The Practice When I first saw a sky burial in 1997, what struck me most was how quickly it was all over: vultures devoured the man’s flesh in just thirteen minutes. The charnel ground (durtro or dursa) was set in a large fenced meadow with a few small temples and outbuildings, and a large circle … [Read more...] about Survival and Evolution of Sky Burial Practices
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Guard Dogs from Hell
[Originally published in Action Asia, June-July, 1996] Grrrrr He was a sandy-colored dog, crouched on the ground a few meters to one side of the path and glaring at me evilly. His low growl was a warning sign- -one that I should have heeded, but I had things on my mind and business to take care … [Read more...] about Guard Dogs from Hell
Lithang Monastery: Cycles of Destruction and Renewal (Part 2)
(See Part 1 here) The monastery in 1949 Lithang Monastery was preparing to enter the second half of the 20th century with its finances in good order, probably thanks to effective management of assets such as herds, a prosperous local community, and alliances with other Gelug monasteries that … [Read more...] about Lithang Monastery: Cycles of Destruction and Renewal (Part 2)
Lithang Monastery: Cycles of Destruction and Renewal (Part 1)
Note to Readers Lithang Monastery is formally known as Ganden Thubchen Choekhorling. The original Tibetan is བྱམས་ཆེན་ཆོས་སྐོར་གླིང་།which is “ga' ldan thub chen chos 'khor gling” in Wylie transcription and 长青春科尔寺 (Changqingchun Ke’er Si) in simplified Chinese. It is also sometimes called Lithang … [Read more...] about Lithang Monastery: Cycles of Destruction and Renewal (Part 1)
How Communism Came to Amdo: Benno Weiner’s new book
Talking to Tibetans in Kham using the Chinese language, one often hears the phrase wenhua dageming. It translates to “Great Cultural Revolution,” which was a violent and extreme political movement in China, engineered by Mao, that started in 1966 and ended with Mao’s death in 1976. I often heard … [Read more...] about How Communism Came to Amdo: Benno Weiner’s new book