Progress....
I personally am always embarrassed by how little I know of the world. The picture attached is the Potala Palace on Bhudda's mountain in Tibet.
I have lots of education, at least 6 years of university study, read books all of the time and yet I don't think I have ever talked to a Tibetan nor learned of the "renaissance period" of Tibet. Obviously this is an impressive extravagant structure implying a superior level of learning back in the 1600's.
I know so little... About people and places and history...
The reason this picture struck me is that from the picture and the news of Tibet today-- Tibet has probably regressed significantly as a society in the last 300 years. The regression occurred largely at the hands of foreign invaders and subsequent loss of political and economic power. Maybe the same things are happening today in Afghanistan or Africa or America. I wonder how wonderful the world would be if there were not these invasion type destruction of intellect and progress.
Would cancer be cured? Would there be no starvation in Africa?
background
The Potala Palace, perched high above Lhasa on the Marpori (red mountain), is a place of spiritual pilgrimage and a mammoth tribute to Tibetan architectural skills. The name Potala derives from the Sanskrit 'Bodala' meaning Buddha's Mountain.
In the 7th century King Songtsen Gampo first built a small meditation pavilion on this site which was followed later by a palace. During the 9th century these buildings were destroyed after lightning set them on fire. On the orders of the 5th Dalai Lama construction was started in 1645, but he died before the Red Palace was started. However, before dying he asked his Prime Minister (Regent) to conceal his death lest construction work be discontinued. The Prime Minister found a monk who resembled the deceased and thus was able to conceal the death and all 13 storeys were completed. From the time of the 5th Dalai Lama onwards, the Potala became the official winter residence of the successive Dalai Lamas.
posted by hockeyman @ 8:38 PM
1 Comments:
Richard... you really should write more often- you have an interesting point of view and your authentic self really comes across. When I first saw this photo I thought it was the People's Palace in Bucharest (where we lived for 5 years). Here's a link to a photo of it:
http://www.frowbie.com/gallery/content/europe/romania/bucharest/parliament/IMG_0199.JPG It's pretty similar although it's not on a mountain top.
Let's visit Tibet one day!
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