Inigo de Angulo, a photographer from Spain, also accompanied me on one of my trips to Tibet in May. It was such a pleasure to watch Inigo interact with the people as he shot and gave Polaroids to his subjects. Inigo has been working on a long term project documenting many religious practices around the world. Here is his description of how the experience affected him.

“What impressed me most of the Tibetans was their devotion: they intensively live their faith at every moment. It is not something reserved for a special day in the calendar, but a constant presence in the way they understand their lives. From the way people greet you, humbly, with both hands together at the chest level; their chanting of the “On mani padme hum” mantra while spinning the prayer wheels; to the prostrations on the ground while circumambulating a temple.

And the most significant thing is that they not only pray for a better life for themselves or their family, but always extend their prayers to the peace and well-being of all the world. Before this trip, I saw some rituals of religions different to mine as something somehow weird and striking. Now I understand better that those rituals represent the way people live their faith, connect to God. I’m more open not only to accept but even to participate in them. I feel closer to the people and through them to God.” Inigo de Angulo

To see his full body of work on Tibetan Devotion go to http://www.enekoertz.com

On my last trip to Tibet in May I decided to take two photographers with me to help cover expenses.   I had met Stevan at one of my lectures at PhotoPlus and Inigo at one of my workshops in Los Angeles.   It turned out to be a great collaborative experience with me learning as much or more from them as they did from me.  My worries about having two extra foreigners show up vs one turned out to be unfounded.   Both Stevan and Inigo were great with the people.

Here are some images and a recollection from Stevan:

An early morning walk on the dirt paths of Langmusi (Chinese) or Taktsang Lhamo (Tibetan) revealed approximately 35 motor biking nomads.  These rough riding types rode over 100 kilometers to tithe to the Kerti Gumpa (monastery). What a sight to see these characters with camera phones.

They found me as much of a mystery as I did them.  They sat and prayed with monks in this village that straddled the border between Sichauan and Gansu.  The monks took their donation and draped their motorbikes with prayer flags.  In quick order the nomads sped away to place the flags at the highest peak of the village. The display of prayer flags on mountain tops is widely seen in Tibet.  It is an act of building merit and goodwill as the wind flutters the mantra stamped flags voicing the faith of Buddhism to the world.  It was humbling to experience the devotion of an unlikely group of men. 

It is one of those moments that will always stay with me.

To see more of Stevan’s impressive images visit  www.cielostudios.com. 

One of the things that amazed me as I traveled through what was formally Kham and Amdo on the Tibetan Plateau was the amount of new construction at many of the Tibetan Monasteries.   It was not only the amount of new construction but the size and quality of the new monasteries and prayer halls that were being built.  I saw multimillion dollar construction projects that left me wondering where the money was coming from.

One very elaborate Temple that was being built in a very remote area in Qinghai Provence was literally out in the middle of nowhere.   I was told that the funding came from a wealthy individual in Hong Kong.

In another remote area of Sichuan Provence the world’s largest Stupa (Buddhist Shrine) was being built.   Half completed with a construction crane on top it looked like a ‘Stupa condominium’.   I was told it was being financed by ‘someone from the West’.

I was excited to see this resurgence of energy in the Tibetan monastic community.  However, I met a Tibetan documentary filmmaker who had a different perspective.  He felt all this new money coming from the outside was interfering with the historic relationship the monks and monasteries had with the local villages that had historically supported them.  He said, ‘It’s just human nature.  If you are getting millions of dollars donated are you still willing to bless someone’s children or their house for a few sacks of Tsampa {barley flour}?

As I travel through the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, one thing has become very apparent. Tibetan Buddhism is enjoying a strong resurgence.  Almost every Monastery I visit is building a new temple.  

World’s largest stupa – 8 stories high near the remote Miwa Monastery on the Tibetan Plateau.

Evidently the funds for all this building is coming from the local Tibetan communities along with some support from Western organizations.  The omnipresent prayer flags cover entire hillsides and mountain tops.  

 Monk walking the kora at the Temple of Princess Wencheng, near Yushu.

My guide said that this proliferation of prayer flags has just happened in the last 5 years.  I just purchased a few flags and can’t imagine the resources that have gone into covering these hillsides.  I am reminded of the work of the French artist Christo.

World’s largest Mani wall in Hongyan, Tibet. A Mani wall is composed of millions of individual rocks carved with the Tibetan mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum.

However, the highlight of our time with him was a visit to a ninety-year-old Ani (a nun named Sadia Tsomo) who went to a cave in a mountain side to meditate when she was twelve.  Choqhua and other members of his monastery and the local villagers have provided her with food water and firewood over the years.  Choqhua told us they consider her to be the manifestation of the ‘great mother’ protective deity Green Tara.  He also told us she had never seen a foreigner before.

The thoughts of meeting this woman who had spent 78 years meditating in a cave inspired me to climb the mountain to her 13,000 ft retreat.  Choqhua said that she does come down from her cave once a year to visit the monastery, but that she had never seen a foreigner

As we approached the entrance to her cave Choqhua had us stay back as he went in to meet her.  Twenty minutes later he came out to let us know that she was too frightened to see a foreigner.  I gave my camera to my guide Trashi Dhondrup who was able to go in and meet her and take a few photos.  Tashi is from Yushu where the April earthquake hit and destroyed the town and the guest house he was building.  He asked her to pray for the friends and relatives that he had lost in that tragedy.

News sent from Phil while working on a second book in Tibet:

I’m in Gansu Province on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau adding to my collection of stories of people who live on the plateau.  I’m traveling with Stevan from North Carolina and Inigo who is currently living in Singapore — Both are photographers that I met in my workshops.  Vincent, our Tibetan guide pointed out this group of monks camping out in the middle of nowhere.  Monks camping!?!  There were six monks that were on a 129 day pilgrimage moving their campsite every two days.  They would retire to their tent and chant for two hours praying for a good growing season and health for the livestock of farmers and nomads in the area.   They did this six times a day!

We watched as they joked with each other, carved mani stones and fed the ants.

The One HEART Staff in happier times.

Today I learned that Arlene has decided to donate all of the One HEART assets in Tibet to the Tibetan Staff in hopes that they will be able to continue their work.  They are currently looking for foundational support out of Hong Kong.  It’s great to see that they are not giving up!  I just hope they make it. 

After Arlene left I decided to stay and document some of the drokpa families (nomadic families) in the areas where One HEART was about to expand its work.   Since I couldn’t document One HEART’s work I decided to document the typical families they were working with.   I hired a guide and three yaks and took off on a five day trek into the beautiful high mountain valleys north of Lhasa.

I watched nervously as Tenzin the Yak herder put my camera bags into a flimsy gunny sack and precariously roped it to the back of a Yak.

Yaks have three times more red blood cells than the average cow.  With its long hair and ability to survive in oxygen depleted air the yak thrives in the high altitudes where cows would perish.  Just as the buffalo was central to the life of Native Americans the yak is critical to the survival of the Tibetan nomads.  The milk is made into cheese, yogurt and butter which is used in butter lamps and the omnipresent butter tea.   The yak hair is woven into tents, blankets, bags and rope.

Yaks are great pack animals but are almost impossible to herd when they are alone.  So anytime you need to hire a yak for a trek you need at least two.  The typical price is about $6 per day per yak—the yak herder is free!

I held my breath every time the Yak crossed a river or creek and prayed it wouldn’t decide to lie down to cool off.   I carry my equipment (Canon Mark III 1ds; Sony EX1 Video Camera; lights and sound equipment in two bags).

The article states:  “There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. That’s why foreign aid is increasingly directed to women. The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution.”

I just returned from a heartbreaking trip to Tibet where I planned to continue my work on women’s issues.  I went to document the work of the NGO ‘One HEART’ which has been addressing the high rate maternal and infant mortality — especially among Tibet’s nomadic population.

Tele who is 63 with his grandson Sonam Choedon. Sonam was born near Lake Namtso where One HEART hoped to start working this year. Like most Nomad children he was born only with the help of family members. Luckily the birth went without complications.

As in many parts of the world, indigenous people don’t get or seek medical help because of different cultural beliefs and misunderstandings.  Many Tibetan Nomads believe that in the critical moments after birth the infant is very susceptible to a ‘Hungry Ghost’ that can jump onto and occupy the newborn.   These ghosts that can be carried by any stranger are believed to make havoc in one’s life.   Needless to say a Nomad doesn’t want a doctor or midwife that they barely know attending the birth of their child.  They also believe that the blood of childbirth offends the spirits of the house.   Therefore many births take place in a cold and dirty stable away from the warm fire in their yak-hair tents. It’s no wonder that an estimated three women died for every 100 births and one in ten infants did not survive their first year of life.   

Adu, 26 and her husband Tadro, 31 live at 16,000 feet where they raise yaks and goats. Since the Tibetan’s have never had a midwife tradition, both of their children were born at home without any prenatal, birthing, or postnatal care.

To address these cultural beliefs One Heart’s Tibetan staff trained local nomadic women to be midwives and provided a plastic sheet to contain the ‘spiritual blood pollutants’ that could be taken out of the tent after the birth.  The ten year old program has been extremely successful.  Last year there were no maternal deaths in the two counties they worked in.   Unfortunately, One HEART’s contract to continue their work was not renewed.  

It is often said when a mother dies the family dies—students drop out of school to help take care of younger siblings, and fathers strain under the added workload.  It is such a shame that a program that was so successful at saving families from the devastating effects of losing a mother had to end.

Nomadic life in Tibet is changing fast.  Solar panels, cell phones and satellite radios are starting to appear.  The cell phone is becoming an important tool in the campaign to reduce maternal mortality.

Thank you for visiting my blog! I welcome your comments and look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Phil Borges

PS: If you didn’t have a chance to read my previous blog postings from Tibet they can be found here:

Microsoft Pro Photo Blog – Post 1 of 2

Microsoft Pro Photo Blog – Post 2 of 2