In Tibet there are countless sacred destinations, ranging from lakes and mountains to monasteries and caves that once served as meditation retreats for important yogin. Specific pilgrimages are often proscribed for specific ills; certain mountains for example expiate certain sins. A circumambulation of Mt. Kailash offers the possibility of liberation within three lifetimes, while a circuit of Lake Manasarovar can result in spontaneous Buddhahood.

Tibetan is spoken in Tibet , Bhutan , Nepal , and in parts of northern India (including Sikkim ). It is classified by linguists as a member of the Tibeto-Burman subgroup of the Sino-Tibetan languages.

Tibetan is written in a very conservative syllabary script based on the writing system of the ancient Sanskrit language of India . Used in its present form since the 9th century, it was developed as a means of translating sacred Buddhist texts that were being brought into Tibet from India . The writing system derived from the pronunciation of the language as it was in about the 7th century, and varies in many ways from colloquial Tibetan as it spoken today.

Beginning in the 8th century, Buddhist texts written in Sanskrit were carried over the Himalayas , and were carefully translated into Tibetan by meditator scholars who had studied the true meaning of the teachings with Indian masters. The flow of texts and teachings ended during the 11th century, when the Indian originals were mostly lost or destroyed in the Muslim suppression of Buddhism in India . Fortunately, by that time the transmission of Buddhist textual, artistic, meditative, and philosophical traditions into Tibet had been largely completed. Over the years Tibetan scholars added commentaries and further teachings to this body of literature.

In recent times the Chinese invasion of Tibet and their attempt to destroy the influence of the Buddhist monasteries led many very advanced meditation masters and scholars to escape to the West, bringing as many of their precious dharma texts and sacred art works as they could carry. These works are now preserved at many Tibetan Buddhist centers in various Western countries, and copies are also available for study in many major libraries. The language in which these texts are written is known as Classical Tibetan. Of the thousands of volumes of these texts, it is said that less than one percent have been translated into any Western languages.

The language as it is actually spoken today is called Colloquial Tibetan by Western scholars. There are four major dialects, and people from widely separated regions may have trouble understanding each other. The "standard" dialect is that of the region around the capital, Lhasa . Another form of the language, found in current writing, is called Modern Literary Tibetan.

This Web site offers links to resources on the Web, books, training aids and tools for translators, and software for working with Tibetan on personal computers. Also, we point out a good source of spoken colloquial Tibetan, the Tibetan language news broadcasts which are available via "Internet Radio."

These news broadcasts are also of interest to Tibetan refugees who have access to the Internet, and for them we have also included links to Indian and Nepali language broadcasts. Tape recordings of these broadcasts may be appreciated by Tibetans who don't have Internet access.

My team and I arrived here last night, after a long day's drive from Lhasa to Meldor Gungkar County in Central Tibet . Drigung monastery is on a steep hill, overlooking our camp. Above the religious complex is a site for "sky burial," a term meaning disposal of a corpse by allowing it to be devoured by birds. The birds, which are summoned by incense and revered by Tibetans, cast their droppings on the high peaks. Sky-burial is practiced all over the plateau, but Drigung is one of the three most famous and auspicious sites.

After the chanting is over, we walk up a well-trodden path to a high ridge, keeping a respectful distance behind the funeral party, which has come all the way from Lhasa to discharge this final duty to their departed friend. The charnel ground, or durtro, consists of a large fenced meadow with a couple of temples and a large stone circle of stones at one end where the ceremony takes place. Prayer flags hang from numerous chortens, and scent of smoldering juniper purifies the air. Vultures circle overhead, and many more are clustered on the grass, a few meters from the funeral bier.

Tibetans practice several forms of disposal of the dead, but sky burial is the most common method and indeed a very practical one in a land where fuel is scarce and the earth is often too hard to dig. For me, this is an extraordinary opportunity, for these days not one visitor in five hundred is privileged to witness the ceremony I'm about to see. But I am apprehensive, too, wondering how I will stomach the sight of death.

Men in long white aprons come out, and unwrap the corpse, which is naked, stiff, and swollen. The men hold huge cleavers, which are in a few strokes whetted to razor sharpness on nearby rocks. The bright sun and clear blue sky diffuse somewhat my ominous feeling. The coroners themselves, are not heavy or ceremonial, but completely businesslike as they chat amongst themselves, and prepare to start.

Tibetans believe that, more important than the body, is the spirit of the deceased. Following death, the body should not be touched for three days, except possibly at the crown of the head, through which the consciousness, or namshe, exits. Lamas guide the spirit in a series of prayers that last for seven weeks, as the person makes their way through the bardo--intermediate states that precede rebirth.

As the first cut is made, the vultures crowd closer; but three men with long sticks wave them away. Within a few minutes the dead man's organs are removed and set aside for later, separate disposal. The vultures try to move in and are prevented by waving sticks and shouts. Then, the cutters give a signal and the men all simultaneously fall back. The flock rushes in, covering the body completely, their heads disappearing as they bend down to tear away bits of flesh. They are enormous birds, with wings spanning more than 2 meters, top-feathers of dirty white, and huge gray-brown backs. Their heads are virtually featherless, so as not to impede the bird when reaching into a body to feed.

For thirteen minutes the vultures are in a feeding frenzy. The only sound is tearing flesh and chittering as they compete for the best bits. The birds are gradually sated, and some take to the air, their huge wings sounding like steam locomotives as they flap overhead. Now the men pull out what remains of the corpse--only a bloody skeleton--and shoo away the remaining birds. They take out huge mallets, and set to work pounding the bones. The men talk while they work, even laughing sometimes, for according to Tibetan belief the mortal remains are merely an empty vessel. The dead man's spirit is gone, its fate to be decided by karma accumulated through all past lives.

The bones are soon reduced to splinters, mixed with barley flour and then thrown to crows and hawks, who have been waiting their turn. Remaining vultures grab slabs of softened gristle and greedily devour them. Half an hour later, the body has completely disappeared. The men leave also, their day's work finished. Soon, the hilltop is restored to serenity. I think of the man whose flesh is now soaring over the mountains, and decide that, if I happen to die on the high plateau, I wouldn't mind following him.

Note: at the request of the people participating in the funeral, no photos were taken

During the 7th century, Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo united the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and established the Tubo Kingdom . He invited medical experts and translators from neighboring states, together with medical experts of Tibet , to compile medical classics such as A Complete Collection of Medical Works, Fearless Weapons, Medicine and Diagnosis of Moon King, and Four Medical Classics. He encouraged Tibetan medical researchers to incorporate Indian and Han Chinese medical principles into their work. These efforts promoted the development of traditional Tibetan medicine and laid a solid foundation in the fields of physiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

In around 1450, two contradictory schools of thought-northern and southern-arose. Each school had it own views concerning prescription methods and the Four Medical Classics. This conflict in ideas marked a new stage in the development of traditional Tibetan medicine. Sukar, a representative of the southern school, and his disciples conducted research on diseases caused by dampness in southern Tibet . They based their studies on the Four Medical Classics and created a unique theoretical system for diagnosis and medication. They wrote more than ten representative medical works. Qamba and Namgyai Zhabsang were representative figures of the northern school. They conducted research on diseases caused by the cold climate in northern Tibet and based their work upon the Four Medical Classics. They wrote more than ten representative medical works. The contention between the northern and so/uthern schools of thought greatly promoted the development of traditional Tibetan medicine.

Between 1600 and 1959, traditional Tibetan medicine developed slowly, without any dynamism. But after the peaceful liberation of Tibet , the Party and the central government have been aiding the development of Tibetan medicine. After China adopted economic reform policies in 1978, traditional Tibetan medicine has rapidly developed. Research centers have been established in Tibet , Qinghai , Gansu and Scihuan. Provincial-level hospitals and pharmaceutical production bases have been set up in Tibet and Qinghai . Also, prefecture medical organizations have been established in Sichuan , Gansu , Tibet and Qinghai . Traditional Tibetan medicine is being standardized.

Traditional Tibetan medicine is based on traditional Tibetan culture and thus incorporates life science (combination of heaven, earth and human beings) into its theories. Traditional Tibetan medicine differs from medical traditions of other ethnic groups and modern medicine.

Dainzin Puncog, a famous pharmacologist, had a unique understanding of more than 2,000 medicinal ingredients, including plants, minerals, animals, and gems produced on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. He traveled extensively and compiled pharmacological works Jingzhu Materia Medica and Selected Practical Works on Pharmaceutics. He also trained a large number of medical personnel.

Sanggyai Gyamco was a famous doctor during the rule of the fifth Dalai Lama. His representative works include Blue Glaze, which corrected the errors in the Four Medical Classics. His annotations on the Four Medical Classics are the most authoritative. He made a series of hanging charts on the Four Medical Classics and established a medical school to train doctors. Other well-known Tibetan doctors include Kyenrab Norbu, Gyiba Cewang, Budong, and Qamba Chinlai.

Representative patent medicines include "72-ingredient pearls," "25-ingredient Pearl Pills," "70-ingredient Coral," "Ruyi Zhenbao Pill," and "20-ingredient Agalloch Eaglewood Pill" for treating heart and brain diseases and disorders; "Rinqen Changjue," "5-ingredient Pomegranate Pill" for treating stomach and intestine diseases, and medicines for treating liver and bone diseases. Four patent medicines, including "70-ingredient Pearl " and "25-ingredient Turquoise Pill," have obtained certificates from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Qizheng-brand "Xiaotongtie" (Pain-Killing Plaster) produced by the Qizheng Tibetan Pharmaceutical Group won a gold medal at the World Invention Exposition held in Geneva.

Publishing houses in Tibet , Qinghai , Gansu , and Yunnan have published more than 50 medical titles including Four Medical Classics, Jingzhu Materia Medica, Blue Glaze, and the New Collection of Traditional Tibetan Medicine. In the mid-1980s, well-known traditional Tibetan medicine experts from Tibet , Qinghai and Sichuan , gathered in Lhasa to compile textbooks on clinical practics, internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, five sense organs, prescriptions, pathology, and diagnosis. In the early 1990s, textbooks for university and secondary students were compiled, and basic theories of modern medical science and diagnosis were added.

Scientific Tibetan medicine research has been gradually spreading. In Traditional Tibetan medicine centers in Tibet , Qinghai and Gansu , research and development have been conducted in the fields of historical document research, Tibetan medicine uses, diagnosis techniques, and pharmaceutical production. The Hospital of Traditional Tibetan Medicine of Tibet Autonomous Region and the People's Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region work together to improve treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis. Patients take pharmacist-prepared Tibetan medicines and doctors used modern pathological methods to check results. The hospitals' cooperation has won a third-class prize for scientific and technological progress from the Ministry of Public Health. The two hospitals and experts from the pharmacological research institute of Huaxi Medical University jointly conducted research on medicinal herbs unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, including rhodiola, Chinese caterpillar fungus and Drosera peltata. Lab tests indicate that these plants contain anti-aging compounds as well as anti-oxidants. In addition, more than ten pharmacist-prepared Tibetan medicines have been found to have anti-bacterial inflammation reducing functions.

More than ten cities in the interior have set up Tibetan medicine centers. One of the largest is the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Tibetan Medicine. Over the past few years, the hospital has received nearly 200,000 patients. The hospital plays a decisive role in publicizing traditional Tibetan medicine.

• Water
• Plain black tea (in bags or loose)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup milk or 1 teaspoon milk powder
• Materials: One churn, blender, or large drink container with a tight lid.

Tibetan butter tea , po cha, is the most typical Tibetan drink. People who know about Tibetans know what po cha tastes like. In Tibet many people drink it all day long because it heats them up.

In Tibet , the process of making butter tea takes a long time and is pretty complicated. People use a special black tea that comes from an area called Pemagul in Tibet . The tea comes in bricks of different shapes, and we crumble off some tea and boil it for many hours. We save the liquid from the boiling and then whenever we want to make tea, we add some of that liquid, called chaku, to our boiling water.

Lucky for us, it is much easier to make po cha outside of Tibet . Four main things are needed to make our tea. You need: any kind of plain black tea (both bags and loose tea are okay), salt, butter and milk or milk powder. (You can use any kind of milk you want, though I think the full fat milk is the best, and sometimes I use Half and Half, which is half cream and half milk.) Most Tibetan people who live outside of Tibet use Lipton tea, or some kind of plain black tea.

This po cha recipe is for four people, more or less. First boil five to six cups of water, then turn down the fire. Put two bags of tea or one heaping tablespoon of loose tea in the water and boil again for a couple of minutes. Take out the tea bags or if you use loose tea, strain the tea leaves. Pour your tea, one quarter of a teaspoon of salt, two tablespoons of butter, and a half cup of milk or a teaspoon of milk powder into a chandong, which is a kind of churn. Please see the picture, in which we are using a plastic churn. Since churns are kind of rare outside of Tibet , you can do what some Tibetans do, which is to use any big container with a lid, so you can shake the tea, or you can just use a blender, which works very well. Churn, blend or shake the mixture for two or three minutes. In Tibet , we think the po cha tastes better if you churn it longer. Serve the tea right away, since po cha is best when it's very hot.

There are three ways to make tea: simple tea, milk tea and butter tea. The most common tea leaves are produced in the Han Land , as Fu Tea from Hunan , Tou Tea from Yunnnan and Ta Tea from Szechuan . Tibetan tea-drinking forms a special `tea culture'.

Simple tea is boiled tea without any additive. Milk tea is also called sweetened tea. It is an imitation of English tea and Indian tea. However, tea, milk and sugar are boiled simultaneously, which gives it a distinct flavour.

To make butter tea, a Tibetan specialty, you put hot boiled tea and a dash of salt into a tall and slender churn, add a pat of butter, stir the mixture heavily until the tea and butter are well blended and ready to serve. Many non-natives find the taste of this tea a bit rank, but supposedly, once hooked, to go without it causes backaches.

People living in this part of the world lived and multiplied here some 1,000 years ago. Throughout the ages, they have developed ways and means to cope with fierce weather here and learned to make butter, sour milk and wild bull horn milk kettle as well as yak hair cusions and tents. They were also good at making sheep wool or yak hair ribbons.

The Tibetans eat yak meat, drink yak milk, make yak hair tents, use yak hair ropes and yak hide bags, and even burn yak dungs. Yaks are so indispensable for them they call these animals Norbu or treasures in meaning.

Yaks also find their way into artworks, such as monastery murals and rock carvings. According to classics of the Bon religion, yaks came from the Heaven to the top of Gangdese Mountain . Of the Buddhist warriors, one has a yak head.

Once I traveled to/from Coqen to Gaize, covering a total distance of 650 km. It was a scarcely populated area. All along the way that stretches 650 km we met only two households. We paid them a visit in their tent houses and found the hosts sitting on yak hide cushions.

There were five major tribes in Gegyi, including Changdui, Lhoma and Baco. Each tribe had 70-100 households. In addition, there were some small tribes such as Sadegu. As their ancestors came from the Kham and Amdo areas, they were called Khamgegyi. After 1959, this area was renamed Chaka meaning an area by the Salt Lake while Lhoma was divided into two parts administratively, with one part falling under the jurisdiction of Yarang. Three other tribes met to become one district and three townships.

The Qoiling Monastery is the largest of its kind in the area. The abbot of the Garyu sect monastery was so famous that the locals gathered more than 120,000 Yuan for his soul boy and even one car when he passed away at the age of 80.

Some households in Sergo township of Gegyi allowed their sons to marry their daughters in the past. However, most do not do so. Marriage is at the will of the old and married couples do not live independent from their parents until one or two years later when they have one or two children. The youngest son of a family never leaves their parents.

During New Year Day, people in Chaka of Gegyi perform a recreational kind of dance called Chaka Zhogoshie: Zhogo means pastoral area or herders and Shie singing and dancing.

On the 15th day of the 8th Tibetan month each year, the locals gather for sacrifice-paying ritual called Desang in Tibetan.

In the morning, they, dressed in the holiday best, worship Buddha on the top of local mountains or in monasteries. Their sacrifices include aromatic grass, roasted highland barley called zanba and qingke barley wine. They pray for good harvest.

In the afternoon, they perform Zhogoshie dancing until it dawns the next morning. The dancers often number dozens to up to 100. Men lead the singing while others dance. This is followed by women signing and dancing. While doing so, they move in a crock-wise way. As they move at the fastest speed, the singing and dancing party reach its peak.

The herders love to raise sheep. Some love to raise horses also. There are families each raising more than 80 head of domestic animals including a dozen horses.

The herders raise horses not for economic purpose. In theirs eyes, horses are symbol of riches. Men would be deemed lowly without riding horses. During horse race, all the horses would be elegantly adorned.

The herders raise sheep for meat and wool. Before the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, wool was brought to India and Nepal in return for cloth, rice, sugar, fruit and other daily necessities. After 1951, wool was purchased by the government departments concerned.

Gegyi herders hate to slaughter any sheep aged one to four years and they hate to slaughter sheep they raise themselves. When there is no one who could help with slaughtering, they would manage to kill it without using knife or club. Before using knife, they will chant the Six Syllable Prayer and use prayer tube to touch their foreheads. And they would try not to let their chests stained with the blood of the sheep they slaughter. Women will stay away while men do these generally on the 15th and 30th days of each month, except for October and November when they slaughter sheep one per week apiece so as to store enough meat for winter.

To store meat for winter consumption, they eat animal intestines first and freeze meat outside in open air before bringing them back home. Generally, they wrap frozen meat with animal hide. Animal chests are considered to be of the best quality and used to entertain guests or to be consumed mainly by the old and men in the family. Lungs are used to feed dogs only....