Buddhism

Chanting

Elderly people chant and worship at an old Mani hall in Tsang smath Township, Brag ‘go County, Dkar mdzes Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. They come to worship twice a day - in the morning and in the afternoon. Most of these old people are taken care of by their children.

Photographer: 
Nyima Tashi

Fortune Tellers (Nan Shan)

Some examples of the Daoist fortune tellers operating in front of the lower monastic complex at Nan Shan. Here, a man offers to read one's signs in both hands and face. The hand diagram on the right looks remarkably similar to the way hands are portrayed in Tibetan iconography.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Fortune Tellers (Nan Shan)

Some examples of the Daoist fortune tellers operating in front of the lower monastic complex at Nan Shan. Amongst the objects shown here is a woodblock for making talismans. I could not identify the 'gourd' on the right.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Jiunmei Tibetan Medicine Factory

Exterior shot of the Tibetan Medical Museum of China. N.B. the considerable size of the building and its golden steeple, imparting a distinctly Buddhist style. Three quarters of the second floor is devoted to housing the record-holding thangka as it snakes back and forth around on itself.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Tibetan Medical Museum (Interior)

Plaque accompanying the previous thangka in the museum's lobby. It is a representative sample of the style (and level) of English adorning many exhibitions throughout the museum. Similar plaques, spaced roughly five feet apart, run all along the record-holding thangka (not photographed) and give the names of each being or scene depicted. I could not detect any pattern in the curators' choices between giving a Sanskrit name or an awkward English equivalent. In all cases Tibetan (in Wylie transliteration) was also given.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Tibetan Medical Museum (Interior)

Massive thangka at the far end of the museum's lobby depiciting the Medicine Buddha (sMan lha). N.B. the altar in the foreground bedecked with khatas, money offerings, and peacock feathers.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Tibetan Medical Museum (Interior)

A massive 'book' lies in the centre of the lobby bearing an inscription by Hu Jintao (current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China) in both Chinese (not shown) and Tibetan. Further research would yield a translation of its message.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Tibetan Medical Museum (Interior)

Floormap of the museum's interior. I viewed all exhibitions but forewent the 'Pandita Tibetan Art Store.' Most of these are interspersed with English plaques alongside their Tibetan and Chinese counterparts. Unfortunately, many of the English translations are unintelligible in their reliance on 'google-style' direct translation. For those interested in the current relationship between Chinese politics and Tibetan medicine the 'Exhibition Hall of Tibetan Medicinal History' makes for an interesting study.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Tibetan Medical Museum (Exterior)

Museum information on the exterior of the building. Although here the price of a ticket is given as 60 RMB, on this day I entered for only 30 RMB, with a Tibetan friend paying only 20 RMB for himself. Also, while this sign contains the command, 'No photos!' we were allowed to photograph anything in the museums central lobby. The restriction only applied to the individual display halls, such as that of the world's longest thangka.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito

Tibetan Medical Museum (Exterior)

View of the museum grounds looking back from atop the museum's entrance.
Photographer: 
Matt Zito