Min tibetanska barndom i Zorgay - Life and Culture on the Tibetan ...

esumed our journey. We reached the sacred site of Tara where
many people were worshipping some time later <strong>and</strong> found the
holy water there had all been taken by pilgrims, so we merely
touched the wet part of the rock <strong>and</strong> licked our h<strong>and</strong>s to get a bit
of the water. Women melodiously chanted Om ma ni pad me
hum, men put up scripture flags, <strong>and</strong> others offered incense
while scattering holong, 14 the smaller paper prayers that are
often called 'wind horses'.
We climbed ladders to the hollow entrance of a cave.
Father told us that entering it would prevent impediments we
might encounter along the long path of the intermediate stage
between death <strong>and</strong> rebirth. There was one side to enter <strong>and</strong>
another to exit. I shuddered from the cave's cold darkness when
I came out. Walking through the cave was scary for children,
but elders seemed happy as they worshipped <strong>and</strong> prayed for
their next lives without traces of fear. There was also a tall rock
horse to ride, too. Entering the hollow <strong>and</strong> riding the horse were
both intended to help us be fearless when we eventually wafted
between the stages of death <strong>and</strong> rebirth.
I prayed after Father, "Three Jewels, please bless me to
be fearless in my next life." Father prayed not only for himself,
but for every sentient being. Then we headed toward our
destination, the grassl<strong>and</strong>. Father gathered wood on the way to
make pegs <strong>and</strong> poles for pitching our small tent. He put the
wood on our mule <strong>and</strong> me atop the wood, making me feel
uncomfortable <strong>and</strong> afraid of falling off.
Father said, "Society has become peaceful <strong>and</strong> calmer
than in the past. We couldn't pray to our venerable mountain
deities during the <strong>Culture</strong> Revolution. 15 If you visited places
like this to worship, officials would take the ladders away once
you climbed up. We offered song 16 secretly, for if you were
caught, they put a black hat on your head to show others that
you were doing something bad <strong>and</strong> to indicate that you were a
social criminal. They beat you in front of others to frighten
them, like killing sheep to scare goats."
14 Lungta is also a common term for the locally used holong.
15 A time of great social tumult from 1966-1976.
16 Song is incense that is burned for the deities, <strong>and</strong> also a
purification ritual.
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