Jokhang: the sacred heart of Tibet

The world is on fire!
And are you laughing?
You are deep in the dark.
Will you not ask for light?
(Dhammapada, trans. Thomas Byrom)

The devastating news of the fire in the Jokhang temple in Lhasa remind me of a visit there at late ’90s, when I saw this ceremony in the middle of the temple’s forecourt. A fire was devouring the offerings of the pilgrims under the blessings of a lama, while it was accompanied by the prayers of a group of Gelukpa monks and the ever revolving prayer-wheels at the hands of the attending Tibetans. And then I brought in mind the kora around Barkhor, the dozens of prostrating pilgrims in front of the temple, the mesmerising murmur of “om mani padme hum”, while I was gazing at the Potala from the Jokhang’s roof; the Wheel of Dharma stood still in the stilness of the afternoon.

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Jokhang temple, Tibet’s most sacred site, is found in the heart of the old city of Lhasa. Originally built in the 7th century, it hosts the famous image of Jowo Sakyamuni Buddha, which is said to have accompanied the Chinese princess Wencheng, as part of her dowry, when she arrived in Tibet for her wedding with King Songtsen Gampo. The Jokhang’s floor plans and a few carved pillars and capitals with fanciful animal motifs witness to the temple’s strong Nepalese ―and ultimately Indian― influences. Although it has undergone several renovations and alterations (and has suffered during the Cultural Revolution) since 1980 it has been restored and it is a Unesco world heritage site (together with the Potala and Norbulingka Palaces). Although there are increasing fears and worries about severe damages from the blaze, let’s hope that the spiritual heart of the Roof of the World still beats alive.