Luang Prabang: First Impressions
Former capital of the Royal Kingdom of Laos Kingdom of a Million Elephants “Royal Buddha Image” The Jewel of Laos I’m taking a little holiday. Finally.
The 8,000 Buddhas of Pindaya Cave
The Pindaya Cave in Burma’s Shan state is home to over 8,000 Buddha statues. The oldest statues and inscriptions are from the 18th century, but the site probably dates back further than that. There are about 70 images of the Bhisakkaguru tradition (late 18th century) that are styled differently than the other Buddha images found [...]
I Dream of Angkor
Oh, the years I’ve waited to see Ankgor! Even though half the world and practically every photographer have visited these temples already, and even though it’s sometimes as crowded as an Asian theme park, that doesn’t detract from the experience of being here and soaking it all up. It’s truly magnificent. I love how it’s [...]
Glorious Alchi
Alchi is the artistic gem of Ladakh. Its temples and stupas are filled with beautiful, well-preserved Buddhist artwork from the 11-12th centuries, pre-dating the Tibetan style that came later. It’s said to be one of the 108 temples founded by Rinchen Zangpo, the 10th century scholar and translator of Buddhist Sanskrit texts. The whole life [...]
Wanla Gompa
One of the four branches of Lamayuru monastery, Wanla Monastery dates to the time of Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055) and shares features with Lamayuru’s ancient Sengge-Gang temple and the temples at Alchi, Mangyu and Sumda Chun. All are located in the same general area west of Leh. Wanla gompa is set high on a hill overlooking [...]
Sengge-Gang at Lamayuru
Lamayuru is perhaps the oldest monastery in Ladakh, thought to be a site of the ancient Bön religion of Tibet. Legend has it that Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055), who is said to have built 108 temples in western Tibet, built two temples and five stupas at Lamayuru. One of thos is probably Sengge-Gang, whose wall paintings [...]
Buddhist Masks
No wonder Picasso loved masks. I think he would have liked the Tibetan Buddhist ones too. The mask above is of Yamantaka, the Terminator of Death, who is the wrathful incarnation of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of Wisdom. According to legend, the Lord of Death, Yama, was about to destroy Tibet, but the people sought help [...]
Rainbow Body
One of the most fascinating aspects of Tibetan Buddhism the way it uses visual arts to represent complex Tantric concepts. This can be traced back to the spread of Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century by Guru Padmasambhava, who incorporated deities and practices from Tibet’s ancient, animistic Bön religion and magical rites and mantras [...]
Sitapatara
This is the one of the few statues of Sitapatara in Ladakh. She’s from the 17th century and lives inside the shrine at Leh Palace. Sitapatara is worshipped in Tibetan Buddhism as a protectress from harm, diseases and evil spirits. Her hand gesture is symbolic of this. She looks like a female Avaloketesvara with the [...]
Butter Sculptures
Torma are sculptures made of flour and butter used in rituals and as offerings in Tibetan Buddhism. They’re made for different purposes and symbolize different Buddhist concepts. After they’ve been “used” they’re placed outside and eaten by birds and animals.
Buddhist Caves at Ajanta & Ellora
Another batch from the archives! These are images from the ancient Buddhist rock-cut caves at Ajanta and Ellora, very famous places so I won’t elaborate.
Ancient Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi
Sanchi, a small village in the state of Madhya Pradesh, is home to some of the world’s oldest and most spectacular Buddhist monuments. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is the site’s main structure and was erected by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 250 BCE after his enthusiastic conversion to Buddhism. At its height the Maurya [...]
Norbulingka Institute
The Norbulingka Institute near Dharamsala was established to preserve Tibetan culture and traditional arts. It has workshops for thanka painting and appliqué, woodworking, metal sculpture and textiles, and produces top-notch work, all done by Tibetan refugees. There’s a beautiful shop where the goods are sold, a Buddhist temple, a doll museum, a delicious cafe, a [...]
Sumda Chun
Yesterday I hired a car/driver and traveled with a Ladakhi friend/guide to visit two remote monasteries west of Leh: Sumda Chun and Mangyu. Along with Alchi, they form a trilogy of early Tibetan Buddhist temples dating from the 11th century. The artwork of these temples is totally unlike the other Buddhist temples in the region [...]
Good Day at Stondge
After the teachings I headed to Stondge (pronounced Ton-day) Gompa, which has to be the coolest monastery in all of Ladakh and Zanskar. It sits high atop a ridge in a surreally beautiful mountain range and has the most spectacular views of Zanskar I’ve seen. Like Karsha Monastery, Stondge belongs to the Gelugpa (yellow hat) [...]
Lamayuru Festival
Lamayuru is one of my favorite places in Ladakh. It’s a beautiful village with an amazing monastery set in a totally surreal mountain landscape. I went to the monastery’s annual festival last weekend. Masked dances (chams) enacting themes from Tibetan mythology are the center stage of these festivals and the house is always packed. (Thankfully, [...]
A Great Little Day!
Today was a great little day for me. I stumbled onto a small festival where I was the only non-Ladakhi and the locals just brought me into the fold. The exact reason for the festival is still unclear to me, but monks and nuns from different monasteries were there to recite some Buddhist texts. The [...]
12th Century Meditation Cave
Over the past few days I’ve traveled by bus to Saspol, a sweet little village about two hours from Leh, to photograph this meditation cave. The mountainside above Saspol is dotted with meditation caves and thankfully they’re off the tourist circuit. The one shown here is the largest and contains 12th century murals on all [...]
Sand Mandala
Today I went to check out the creation of a sand mandala at Thiksey Monastery. When I arrived at 8:30 this morning, about six monks were working on it and the middle part was already done. I stayed with them until 4:30. They fed me and talked with me and I tried not to get [...]
Road to Lamayuru
I was invited by a few of the dentists working for the dZi Foundation to go on a day trip to the monasteries at Lamayuru and Alchi, and since I hadn’t been on a single road trip since I arrived over a month ago and can’t pass up a trip to a monastery I thought [...]
Future Buddha
Thiksey Monastery is one of the biggest and wealthiest in Ladakh. It’s of the Gelugpa order (same as the Dalai Lama) and has over 100 monks in residence. This is the three-story, 45 foot Maitreya (Future) Buddha by Ladakhi artist Nawang Tsering. It’s the queen bee of Buddhist sculptures here and probably the most iconic [...]
Central Institute of Buddhist Studies
In 1959, the year of the Chinese takeover of Tibet, the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (commonly referred to as CIB) was established in Choglamsar, a suburb of Leh. CIB instructs students in Buddhist history and philosophy, traditional Tibetan medicine (Amchi), and the Buddhist arts of sculpture, painting and woodwork. It also acts as a [...]
