Here are letters written by students in Kandze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture to people who were sponsoring their studies in middle school (grades 7-9) and high school or vocational school (grades 10-12). Names and locations are omitted to protect privacy. These letters and many others were saved in … [Read more...] about Letters from Kham Aid Foundation’s Sponsored Students
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Sacred Art of the Derge Printing House
Information in this post is drawn from published sources and Kham Aid Foundation archives. Background For nearly three centuries, the Derge Parkhang, or Printing House, (Tib: སྡེ་དགེ་པར་ཁང། Ch: Dege yinjing yuan 德格印经院) has served as a repository of Tibetan literary and religious culture like no … [Read more...] about Sacred Art of the Derge Printing House
I, Terrorist
It was early evening on the tenth of December, in the year 2001. I was working in my one-room office in a nondescript building in Pasadena, California, when a stranger appeared at the door. He was a police officer, a large man with an imposing dark uniform and a shiny badge. Several alien and … [Read more...] about I, Terrorist
Tibetan Nomads and the Permanent Camping Trip
By golly, I have pitched tents in some wild and wooly places. Once, while sneaking into forbidden Tibet Autonomous Region, I camped in a forest beside the Dri Chu river. Later that same year (1991), while biking the Karakorum Highway, I camped beside the yurts of Kirgiz herders. I’ve camped in … [Read more...] about Tibetan Nomads and the Permanent Camping Trip
Survival and Evolution of Sky Burial Practices
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