In the Lama Temple

Tuesday, 29. May, 2001.

In the centre of Beijing, not far from Middle School No. 5, there is the Lama monastery - nearby a busy highway. Within its walls there live and pray nowadays like 250 years ago Tibet monks called Lamas. Today the temple is one of the three most famous tourist attractions in Beijing and everyday thousands of visitors come to see it. Our students visited this territory during the second week of our stay in China. For this event, the management of Middle School No. 5 had chosen a guide whose command of English, knowledge of the place and explanations were excellent and who tried to convey to us the spirit of Lamaism.

This belief is nowadays still widely spread in the Chinese province of Tibet and southern Mongolia and shows close parallels to Buddhism. The believers of both religions try to free themselves from any desire and gain the Nirvana, the state of complete release from greed, anger, ignorance, and other human weaknesses. The Dalai Lama, the secular and spiritual leader of Tibet, is considered to be the reincarnation of the Lamaist God. The fact that since the Chinese invasion he is forced to live in exile, however, was not mentioned.
We were also surprised that the monks dressed in yellow gowns did not feel disturbed in their prayers by crowds of Chinese and foreign tourists.

Finishing our visit, we were led to a hall and were surprised to find there a religious figure of 14 metres height. When we again met our exchange partners in the evening, we had got a deep view into the spirit of Lamaism, but also into its present commercialization.

© Christopher Prohl, Johannes Faust; July 2001