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Home , Bhrikuti, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, Gompa, Jokhang, Lukhang, Mount Kailash

rd th ITINITARY KAILASH DISCOVERY, , MAY 3 to MAY 28

For enquiries and bookings, Contact Dawne FRENCH in Australia

Tel: 0061 (0)7 54735071 Email: [email protected]

May 3rd: Drive to Nyalam. Overnight guesthouse (4,350m), (6‐7 Hrs) (L/D)

May 4th: Additional day in Nyalam for acclimatization. Visit cave. Overnight guesthouse (B/L/D) May 5th: Drive to Saga. Overnight guesthouse or camp (B/L/D)

May 6th: Drive to Paryang. Overnight camp (B/L/D)

May 7th: Drive to . Overnight camp (B/L/D)

May 8th: . (Overnight guesthouse or camping) (B/L/D)

Darchen is the base camp, located right in front of Kailash, at an altitude of 4,560 meters (14,957feet). The views from the base camp are much admired by visitors. To the north, is Kailash, like a glorious crystal , radiating a wonderfully attractive sight at different times of the day and night; in addition, there is a permanent twinkling light from the Darchen river which flows from the very heart of the holy . To the south, there is the vast Bharka plain, full of natural beauty and containing nothing man- made. To the east, there are the Kailash mountain ranges. In the west, there are two lakes, called Manasarovar and Rashal Tal, and the giant Namo Nanyi Mountain, 50 kilometers away.

May 9th: Driraphuk (Overnight camping) (4,890m). B/L/D

May 10th to 13th: Stay in Driraphuk Gompa for meditation on Medicine Buddha (meditation inside the ) B/L/D

Driraphuk Gompa is located behind Kailash and was rebuilt in 1986. Usually there are two monks who explain the holy objects and the history of the monastery to and visitors. The original monastery was founded by the first person who walked around , Gyalpa Gotsangpa. According to the history of Kailash, Gotsangpa saw a female yak ahead of him and knew that she was an emanation of the Sengdongma. Then she disappeared, leaving behind a miraculous hoof-print on a rock. Gotsangpa decided to meditate there and slowly a stone hut grew around him. The hut was named "Drira Pug" or "Cave of the Female Yak's Hoof". (Dri means female yak, Ra means hoof.)

The altitude of the area is about 5,208 meters and pilgrims who are unable to walk long distances camp near Drira Pug or stay in the guest house at the monastery on the north face of Mount Kailash. The three lower hills in front of Mount Kailash are known as , Avalokitesvara and Vajrapani, and represent wisdom, kindness and power. Starting from Drira Pug, you need to cross the wooden bridge over the Lha Chu river, which some believe is the true source of the Indus.

May 14th: Zuthulphuk Gompa. Overnight camp (4,790m) B/L/D.

Zutul-puk Gonpa, "Cave of Miracles" The great Tibetan Yogi, Milarepa, and Bonpo master, Naro Chung, used their magical powers to make a shelter as it was raining very heavily. There are foot and hand prints to see on the ceiling of the building and footprints on the roof. The current monastery was rebuilt in 1985. The main contents of the monastery are statues of Shakyamuni Buddha, and Jigten Sumgon. A small group of monks is responsible for the monastery.

May 15th: Finish the trek and drive to Darchen. Guesthouse B/L/D

May 16th: Darchen & drive to Tirthapuri (4,300m.)& enjoy Vajra Yogini hot water springs‐camp.

Tirthapuri Hot Springs. Guru Rinpoche spent some time here cleansing away his sins in the thermal waters. While in the neighborhood he also vanquished several foes of the . There is a small around the springs and the associated monastery. A high ridge is marked with prayer flags and symbolizes the Drolma-la pass of Kailash fame. Tirthapuri is best known for being a sacred place of and his consort Yeshe Tsogyel. The monastery which was formerly connected with monastery in was completely destroyed during the and rebuilt in 1980s. Behind the in Ladakh is a cave where Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel both meditated and a rock with their embedded footprints. The hot springs are surrounded by pink and white limestone terraces, which make a favorite picnic spot for Tibetans. Small pure opaque calcium balls are found among the terraces; search carefully for these small beads are considered to be powerful medicine. Ravens and rainbows abound in this magical spot.

May 17th: Drive Tirthapuri - Nyogze (4,350m.) (6-7 HRS) May 18th: Drive to Paryang. Camp B/L/D May 19th: Drive to Saga. Camp or guesthouse B/L/D

May 20th: Drive Saga to . Overnight guesthouse (B)

May 21st: . 2 nights hotel. (B), visit of Tashi Lhumpo monastery

Shigatse (official spelling: Xigazê; other spellings: Rìkāzé, Shigatse, Shikatse, Zhigatsey) is a county- level city and the second largest city in Tibet with a population of 80,000 about 250 km southwest of . It was previously known as Samdruptse and the once-imposing Shigatse Dzong, or fort, (dismantled during the popular uprising of 1959), was the seat of the kings of Ü-Tsang and the capital of the province of Ü-Tsang or Tsang.[1]

In the 19th century the "Tashi" or Panchen had temporal power over Tashilhunpo Monastery and three small districts, though not over the town of Shigatse itself, which was administered by two Dzongpön (Prefects) appointed from Lhasa.[2] There were two Dzongpöns for every Dzong - a lama (Tse- dung) and a layman. They were entrusted with both civil and military powers and are equal in all respects, though subordinate to the generals and the Chinese Amban in military matters.

It is the administrative centre of modern Xigazê County in the Xigazê Prefecture, a region of Tibet.

It is located at an altitude of 3,840 metres (approx. 12,598 feet) at the confluence of the Yarlong Tsangpo (Wylie: yar gtsang po) (or Brahmaputra) and Nianchuhe rivers in west Tibet and was the ancient capital of U-Tsang province. It is also the name of the surrounding county.

It contains the huge Tashilhunpo Monastery, founded in 1447 by Gendun Drup, the First . It is the traditional seat of the Panchen . Until the Chinese arrived in the 1950s, the "Tashi" or had temporal power over three small districts, though not over the town of Shigatse itself, which was administered by a dzongpön (general) appointed from Lhasa.

Tashi Lhumpo monastery

The monastery was founded in 1447 CE by Gedun Drub, the nephew and disciple of the famous Buddhist philosopher , who was later named the First Dalai Lama. The construction was financed by donations from local nobles.

Later Lobsang Chökyi Gyalsten, the Fourth Panchen Lama and the first Panchen Lama to be recognized as such by the rulers of Mongolia, made major expansions to the monastery. Since then all Panchen Lamas have resided at Tashilhunpo, and have managed to expand it gradually.

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Choekyi Gyalpo, the 11th Panchen Lama has been enthroned there, while , the 11th Panchen Lama recognised by the Dalai Lama, has been held under "protective custody" by the Chinese authorities since 1995.

Tashilhunpo in its prime had over 4,000 monks and had four Tantric colleges each with its own Abbot. After the death of a Panchen Lama, these four abbots led the search for his infant incarnation and one of them always acted as a prime minister of Tsang under the control of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa.

In 1960, however, the monastery was disbanded by the Chinese army whilst the Panchen Lama was absent, although less damage was inflicted on the monastery than on most others around Tibet.

During the 1960s many senior lamas and monastics left Tibet and helped re-establish new in , and . The late Panchen Lama did not leave Tibet and consequently many of the senior lamas from Tashilhunpo Monastery remained inside Tibet. Therefore, while other monasteries-in- exile have expanded and developed under the guidance of senior lamas, Tashilhunpo has remained at a disadvantage, although in 1972 a new campus of Tashilhunpo Monastery was built by Tibetan exiles at a settlement in Bylakuppe, Karnātakā in southern India.

Since the early 1980s parts of the Tashilhunpo monastery have been open to the public and it is an important tourist attraction in Tibet today.

. May 22nd: gangchen. (1h drive from Shigatse). Visit of Gangchen monastery. The original Gangchen Monastery was founded in the XVIth century by Panchen Sangpo Tashi - one of Lama Gangchen’s previous incarnations, who was the chosen disciple of the Ist Dalai Lama: Panchen Gedun Drup founder of Tashi Lumpo Monastery in Shigatse which subsequently became the seat of all Panchen Lamas. Panchen Gedun Drup died before the building of Tashi Lumpo was finished and it was Panchen Sangpo Tashi who finally brought the project to completion. Monastic life in Gangchen was prosperous until 1959: some 350 monks lived there and studied - apart from traditional and - medicine, astrology, philosophy, logic, dialectics, as well as Vinayana and , healing practices, sacred arts, crafts and cham

dances. The Monastery was home to a vast collection of precious sacred texts which unfortunately were lost forever. Today there are a mere few ruins left of the original monastery destroyed in 1959.

May 23rd: .

Over Gyantse (rGyal rtse) also spelled Gyangtse, Gyangdzê; is a town located in Gyangzê County, Shigatse Prefecture. It is 3,977 metres (13,050 feet) above sea level, and is located in the fertile plain of the Nyang Chu valley and on the Friendship Highway, which connects Kathmandu, Nepal to Lhasa, Tibet.

The town is strategically located in the Nyang-chu Valley on the ancient trade routes from the Chumbi Valley, Yatung and Sikkim, which met here. From Gyantse, routes led to Shigatse downstream and also over the Karo La (Pass) to Central Tibet.

The fortress guarded the southern approaches to the Tsangpo Valley and Lhasa.[2]

Gyantse is the fourth largest city in Tibet (after Lhasa, Shigatse and ). It is often referred to as the "Hero City" because during the British Younghusband expedition of 1904, the 500 soldiers of the Gyantse fort resisted in a siege of several weeks, before they were overcome by the superior equipment of the British.

The town was nearly destroyed in 1954 and was largely emptied of people by the Chinese in 1959. During the Cultural Revolution the monastery and were ransacked or destroyed.[3]

Gyantse is notable for its magnificent Kumbum (literally, '100,000 images') of the , the largest chörten in Tibet. The Kumbum was commissioned by a Gyantse prince in 1427 and was an important centre of the school of . This religious structure contains 77 chapels in its six floors, and is illustrated with over 10,000 murals, many showing a strong Nepali influence, which have survived pretty well intact. They are the last of this type in Tibet.

May 24th: Lhasa. Hotel 4 nights (B)

By the mid 7th century, Songtsän Gampo became the leader of the that had risen to power in the Yarlung River Valley. In 641 A.D., Songtsän Gampo, who by this time had conquered the whole Tibetan region, wedded Princess of Nepal and Princess Wen Cheng of the Imperial Tang court. Through these marriages, he converted to Buddhism and proceeded to build the Ramoche and temples in Lhasa to house two Buddha statues brought to his court by the two princesses, even as it was noted that Songtsän Gampo's empire was nomadic and he held court in large movable resplendent tents.

Songtsän Gampo

From the fall of the monarchy to the accession of the fifth Dalai Lama, the centre of political power in the Tibetan region was not situated in Lhasa. However, the importance of Lhasa as a religious site became increasingly significant as the centuries progressed.[2] It was known as the center of Tibet where Padmasambhava magically pinned down the earth demonness with the foundation of the Jokhang Temple built over her heart.

By the 15th century, the city of Lhasa had risen to prominence following the founding of three large Gelugpa monasteries by Je Tsongkhapa and his disciples in the 15th century. The three monasteries are Ganden, Sera, and Drepung monasteries which were built as part of the puritanical Buddhist revival in Tibet. The scholarly achievements and political savvy of this eventually pushed Lhasa once more to center stage.

The fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), conquered Tibet and moved the center of his administration to Lhasa, as the religious and political capital of Tibet. In 1645 the began reconstruction on Red Hill. In 1648, the Potrang Karpo (White Palace) of the Potala was completed, and the Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time. The Potrang Marpo (Red Palace) was added between 1690 and 1694. The name Potala is possibly derived from Mount Potalaka, the mythological abode of Avalokiteśvara. The Jokhang Temple was also greatly expanded around this time. Although some wooden carvings and lintels of the Jokhang Temple date to the 7th century, the oldest of Lhasa's extant buildings, such as amidst the Potala Palace, the Jokhang and some of the monasteries and properties in the Old Quarter date to this second flowering in Lhasa's history.

In the first half of the 20th century, several western explorers made celebrated journeys to the city, including , Alexandra David-Néel, and . Lhasa was the center of Tibetan Buddhism and nearly half of its population were monks. The population of Lhasa was estimated at 25,000 in 1951, excluding some 15,000 monks in the area's monasteries.

As of the early 2000s, the city's population stands at about 255,000.

May 25th: visit of the Potala, the Lukhang temple (secret temple),

The Potala

The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the fled to Dharamsala, India after a failed uprising in 1959. Today the Potala Palace has been forcibly converted into a museum by the Chinese. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara.

Thirteen stories of buildings containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues, soar 117 metres (384 ft) on top of Marpo Ri, the "Red Hill", rising more than 300 m (about 1,000 ft) in total

above the valley floor.[2] Tradition has it that the three main hills of Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of Tibet." Chokpori, just to the south of the Potala, is the soul-mountain (bla-ri) of Vajrapani, Pongwari that of Manjushri, and Marpori, the hill on which the Potala stands, represents Chenresig or Avalokiteshvara

The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 m. thick, and 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes

The site was used as a meditation retreat by King , who in 637 built the first palace there in order to greet his bride Princess Wen Cheng of the of .

Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa.

The Dalai Lama and his government moved into the Potrang Karpo ('White Palace') in 1649.[8] Construction lasted until 1694, some twelve years after his death. The Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time. The Potrang Marpo ('Red Palace') was added between 1690 and 1694.

"The new palace got its name from a hill on Cape Comorin at the southern tip of India—a rocky point sacred to the God of Mercy, whom the Indians call Avalokitesvara and the Tibetans worship as Chenrezig. The Tibetans themselves rarely speak of the sacred place as the "Potala," but rather as "Peak Potala" (Tse Potala), or usually as "the Peak.

The Lukhang temple

Lukhang (Tib. klu khang, residence of Nagas), formally Zongdag Lukhang, residence of Nagas, lords of the castle and administered territory) is the name of a secret temple of His Holiness Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama. Three walls of the temple are covered with murals of yogis engaged in their exercises.

One wall of murals illustrates a commentary by on a tantra Rangshar, interpreted according to the 5th Dalai Lama's experience of practice. The murals show characteristic visions of the secret practice of thödgal. Another wall shows eight manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava and eighty four main . The third wall illustrates positions and movements of Yantra .

The temple is situated on a small island on a lake behind the Potala palace in Lhasa.

May 26th: visit of the famous Jokhang on the barkor as well as visit of the trode khangsar

Trode Khangsar built by the 5th Dalai Lama

The Jokhang, also called the Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Tsuklakang (gTsug lag khang) , is a famous located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. When it was originally built during the reign of king Songsten Gampo (605?-650 CE), it was called the Tsulag Khang or 'House of Wisdom' but it is now known as the Jokhang which means the 'House of the Lord'.

For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet.

The Jokhang temple was constructed by King Songtsän Gampo probably in 642. It was originally called the Rasa Tulnang Tsuklakang or 'The House of Mysteries, The Magical Emanation at Rasa [the early name for Lhasa].' Both Bhrituti and Wencheng, the Nepalese and Chinese wives of Songsten Gampo brought important Buddhist images to Tibet as part of their dowries, and the were housed here.

It was boarded up during the reign of the Bönpo king, Langdharma (reigned 838-841 CE). The famous Buddhist Master Atisha taught here in the 11th century and it has been considered the most important temple in Lhasa ever since.

Jokhang - mid 1840s

This temple has remained a key center of Buddhist for centuries. It was sacked several times by the , but the building survived. In the past several centuries the temple complex was expanded and now covers an area of about 25,000 sq. meters.

There is a walled enclosure in front of the Jokhang which contains some willows called the Utra ('Hair of the Jowo') and a doring or inscribed pillar erected by the Chinese in 1793 during a smallpox epidemic. It records the Sino-Tibetan treaty of 822 enforced by Emperor and includes "China and Tibet's vow of eternal peace and mutual respect of the borders of their independent states"

The Jokhang temple is a four-story construction, with roofs covered with gilded bronze tiles. The architectural style is based on the Indian design, and was later extended resulting in a blend of Nepalese and Tang Dynasty styles. The rooftop statues of two golden deer flanking a Dharma wheel is iconic.

The Jokhang temple complex has several decorated shrines and rooms. The main hall of the temple houses the Jowo Shakyamuni Buddha statue, perhaps the single most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. There are also famous statues of Chenresig, Padmasambhava and King Songtsan Gambo and his two famous foreign brides, Princess Wen Cheng (niece of Emperor Taizong of Tang China) and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Many of the statues were destroyed during the "cultural revolution" but have since been remade - often including broken pieces of the original statues.

Jokhang

May 27th: visit of and Drolma lhakhang

Sera monastery was founded in 1419, by Jamchen Chojey (Sakya Yeshe), a disciple of Tsong Khapa.

Like the Drepung and Ganden monasteries, it had three colleges:

Sera Mey Dratsang, built in 1419, which gave basic instruction to the monks. Sera Jey Dratsang, built in 1435, was the largest, and was reserved for wandering monks, especially Mongol monks. Dratsang, built in 1559, was a school for the teaching of the Gelukpa .

Sera housed more than 5,000 monks in 1959. Although badly damaged, it is still standing and has been largely repaired. It now houses a few hundred Buddhist monks

Drolma lhakhang

Just half an hour drive from Lhasa on the highway to the airport, set against a barren mountain slope is a small monastery, surrounded by a newly built wall, painted in shining white. Most tourists, however, pass by, in spite of a big parking area in front of the entrance gate. Even Tibetan pilgrims are rare.

Why should one come to this Drolma Lhakhang as this monastery is called while other monasteries like Tashilhunpo, Sera, Drepung or Ganden present a world of its own with overwhelming and fascinating complexes of chapels, imposing assembly and library halls, living quarters for monks, , gardens for scholarly debates. Indeed, when one wants to see as many statues, murals and works of , the Drolma Lhakhang near the village of Njetang is not the place. Inside the wall there is just one two storey building with three modest chapels on the groundfloor, a room for the Dalai Lama on the upper floor, small annexes on each side and a lonely tree in the front yard.

But if one wants to feel and understand the essence of Tibetan Buddhism one may find better answers at the Drolma Lhakhang than anywhere else, at least one does not get confused in the face of so many different manifestations of holy beings as in most other monasteries. Drolma Lhakhang means "the house of Drolma" and since Drolma is the for this monastery is devoted to Arya Tara, whom the Tibetans revere as their holiest Goddess, as the Mother of all Buddhas.

Another reason for the Tibetan devotion to Tara is that without her, Tibet may have never had a second Buddhist Transmission as the great revival and reform movement in the middle of the 11th century is called. It was not Tara, who led this reform movement, but it was Tara who convinced Dipamkara Srijnana to leave his position as rector of the Buddhist University Vikramasila in India and come to Tibet. If Dipamkara Srijnana would go to Tibet, so it is said that Tara had told him, he would be of great benefit to the . His mission would be to cleanse Buddhism from distortions, unite the many different schools of thought back to the essence of Buddha´s teachings and free the heart of the people from spiritual worries and confusion. Dipamkara Srijnana should explain Buddha`s path in easy terms, so that everyone could understand, follow and practice the Dharma in his daily life.

Tara had been the spiritual consort of Dipamkara Srijnana ever since he was born and given the name Chandragarbha, which means Moon-Essence. Dipamkara Srijnana was the son of a king in an area, which today is in Bangladesh, close to the Indian State Bihar. In Tibet, Dipamkara Srijnana was given the name Atisha. Sometimes he is called "the precious Lord".

Tara and Atisha belong together as do the moon and the sun. The moon symbolizes skillfull means (upaya) and the sun symbolizes insight or wisdom (prajna ).Wherever Atisha went, he always carried a small statue of Tara with him, never he forgot to call on her, ask for her mercy and blessing and thank her for all. In those days, people understood, that Atisha did not pray to the statue as a statue. To him Tara was the voice of his inner soul, the connection to the Almighty Creator of all. Tara had also been his

consort when as a young monk he travelled from India to the Indonesian island Sumatra. In those days, Sumatra was the center of Buddhist learning.

Atisha's time in what is today Indonesia was crucial for his future path.

Here he met Serlingpa, whom even the Indian scholars considered the best at that time. Serlingpa's main teaching was to open one´s heart to love and compassion in order to reach the stage of Bodhichitta, the Enlightened Mind, the essence of Buddha`s teachings. Without an Enlightened Mind, one can never practice the Dharma, never become a Bodhisattva or reach .

Atisha fullheartly accepted Serlingpa's teachings and when up to today the Tibetans talk of compassion, it is the long lasting effect of what Atisha had studied so far away from the snow covered of Tibet.

After Atisha arrived in Tibet in the year 1042 he travelled all over, meeting monks and people from West to East, teaching, writing and reviving by his own simple way of life the 1500 years old legacy of Lord Buddha. When Atisha approached the age of 70, he and Dromtönpa, who was his closest and dearly beloved disciple, looked for a place to settle. They chose two spots near Njetang. On one they built the Drolma Lhakhang as the place for worship, on the other they built a house, where Atisha lived and worked. A few years later, Tara's prediction turned true, that Atisha would die in Tibet in the year 1054. It was in the Drolma Lhakang, where Atisha said good bye. He was 72 years old.

This is why the Drolma Lhakhang is not just one of Tibet's many monasteries. The Drolma Lhakhang holds the treasure of Atisha's legacy and the key to it as well. Knowing that his end was coming, Atisha passed on all his worldly and spiritual knowledge, his experience and what ever else he could give to his disciples and people around him such as his know how about healing and techniques for irrigation. Atisha prayed for the Tibetans to always control their desires and mind, to watch the purity of their heart, to search for the ultimate truth, to preserve the essence of the teachings and remain guardians of Buddha's path. All this he had put in writings, of which the most important one is the Bodhi patha pradipa which in English means "The Lamp to the Path of Enlightenment".

There are many different version to what happened to the ashes of Atisha's body, where they were put, where they are now. It seems, none of his body ashes have been enshrined in the Drolma Lhakhang, but some of his personal belongings are said to be inside a white right outside the Chapel on the right side of the building close to another white Stupa, which contains remains of Dromtönpa, who died 10 years later. Atisha's Stupa is surrounded by a basin, which used to be filled with water from a spring. Now the basin is dry. The mountain behind the monastery where the spring used to be, has lost all his trees.

Even so, the legacy of Atisha remains alive. The statue of Atisha, which sits in a glascase in front of his earthern throne, still reflects the purity of his soul. Atisha's personal Tara statue, which is kept locked up

behind a golden grill, seems weeping for all beings in order to free them from the endless cycle of birth and death, full of suffering and misery. Holy scripts are waiting somewhere to be revealed at the right time and the spring on the mountain will flow again when the people remove doubts and hesitation in their faith to the Supreme of All.

While most other monasteries were rebuilt after their destruction before and during the Cultural Revolution, the floor and walls of the Drolma Lhakhang breath the presence of Atisha. They are original, they were walked on and touched by Atisha.

Why was the Drolma Lhakhang saved? The real answer can only be felt, but on the outside of what happened the credit goes to China 's former leader Zhou Enlai, who personally ordered the Red Guards, not only not to destroy the Drolma Lhakhang, but to safeguard this place for those who are longing for inner peace.

May 28th: Flight to Kathmandu and transfer to hotel.