Travelog for: Miia

After a week in St Petersburg, we took a train to Moscow. We walked a lot, saw Red square, Ostankino tower, Arbat street and Patriarshy ponds, famous by "Master and Margaret"

A quote:

My favorite thing is to go where I' ve never been...

After around 43 hours train, I finally arrived in Tibet!!!
It's about 3757km from Beijing to Lhasa, and I do feel a bit altitude sick..
I saw the magnificent Potala Palace, which is the highest building in Lhasa.
I've always felt relived when having a company on the road. Someone was so eager to visit local postoffice, and then we took a stroll around Potala Palace.

Wandering aroung Barkhor Street where is the most popular local shopping area, we visited the famous Jokhang, here are some infomation:

The Jokhang is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capital city of the country of Tibet. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Tibetan, and Nepalese design.

The Jokhang was founded during the reign of king Songtsän Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Initially, many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.



   

A thangka, variously spelt as tangka, thanka or tanka is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, or silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front. So treated, thangkas can last a long time, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture will not affect the quality of the silk. Most thankas are relatively small, comparable in size to a Western half-length portrait, but some are extremely large, several metres in each dimension; these were designed to be displayed, typically for very brief periods on a monastery wall, as part of religious festivals. Most thankas were intended for personal meditation or instruction of monastic students. They often have elaborate compositions including many very small figures. A central "deity" is often surrounded by other identified figures in a symmetrical composition. Narrative scenes are less common, but do appear.

Thangka serve as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. One subject is The Wheel of Life (Bhavachakra), which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment). The term may sometimes be used of works in other media than painting, including reliefs in metal and woodblock prints. Today printed reproductions at poster size of painted thangka are commonly used for devotional as well as decorative purposes. Many thangka were produced in sets, though they have often subsequently become separated.

Thangka perform several different functions. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools when depicting the life (or lives) of the Buddha, describing historical events concerning important Lamas, or retelling myths associated with other deities. Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are often used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thanga image of their yidam, or meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing "themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities" Thangkas hang on or beside altars, and may be hung in the bedrooms or offices of monks and other devotees.

Hiiii folks! Long time no see! I was on the airplane from Trondheim to Beijing!
It seems that smoking used to be allowed on airplanes..