December 27

Through My Eyes

Saturday December 27

(We continue to listen to Dalai Lama as he describes his stay at the Johkang! )

" Tibet and China shall abide by the frontiers of which they are now in occupation. All to the east is the country of China; and all to the west is, without question, the country of Great Tibet. Henceforth on neither side shall there be waging of war nor seizing of territory. If any person incurs suspicion he shall be arrested; his business shall be inquired into and he shall be escorted back.

Now that the two kingdoms have been allied by this great treaty it is necessary that messengers should once again be sent by the old route to maintain communications and carry the exchange of friendly messages regarding the harmonious relations between the nephew and uncle. According to the old custom, horses shall be changed at the foot of the Chian Chun pass, the frontier between Tibet and China. At the Sui-yung barrier the Chinese shall meet Tibetan envoys and provide them with all facilities. On both sides they shall be treated with customary honour and respect in conformity with the friendly relations between nephew and uncle.

Between the two countries no smoke nor dust shall be seen. There shall be no sudden alarms and the very word 'enemy' shall not be spoken. Even the frontier guards shall have no anxiety nor fear and shall enjoy land and bed at their ease. All shall live in peace and share the blessing of happiness for ten thousand years. The fame of this shall extend to all places reached by the sun and moon.

This solemn agreement has established a great epoch when Tibetans shall be happy in the land of Tibet, and Chinese in the land of China. So that it may never be changed, the Three Precious Jewels of Religion, the Assembly of Saints, the Sun and Moon, Planets and Stars have been invoked as witnesses. An oath has been taken with solemn words and with the sacrifice of animals; and the agreement has been ratified.

If the parties do not act in accordance with this agreement or if they violate it, whichever it may be, Tibet or China, nothing that the other party may do by way of retaliation shall be considered a breach of the treaty on their part.

The Kings and Ministers of Tibet and China have taken the prescribed oath to this effect and the agreement has been written in detail. The two Kings have affixed their seals. The Ministers specially empowered to execute the agreement have inscribed their signatures and copies have been deposited in the royal records of each party.

My room in the Jokhang was on the second storey, that is to say on the flat roof of the temple.From here, I was able to look down not only into the main part of the building itself but also into the market-place below. The window looking south gave me a view of the principal chamber, in which I could see monks chanting throughout the day. These monks were always well behaved and diligent in their offices.

The view to the east window was very different however. This one enabled me to look down into a courtyard where novice monks, like myself, gathered. I used to watch amazed as they played truant and sometimes even fought each other. When I was very young, I used to creep downstairs so that I could get a better view of them. I couldn't believe what I saw and heard. For a start, they did not chant their prayers as they were supposed to. They sang them- at least if they bothered to open their mouths at all.Quite a lot of them never seemed to do so and instead spent their whole time playing. Every so often a scuffle would break out. Then they would take out their wooden bowls and crack each other over the head. This scene provoked a curious reaction in me. On the one hand, I told myself that these monks were extremely stupid. But on the other hand, I could not help envying them. They seemed not to have a care in the world. But when their fights became violent, I grew frightened and went away.

To the west, I could see out to the market place. This was easily my favourite view, but I had to spy out rather than to look directly in case anyone saw me. If they did, everyone would come running over to prostrate themselves. I could only peer through the curtains, feeling rather like a criminal. I remember that the first or second time I stayed at the Johkang, aged seven or eight, I disgraced myself rather badly. The sight of all those people down there was too much for me. I boldly poked my head through the curtain. But as if this were not bad enough, I remember blowing bubbles of spit which fell on to several people's heads as they threw themselves down to the ground far below. Afterwards, I am glad to say that the young Dalai Lama learned some self discipline."

( They should have spared the animals' lives rather than sacrificing them for the treaty. It certainly lasted a lot less than ten thousand years! I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama of Tibet.

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? It's the eighth day of Hanukah if I have the days correct. Love and Peace to all beings! Since we are celebrating it in thought I thought it worthwhile to mention! It was a bit warmer here so I spent the day mostly working in and around our studio trying to get things done. I'm trying to set up things so that I can begin modelling with clay on the large bench. I could work where it was but it will be lot easier to show you how things are going with it over by your table. In the afternoon I went out to where our gift from the Tenger is to look things over. There's still a bit too much water around it to cut yet; it's just about over my knee boots! The wood is in good shape though! Then I set to work cutting some of the logs from the summer storms. This is chainsaw work which I don't particularly like as you know but it isn't feasible any other way as they are rather large! Two as one, we've gotten a lot done! I'm going to put the pages onto our infosite and work on our a land of Tibet;I'll put this up a bit earlier so we can rest.

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday December 27 (We continue to listen to Dalai Lama as he describes his stay at the Johkang! ) " Tibet and China shall abide by the frontiers of which they are now in occupation. All to the east is the country of China; and all to the west is, without question, the country of Great Tibet. Henceforth on neither side shall there be waging of war nor seizing of territory. If any person incurs suspicion he shall be arrested; his business shall be inquired into and he shall be escorted back. Now that the two kingdoms have been allied by this great treaty it is necessary that messengers should once again be sent by the old route to maintain communications and carry the exchange of friendly messages regarding the harmonious relations between the nephew and uncle. According to the old custom, horses shall be changed at the foot of the Chian Chun pass, the frontier between Tibet and China. At the Sui-yung barrier the Chinese shall meet Tibetan envoys and provide them with all facilities. On both sides they shall be treated with customary honour and respect in conformity with the friendly relations between nephew and uncle. Between the two countries no smoke nor dust shall be seen. There shall be no sudden alarms and the very word 'enemy' shall not be spoken. Even the frontier guards shall have no anxiety nor fear and shall enjoy land and bed at their ease. All shall live in peace and share the blessing of happiness for ten thousand years. The fame of this shall extend to all places reached by the sun and moon. This solemn agreement has established a great epoch when Tibetans shall be happy in the land of Tibet, and Chinese in the land of China. So that it may never be changed, the Three Precious Jewels of Religion, the Assembly of Saints, the Sun and Moon, Planets and Stars have been invoked as witnesses. An oath has been taken with solemn words and with the sacrifice of animals; and the agreement has been ratified. If the parties do not act in accordance with this agreement or if they violate it, whichever it may be, Tibet or China, nothing that the other party may do by way of retaliation shall be considered a breach of the treaty on their part. The Kings and Ministers of Tibet and China have taken the prescribed oath to this effect and the agreement has been written in detail. The two Kings have affixed their seals. The Ministers specially empowered to execute the agreement have inscribed their signatures and copies have been deposited in the royal records of each party. My room in the Jokhang was on the second storey, that is to say on the flat roof of the temple.From here, I was able to look down not only into the main part of the building itself but also into the market-place below. The window looking south gave me a view of the principal chamber, in which I could see monks chanting throughout the day. These monks were always well behaved and diligent in their offices. The view to the east window was very different however. This one enabled me to look down into a courtyard where novice monks, like myself, gathered. I used to watch amazed as they played truant and sometimes even fought each other. When I was very young, I used to creep downstairs so that I could get a better view of them. I couldn't believe what I saw and heard. For a start, they did not chant their prayers as they were supposed to. They sang them- at least if they bothered to open their mouths at all.Quite a lot of them never seemed to do so and instead spent their whole time playing. Every so often a scuffle would break out. Then they would take out their wooden bowls and crack each other over the head. This scene provoked a curious reaction in me. On the one hand, I told myself that these monks were extremely stupid. But on the other hand, I could not help envying them. They seemed not to have a care in the world. But when their fights became violent, I grew frightened and went away. To the west, I could see out to the market place. This was easily my favourite view, but I had to spy out rather than to look directly in case anyone saw me. If they did, everyone would come running over to prostrate themselves. I could only peer through the curtains, feeling rather like a criminal. I remember that the first or second time I stayed at the Johkang, aged seven or eight, I disgraced myself rather badly. The sight of all those people down there was too much for me. I boldly poked my head through the curtain. But as if this were not bad enough, I remember blowing bubbles of spit which fell on to several people's heads as they threw themselves down to the ground far below. Afterwards, I am glad to say that the young Dalai Lama learned some self discipline." ( They should have spared the animals' lives rather than sacrificing them for the treaty. It certainly lasted a lot less than ten thousand years! I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? It's the eighth day of Hanukah if I have the days correct. Love and Peace to all beings! Since we are celebrating it in thought I thought it worthwhile to mention! It was a bit warmer here so I spent the day mostly working in and around our studio trying to get things done. I'm trying to set up things so that I can begin modelling with clay on the large bench. I could work where it was but it will be lot easier to show you how things are going with it over by your table. In the afternoon I went out to where our gift from the Tenger is to look things over. There's still a bit too much water around it to cut yet; it's just about over my knee boots! The wood is in good shape though! Then I set to work cutting some of the logs from the summer storms. This is chainsaw work which I don't particularly like as you know but it isn't feasible any other way as they are rather large! Two as one, we've gotten a lot done! I'm going to put the pages onto our infosite and work on our a land of Tibet;I'll put this up a bit earlier so we can rest. And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)