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I was in Lhasa on Tibet Uprising Day
Today is March 10, 2008, and I am writing by the light from a hotel room window, since the power is out, as it has been all afternoon, evening, and night. I suspect the authorities deliberately turned the electricity off in at least part of Lhasa — only because today is Tibet Uprising Day, when protests against the Chinese occupation of Tibet are most likely to occur. On this day in 1959, the current Dalai Lama sneaked out of his summer palace, the Norbulingka, and began a long journey to exile in India; two days later, the Chinese bombed the palace and still thought he was inside.
This morning, with equanimity I practiced my walking meditation around the Potala, the Dalai Lama’s palace, which is perched high on a mountain. I occasionally spun gold prayer wheels while I observed the pilgrims around me, some of whom greeted me with the words, “Tashe delek,” or “Hello!” I was the only Westerner in sight, but I wore a Tibetan-style chupa, or jumper, like many pilgrims. Some wore contemporary clothes, and I saw many women wearing sunhats. But other pilgrims who had traveled far wore traditional clothing that was often ragged, and they carried prayer wheels and might have coral and turquoise beads braided in their black or grey hair. I saw different styles of chupas from sundry Tibetan regions, for pilgrims walked great distances to reach Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. During one of my…