CARPETS & LAMAS
It is the current Dalai Lama's birthday. We start the day with a visit to a carpet factory run by a co-op of Tibetan families. As sales go directly to the families, many of us buy at least one rug, though some buy many more. While waiting for the others to complete their transactions, I sit along the roadside and photograph my surroundings, including some passing cows, a monk in a cowboy hat, and the prayer wheel painted on the side of our tour bus.Visit two monasteries during the day. First is Drepung Monastery, which was built in 1416. While there we receive an audience with Lama Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche, the current abbot of Drepung. Later we visit Sera Monastery to watch the monks debate. We are too late for the debate but do get to watch the monks chant. Before dinner we stop by a tangka studio, where we are shown how select minerals are turned into paint, how the tangkas are painted, and are given a chance to purchase tangkas.
In his simple room
The Lama speaks of healing
And true compassion
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