When I Think of Tibet

As the weeks go by and tensions and violence escalate in Tibet, it makes me more and more anxious. Tibet is a beautiful, mysterious country. I visited many years ago, and although there were always problems (I remember one incident when my travel party was delayed for several hours because of public executions!!) it was much calmer than it is now.

There isn't enough air, which makes everyone who is just visiting a little high. To add to the trippy nature of the place, pretty much every site is religious. Even the graffiti is of different incarnations of Buddha - painted all over the sides of mountain rocks. If you felt sick, you were encouraged to meditate on the cool, indigo blue medicine Buddha, the deity whose color reminded me of the Milk of Magnesia bottle, whose image would soothe, coat and relieve as you pondered upon it. Tibet has the most challenging toilets in the world. I have been everywhere and I can attest to that! Hands down, Tibet is the number one worst place to go number two.

But to counter that, Tibet has the best-looking people in the world. They are Asian but with light eyes! Like green and blue! So everyone kind of looks like they are wearing contacts but they are not. I remember sitting in the courtyard of the Drepung monastery, watching all the gorgeously hot monks draped in their deep red robes, flinging their prayer beads at each other as they argued about philosophy while trying to steal looks at us at the same time. I know you aren't supposed to hit on celibate people so I just sat on my hands the whole time and tried not to make eye contact for more than three seconds. Girl, it was hard!

I also loved the dog monastery, a special temple for wayward monks who have reincarnated into dogs. The grounds are covered in dogs of every size and shape and breed and hue, silently pondering the cycle of birth and rebirth. Squirming litters of puppies wriggle underneath their dog mothers and their distinguished elders nap in the patches of sun breaking through the clouds. There is no barking, no howling, no fighting, and miracles of miracles -- no poo! -- nothing but the quiet mediation of dogs and monks. You are allowed to feed the dogs small pieces of dough, and they actually wait in line! When I think of Tibet, I remember the politeness of the dogs, pulling back their dog lips and ever so gently taking the food from my hand with their open teeth, not wanting to bite my hand accidentally and then looking warmly into my eyes with a silent thanks. The thought of rioting and looting and blood in the streets there is too painful to comprehend.

Comments

[josambro]

Dear Margaret Cho,

Though a travel writer, I've yet to visit Tibet. The closest I've come is northern Yunnan province, when I spent some time in Lake Lugu, the Kingdom of Women. I believe the Mosou people are related to Tibetans, and they are beautiful and majestic. Your tale of the dog temple made my wife and I wonder aloud if our own dog Raja - a Taiwanese 'tu guo', or aboriginal dog - might be a reincarnated monk. I am enclosing a link to a blog post I wrote last year about Raja, at the bottom of which you will find a picture of her sitting in open-mouthed zazen before a Buddhist temple on the island of Penghu.

Although you are not an authority on Buddhist monk canine reincarnations, your position as an individual of total beauty and lifetime coolness who has been to the dog temple is enough for us. Rest assured that no matter what you opine on the matter, it won't change the way we treat Raja one bit. Reincarnated monk or ordinary Taiwan Tu-gou, she will still continue sleeping on an auspicious golden pillow, eating high quality foods, and being bathed twice a month whether she needs it or not.

The story and picture is at http://josambro.blogspot.com/2007/10/one-last-time-happy.html

Thanks again for being you! You rock,

Joshua Samuel Brown
Author, Vignettes of Taiwan, Co-author Lonely Planet Taiwan (7th edition)

[Steelsil]

The Olympic torch was lit today in China, but it isn't the torch the Chinese people wanted. Their torch was held aloft by their Statue the Goddess of Liberty, the one that they built. That torch was torn down, and the people were attacked and killed or jailed by the "People's" army in Tiananmen square in 1989. Young adults in China today know nothing of this, because the Chinese government propaganda machine has vilified the patriots who demonstrated for freedom that day, and dismissed them as a few anti-social 'hooligans­.' This process is, of course, taking place today in China, only it is currently directed against the Tibetan demonstrators. If the Tiananmen Square demonstrators had been successful in reforming the Chinese government, I doubt if there would have been the demonstrations in Tibet, because the people of Tibet would probably have had far fewer grievances.

You can see the photo of the "Goddess of Liberty" and read about the Tiananmen Square massacre on Wikipedia- just Google: Wikipedia Tiananmen Square Massacre