by the Tibetans to be a sacred mountain, known as the "spiritual universe," referred to in Buddhist scriptures as Mount Sumeru, and the only place where the Buddha and 500 Arhats once set foot.

Kailash is a sacred site surrounded by four mountains bearing the imprints of four Buddhas: the Vajra Buddhas of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, the caves of the founder Milarepa, the meditation hall of Guru Padmasambhava, and the cave of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. These mountains are covered in snow year-round, and along their cliffs are numerous unique and mysterious murals and patterns. On the high mountains are the footprints of Buddhas, axes of karma, rocks of karma, curved mirrors of time, and paths where travelers feel weightless. Legend says this is also the city of the Heavenly Emperor of the Somachi people – enlightened practitioners who transformed themselves into stone.

A pilgrimage to Tibet would be incomplete without visiting Lake Yamdrok, the third largest lake in Tibet, with a surface area of ​​approximately 638 square kilometers, situated at an altitude of 4,441 meters and considered a sacred lake of Tibet. The journey from Lhasa takes three days and covers several hundred kilometers.

We arrived in Yamdrok on a beautiful but cold day. Before me lay Lake Yamdrok, perpetually shrouded in clouds, also known as the Emerald Lake, because of its emerald-green water. There is a mysterious religious custom associated with the sacredness of this Emerald Lake: Tibetan high-ranking monks, upon their ordination, must meditate on the lake's shore. For them, the mysterious direction of the drifting clouds carries a message from heaven and earth, from the Supreme Being, guiding them in their spiritual practice.

Ancient temples, mystical customs, beautiful rivers, and snow-capped mountains create an eternal, tranquil mystique in Tibet. If you have the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to this "roof of the world," make the most of your time there and immerse yourself in its colorful and mysterious life. My small prayer wheel, neatly placed in my luggage, carried back stories of spiritual life and the discovery that Nirvana is closer when one follows the right path.

The Thanh