Category Archives: Tibet

Tibetan Tankas

Last year, I visited two monasteries near Xining which are very famous for their tanka paintings.

A tanka is a painting of Buddha, a Buddhist deity or a linage guru. A traditional tanka is framed with rich brocade borders and the painting itself has many Buddhist symbols. They have been used for hundreds of years in temples and homes for meditation. Below are some pictures of tankas hanging in a Tibetan temple.

There are two types of deity paintings; benevolent and wrathful. The wrathful deities are protectors of mankind and destroy evil.

The female deities or goddesses are called Taras. Here is a statue of some Taras outside a Tibetan monastery near Xining.

I bought an authentic tanka painting in a Tibetan temple ( #180). Below is a picture of the monk who sold me the painting.

Also, I purchased some tanka reproductions framed in the traditional brocade near a 1,500 year old Buddhist cave. These tankas are much less expensive ( # 181, 182, 183). Below is a picture of the Buddhist cave.

Here is a picture of a woman and her baby in a nearby town.

Christmas is coming soon. If you’re not sure of what to buy for your family and friends, perhaps you can direct them to my website and see if there is something that appeals to them.

If you are in Montreal, you can avoid shipping costs all together by picking the items up yourself. Also, if you buy more then one item, the shipping costs will be less.

My website contains special Christmas gifts; an angel (#593) -3 available, a lamb which can be used in a creche scene (#594), a Santa Claus mirror (#592), and two reindeer (#596,597).

I have many more items for sale than are shown on the website and I’ll be having open houses on December 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th from 1:00-5:00 PM in Montreal. Also, you can make a special appointment with me. Please contact me for more details.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Tibetan Prayer Wheels and Prayer Bracelets

As I mentioned in my last blog, during my trip to China last year, I visited a part of China which is actually Tibetan. Labrang Monastery at Xiahe is a very large and famous monastery. Below is a picture of it.

Labrang Monastery

Prayer wheels are very important in Tibetan Buddhism and have been used for over 1,000 years. They contain printed prayers and when turned are believed to be beneficial to everyone in the world. Monasteries have very large prayer wheels which people turn. Each monastery has a different style of prayer wheel with intricate designs. This is a picture of two of the prayer wheels at the Labrang Monastery.

Large prayer wheel

Most Tibetans have smaller prayer wheels in their own homes which they turn themselves. Below is a picture of an elderly Tibetan man a few miles from Labrang Monastery turning a small prayer wheel.

T. man and prayer whee

I purchased two small prayer wheels at a Labrang Monastery store [Items #185, #186 in Tibetan Objects]. Below is a picture of the monk wrapping up a prayer wheel that I bought. [He spoke English very well.]

Monk wrapping prayer wheel

Outside another monastery, a Tibetan man was wearing a prayer bracelet similar to Item #191 in Tibetan Objects. Items #192, 193 194 are smaller prayer bracelets.

prayer braclet

In my next blog I’ll show some tankas being painted at a monastery near Xining.

My trip to the north western provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, China

Last year I took a trip to China to see a friend in Beijing and as I had seen most of the main tourist attractions in China on previous trips decided to make my main focus seeing some of the 1,500 year old Buddhist caves which I knew existed in this country. After doing some research, I decided to go to the north western provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. These provinces used to be part of Tibet, but were taken over by China in 1928. I was delighted to be able to see a part of Tibet without having to get an expensive visa and take an expensive tour, but felt sorry for the Tibetans having to live under Chinese rule.

The first monastery I saw was the very large and important Labrang Monastery in the town of Xiahe. It was founded in 1709 and belongs to the Yellow Hat sect which is the sect the Dali Lama heads. In fact I was quite surprised to see pictures of the Dali Lama in at least two of the monasteries I visited.

At present, Labrang Monastery has about 1,500 monks – some of whom speak very good English. I was lucky enough to see them gather for a prayer session. They arrived wearing or carrying their yellow hats, and sat on the steps outside the sanctuary. Before entering the temple, they took off their boots.

A number of Tibetans had waited on the other side or the square until the monks entered the temple and then rushed over to the entrance of the sanctuary. Many of them were carrying vassals full of yak butter. Being present at this event was a wonderful experience!

In the pictures, note the prayer beads the women are wearing.

Last year I took a trip to China to see a friend in Beijing and as I had seen most of the main tourist attractions in China on previous trips decided to make my main focus seeing some of the 1,500 year old Buddhist caves which I knew existed in this country. After doing some research, I decided to go to the north western provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. These provinces used to be part of Tibet, but were taken over by China in 1928. I was delighted to be able to see a part of Tibet without having to get an expensive visa and take an expensive tour, but felt sorry for the Tibetans having to live under Chinese rule.

The first monastery I saw was the very large and important Labrang Monastery in the town of Xiahe. It was founded in 1709 and belongs to the Yellow Hat sect which is the sect the Dali Lama heads. In fact I was quite surprised to see pictures of the Dali Lama in at least two of the monasteries I visited.

Monks away

At present, Labrang Monastery has about 1,500 monks – some of whom speak very good English. I was lucky enough to see them gather for a prayer session. They arrived wearing or carrying their yellow hats, and sat on the steps outside the sanctuary. Before entering the temple, they took off their boots.

Boots entrance

A number of Tibetans had waited on the other side or the square until the monks entered the temple and then rushed over to the entrance of the sanctuary. Many of them were carrying vassals full of yak butter. Being present at this event was a wonderful experience!

Monks steps

In the first picture, note the prayer beads the woman is wearing. If you check Tibetan Objects #187 -190, you will see that I have some prayer beads for sale.

– – – More about the Labrang Monastery and other monasteries in my next blog.