a land of Tibet

Through My Eyes

We're in our coracle in the Zi chu that flows into the Yang tze, the Dri chu on the way to the Derge Parkhang! Far above us in a cliff wall is the cave of Tangtong Gyelpo from where he consecrated the ground where the Derge Gonchen monastery stands. I couldn't quite tell from our Footprint Tibet handbook what tradition he was. I believe he was of the Sakya tradition which is something of a blend of the early Nyingmapa tradition brought by Padmasambhava along with that of the teachings reintroduced by Atisha into western Tibet after being invited by King Yeshe O of the Kingdom of Guge.

Anyway our Footprint Tibet handbook describes him as the Leonardo da Vinci of Tibet! He built the great cast iron bridges in the mid 1400s and was a talented engineer. He also wrote plays and was a Terton, a treasure finder! The Tangkyel Lhakhang temple is dedicated to his memory. On the east side of the Zi chu is a large open field where a dance celebration is held that is attended by Tibetans from all over Kham! The theme of the dances is that of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of the present time and how he overcame the negative emotions and acts of past lives to attain Buddhahood. There are lots of colorful tents there! At the Derge Parkhang the bookmaking process can be seen from start to finish including the carving of the xylograph blocks that do the printing. It must be awesome to watch especially considering that the wisdom being printed is thousands of years old and in some cases came from thousands of miles away ;whose insight was gained by teachers from many lifetimes of development. Then it was hidden away for hundreds of years , then returned to Tibetans by the Tertons to be painstakingly collected into the anthologies like the Kangyur, Tangyur, and Nyingma Gyudbum. 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!)


	Through My Eyes * We're in our coracle in the Zi chu that flows into the Yang tze, the Dri chu on the way to the Derge Parkhang! Far above us in a cliff wall is the cave of Tangtong Gyelpo from where he consecrated the ground where the Derge Gonchen monastery stands. I couldn't quite tell from our Footprint Tibet handbook what tradition he was. I believe he was of the Sakya tradition which is something of a blend of the early Nyingmapa tradition brought by Padmasambhava along with that of the teachings reintroduced by Atisha into western Tibet after being invited by King Yeshe O of the Kingdom of Guge. Anyway our Footprint Tibet handbook describes him as the Leonardo da Vinci of Tibet! He built the great cast iron bridges in the mid 1400s and was a talented engineer. He also wrote plays and was a Terton, a treasure finder! The Tangkyel Lhakhang temple is dedicated to his memory. On the east side of the Zi chu is a large open field where a dance celebration is held that is attended by Tibetans from all over Kham! The theme of the dances is that of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of the present time and how he overcame the negative emotions and acts of past lives to attain Buddhahood. There are lots of colorful tents there! At the Derge Parkhang the bookmaking process can be seen from start to finish including the carving of the xylograph blocks that do the printing. It must be awesome to watch especially considering that the wisdom being printed is thousands of years old and in some cases came from thousands of miles away ;whose insight was gained by teachers from many lifetimes of development. Then it was hidden away for hundreds of years , then returned to Tibetans by the Tertons to be painstakingly collected into the anthologies like the Kangyur, Tangyur, and Nyingma Gyudbum. 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!)