beijing duck night

a weekend full of contradictions. steven’s weekend started friday afternoon with an international woman’s day celebration. yes, the tibetans (and the chinese) do not let any occasion to drink pass by. so lunch was accompanied by beer. us expats celebrated our women with a beijing duck night at our local chinese restaurant. jummie.

on saturday we went for a western breakfast and coffee. visited two ‘petit’ temples just of the barkhor at the back of jokhang temple. jamkhang and meru nyingba. the nice thing about small temples is that they are still full of life. chattering old ladies doing their laundry at the little courtyard in front of the temple, chanting monks, praying fathers with their sons. an incense burner and a building housing a giant prayer wheel mark the entrance. jamkhang is a bright yellow and houses jampa buddha (the future buddha). filled with kitschy pink lotus flowers and a monk happily chanting. pilgrims devoted to their religion. the real tibet.

just up the alley meru nyingba arises in a small courtyard. earth red and full of life. we meet a monk who knows of the orthopaedic workshop in lhasa. he referred two patients. that’s how it works in tibet. when you are ill you go to a doctor, listen to his advice but ask for permission of a monk before you receive treatment. in tibetan buddhism ‘bad luck’ is necessary to become a better person in your next life. how you deal with your ‘luck’ determines where you will end up. disabled people are therefore mostly left untreated - a disability is seen as punishment for the ‘bad’ deeds of your past life - hoping that they will become better persons in a next life.

late that afternoon we visit dropenling arts and crafts centre. an artisan initiative by and for tibetans. sustainable shopping for laowai. can not agree on a carpet. guess we will have to come back. spring cleaning for miu the cat; a haircut and a bath. late supper and the australian cult movie ‘ten canoes’. sunday lounge in our courtyard garden. enjoying an early spring day. european style; with wine, sesame bread and dutch cheese.