a land of Tibet

We're in our coracle on Zhi chu on the way to the Yangtze Dri chu and the Changra Podrang the summer palace of the Kings and Queens of Derge! I actually don't know if there are or were wrought iron gates there but I imagine there certainly could have been since Derge was famous for its metalwork as we know well! Our Footprint Tibet handbook doesn't tell much of this but it does say that the area along the Zhi chu to the north is good for farming. Most likely then there were wonderful gardens there! It also does tell something of the Kings and Queens of Derge. They descended from an ancient lineage , the Gar which originally practiced the Bon faith. One of the Gar family was the chief Minister of King Songsten Gampo! They went on to practice in the Nyingma faith of Yeshe Tsogyel Padmasambhava later the Sakyapa faith of Chogyel Phakpa. Tangtong Gyelpo was also of the Nyingma faith actually as we've discovered in our travelling in Derge. As with many of the great Nyingmapa practitioners Tangtong was said to have great shamanic powers. The ravine in which Derge now sits was said to be filled with a poisonous lake inhabited by demons whose influence Tangtong ended by throwing his cloak on it! Of course, his cast iron bridges would have been almost as remarkable as I think cast iron would have been an extremely difficult material to use under the climatic conditions of the Tibetan plateau. We'll head up to the small temple to rest for awhile and look for herbs which must remain there from the gardens. The energy of hundreds of years of shamanic wisdom can surely still be felt here! There's a lot more to add but as usual two as one we'll add to the notes later beautiful one!


	Through My Eyes * We're in our coracle on Zhi chu on the way to the Yangtze Dri chu and the Changra Podrang the summer palace of the Kings and Queens of Derge! I actually don't know if there are or were wrought iron gates there but I imagine there certainly could have been since Derge was famous for its metalwork as we know well! Our Footprint Tibet handbook doesn't tell much of this but it does say that the area along the Zhi chu to the north is good for farming. Most likely then there were wonderful gardens there! It also does tell something of the Kings and Queens of Derge. They descended from an ancient lineage , the Gar which originally practiced the Bon faith. One of the Gar family was the chief Minister of King Songsten Gampo! They went on to practice in the Nyingma faith of Yeshe Tsogyel Padmasambhava later the Sakyapa faith of Chogyel Phakpa. Tangtong Gyelpo was also of the Nyingma faith actually as we've discovered in our travelling in Derge. As with many of the great Nyingmapa practitioners Tangtong was said to have great shamanic powers. The ravine in which Derge now sits was said to be filled with a poisonous lake inhabited by demons whose influence Tangtong ended by throwing his cloak on it! Of course, his cast iron bridges would have been almost as remarkable as I think cast iron would have been an extremely difficult material to use under the climatic conditions of the Tibetan plateau. We'll head up to the small temple to rest for awhile and look for herbs which must remain there from the gardens. The energy of hundreds of years of shamanic wisdom can surely still be felt here! There's a lot more to add but as usual two as one we'll add to the notes later beautiful one! * courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions. The information for the sketches is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje. ( please click here to return to my spinning for you!)