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Sunday, July 23, 2019

Another shiatsu session in the morning. This time we focused on the head and neck area, then lower back and legs. The best!!! Everyone’s getting so good at it!

In the afternoon, we headed out to the school for nomadic students. We stopped by some shops to pick up goodies for the students in addition to the monetary donations already collected. They hope to purchase tables and chairs for their dining hall.

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Walking back...

sun setting over the Himalayas... there was a rainbow right in front of the sunset which went as quickly as it came so it was not caught on film but forever captured in our memories.

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Walking back to our guest house after doing yoga up at the monastery.

This was one of those beautiful moments when you are awed by simple things such as being surrounded by nature showing off her colors at day’s end.

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Tangtse monastery is only about 10 years old, making it quite new as far as monasteries go. Most monasteries have faded chipped painted walls in muted colors, a reflection of all the time that has passed. But the colors of these wall paintings are so vivid, as if they were painted yesterday! It’s the first time I’m seeing a monastery in all it’s glorious bright splendor.

Perhaps in 100 years, people will wonder what this monastery once looked like in its heyday. Well, this is it! Reminds me of the ruins of Delphi in Greece. It was surprising to see that the now colorless ruins were once covered with decorative painted designs.

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Taking a walk to the Tangtse Gompa (monastery) where we will do yoga.

After the visit to the amchi, we spent the afternoon hiking up to the Tangtse monastery.

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Bill is pounding “rocks” in a very heavy specialized pot using a heavy metal pole. Hard to keep up, good workout!

Jin sifts 11 kinds of herbs through a cloth into the bowl below. Smells like a lot of tumeric!

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Grinding herbs together. This is how it’s done! 😄 We’re making medicine for a lady who was coming in that day for knee problems. Some of it was to become a paste for a poultice, and the other was probably to drink.

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Some of the rarer herbs and rocks which are ground for their minerals.

Amchi is taking Bill’s pulse reading. This is the primary way they determine treatment for ailments. Diagnosis: Amchi declared Bill to be pretty healthy but apparently Bill was lacking in the children dept. Amchi pointed out that he had six kids while Bill only had two.... so Bill needed more kids! We all had a laugh 😂

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A closeup of the original writings in stone. Imagine how many stones they had to store?!

These are the stone writings transferred to book form. Tibetan books are unbound sheets of long paper pages simply laid upon each other. The pages are then placed between two wood “covers” and tied with string then wrapped in cloth. You can see the cover of another book at the top left.

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Top photo: every family has an alter in a prayer room. This one is decorated with beautifully crafted butter sculptures (the teardrop shapes). Made out of yak butter, these can last for years in the cold dry climate of Ladakh.

Amchi’s room is next door, lined with bottles of dried herbs and rocks (minerals). There is one original stone plaque propped up agained the shelving. And a long rectangular book (Tibetan style) is open on the table.

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Namgyal translates amchi’s explanation of how the wisdom and teachings of the amchi are passed down through generations within a family. Tap on the volume icon(lower left of video) to hear the Ladakhi language.

All teachings were originally written on stone plaques and, eventually transferred to book form. Imagine reading and storing heavy stone!

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Beautiful traditional Ladakhi stove. In winter, the eldest person gets to sit closest to the stove.

We finally reached the amchi’s home and were warmly greeted with the Ladakhi version of Hawaiian leis called kataks (scarves) and served milk tea followed by a round of butter tea and cookies.

What a magnificent collection of pots!

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Saturday, July 22, 2019

On the way to visit an “amchi”, a practioner of Tibetan medicine.

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Arrival in Tangtse, checking our “inner line permits” at a checkpoint at the entrance to the village.

Our new digs in Tangtse village located in a valley on the Changtang plateau. We have come down to an altitude of 12,880 ft (3900 meters), so we should be breathing easier. ☺️