Oulin White

4 August 2009

Cutural and Spiritual – Sichuan

Posted by oulin under: travel .

Xinjiang was beautiful and impressive except that the expensive tickets and entrance fees for scenic spots were really turning us off. Who can say they own the nature and charge us for being there? I had a feeling that things would be better once we got down to Sichuan. We took the longest train ride in our lives from Kashgar to Chengdu, transferring in Turpan, total 66 hours! We were stuck on the upper beds the entire time with many curious Chinese people and hyper kids. We had some fun despite the boredom though. The ride seemed to be bearable when we thought about it after it was over. But let’s put it this way, if it had been one hour longer, there probably would have been some kids being strangled by us.

It felt like we were back to China after arriving in Chengdu. This city reminded me a lot of Guangzhou actually. It’s very green and laidback. Food was fantastic! My old friend Wanglu who’s from Sichuan took us to some real authentic restaurants on the street so we did have a good taste of the famous hotpot. It’s kind of ironic how our taste for Sichuan food spoiled by those Sichuan restaurants outside of Sichuan. Abram thought food in Sichuan was not spicy enough. The real Sichuan dishes are more “numb” than spicy actually. I had a great time eating there. If I had stayed a bit longer, I might have been able to gain a few kilos back

Seeing Wanglu again made me really appreciate the unconditional friendship from the old friends I made during my years in Guangzhou. It’s been 8 years since I moved away from Guangzhou. Lots happened during these years. We all have been through a lot. Though we don’t keep in touch that much, the good memories and friendship just never change. Wanglu took us to his hometown Pengzhou and showed us Xiaoyudong area which was severely damaged from the earthquake last year. It was very sad to see a lot of people were still living in those temporary homes with only very basic furniture and appliances in them. There were still tons of ruins haven’t been cleared up yet. New houses are being built though. We saw some very nice new houses on the way up there. Some people moved into the new houses already and seemed quite comfortable living there. However, they’ve lost so much during the earthquake. The scar in their mind will never go away.

I went to visit another good friend’s hometown Leshan and stayed with her parents. We were so taken care of by her parents and cousin. Felt like we were kids again The giant Buddha was very impressive even though I have seen so many photos of it before. What’s lovely about it was that grasses were growing out from its head J From the Buddha, we had a great view to Leshan city. The city and the nature were separated by 3 big rivers, Qingyi River, Min River and Daduhe River which meet right in front of the Buddha. The rapids of Daduhe ran in and created big swirls in the middle of the joining point. We could also see three different colors of the three rivers joining and turning into one. That was quite something else.

Now it’s time to go Tibetan! I’ve been always looking forward to this part of the journey. The Tibetan Sichuan – Khampa area was a very spiritual route according to many blogs. After being in Xiahe, I was very eager to learn more about Tibetan culture. West and northern Sichuan were once part of Tibet in history and were deeply influenced by its culture and religions. It seemed to us that many Tibetans were just born to become a Buddhist. Some small towns like Tagong seemed to be built FOR the monasteries around it instead the other way around. I together with my new friends Jesus and Sole from Argentina had a wonderful chat with the head of a Buddhist school in a Monastery in Litang. It was very inspiring to me. Although we were from very different cultures and speak in different languages, we showed a great deal of respect to each other and communicated in a super friendly atmosphere. The more I saw and heard about it, the more I was interested in Buddhism. Although Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism were from the same root and follow the same philosophy and principles, the way how Tibetans show their sincerity and dedication to it just make Tibetan Buddhism seem so much more “authentic”. The Tibetan monasteries were very quiet without hundreds of people yelling and burning incenses like most of the Chinese temples. They were for sincere Buddhists to pray and monks to study. They were holy. I felt very peaceful being in them. The monks were leading a very simple life style- study, follow the doctrine and seek for emancipation. Looking at the smiley faces of the monks also made me believe studying Buddhism could bring people inner peace.

The road condition being horrible is also very “famous” for the Khampa area J Well, I was not disappointed about that at all! The roads we took through Danba, Tagong, Litang and Daocheng to Shangri-la were mostly in the mountains. They were most of the time very winding. Often we passed parts which were flooded or muddy or with serious landslides. I was more excited than being “scared” to be honest. Since tourism is getting more and more developed in these areas, villages started to get enough fund to repair the roads. In a few years, travelers who take the same route might not have the chance to experience the adventure and excitement sitting in the crowded minivan, gasping at some turns and thinking “OMG, I am going to die! I am going to die!”

One thing must be mentioned and it’s one of the most unusual experience I’ve ever had. We went to a sky burial in Litang. Litang is the place for sky burials for 3 or 4 counties around it. So people sometimes can see up to 10 funerals in one day. Many people especially westerners are very curious about this traditional ceremony. The owner of the Potala Hotel in town who seems to have very good relationship with everyone can help to arrange the visit and sometimes people are even allowed to take pictures at the funerals. Normally sky burials will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We arrived on Thursday and went with some people from the hotel to the site early next day. The site is on a hill about 30 min walk from the town. I have heard about it before but never knew how it actually was proceed. But there was no funeral when we arrived. So we just wandered around and waited hoping there would be one later. We saw about fifteen to twenty vultures staying on top of the hill. The grassland had patches on it where black soil was exposed and no grass grew on them. The soil seemed to be a bit “greasy”. Later we found out it was because the human body’s acid and grease contaminated the soil so nothing would grow on it. Vulture’s feathers could be seen everywhere as well. They must be fighting when eating the bodies. We were a bit disturbed when suddenly realized there were many small pieces of bones scattered on the ground. At the same time, we felt a bit puzzled when we saw some big rocks, knives and scissors lying there. Well, we found out what they were for later. A few Tibetan guys arrived with a Lama when we were still wandering around. They told us there wouldn’t be any funeral that day but they were going to have two the next day and we may come and watch then. The Lama was there to help them pick the spots. So we stayed and watched how it went. At first the Lama walked around and picked a spot. Then he sat down starting to pray for about 15 minutes. After that, the guys marked the spot with a thick stick they brought, and a little sticky barley cake with yak butter on in front of the stick. So, the next morning in the rain, all of us went there again. When we arrived, the first funeral was about to finish already. We were told it’s ok to watch but no photos. We were standing about 20 meters away from the spot. We couldn’t see it very well, but could tell the “Cutter” was smashing the bones on the rock with a hammer. I felt very odd to be there. I felt even with respect and distance, we were definitely interrupting the funeral. I didn’t feel I should stay any longer after the birds started eating the bones. Jesus and Sole felt the same way. So we left before the second burial started. We went to the monastery to see the monk’s debate. Abram and the rest of the group stayed and saw the whole thing. The body was laid down on the chest naked. The “Cutter” cut the body open in the back so the birds can easily get to the organs, then once the “Cutter” walked aside, about 20 birds immediately flew down and covered the body. Abram said they couldn’t see the body at all at that time but they could smell the strong smell from it. In a very short time maybe less than 10 minutes, the birds left the body which now was only a bloody skeleton. All flesh was gone! Then the “Cutter” went over and dragged the skeleton to the rock and started to smash it into very small pieces, then wrapped them with sticky barley cake. After that, the birds came again. Again, in about 10 minutes, most of the bones were gone! There were some bigger pieces left so the “Cutter” redid the smashing part again until the birds ate almost all of it. Some of the people who had watched the sky burial described that it made them feel that’s what our human bodies were at the end, just food to the birds and it didn’t mean that much to the nature. I suppose it is only natural that we return to the nature after we die. Our flesh and bones could still contribute to the birds this way. However, I’d rather to have a cremation instead of sky burial when I die. One thing occurred to us later that there were no women at the funerals. A British girl, Sole and I were the only women there. I wonder if it’s the tradition that women were not allowed to attend the funeral.

In many ways Tibetan culture is fascinating to me, from what we can see from outside, such as the way they dress, their beautiful houses and their traditions to their internal world like their believe, religions and how they pursue the truth in their own way. I admire those people who live in a harsh environment, have limited supplies or so called luxuries in their lives, maybe are poor in money, but they are truly happy and rich in spirit.

* for more photos please go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37833026@N06/sets/72157621786068483/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37833026@N06/sets/72157621910873188/

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