It never rains at Hemis Tsechu (festival). Why should it? The annual festival, uninterrupted since its inception in the 1730s, falls on the 10th and 11th days of the fifth Tibetan month. These are usually the summer months of June/July, with negligible precipitation in this rain shadow area.
Seems the lamas didn’t consult their Oracles this year though, and thousands like me stood wet and freezing on festival day. The lamas, though, interpreted the rain and occasional snowflakes as heaven’s blessings! A few hours delay was inconsequential on this special day to commemorate Guru Padmasambhava’s birth. [continue reading…]
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Guru Padmasambhava,
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Tsechu
The longest and most interesting dance at the Hemis Festival depicts the eight forms of Padmasambhava, or Guru Rinpoche, who is credited with establishing Buddhism as the religion of the people of Tibet and Ladakh in the eight century A.D.
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buddhism,
Hemis Festival,
Kashmir,
Ladakh,
Leh
By the ninth century A.D., the rise of Buddhism at the expense of the Bon religion prompted the Bon King of Tibet, Langdarma, to prosecute Buddhists; monks were forced to shed their robes while they saw their monasteries being dismantled. In frustration, a powerful monk Palji Dorge came dancing dressed in a wide brimmed black hat, high boots and silk brocade costumes and assassinated the king with an arrow in Lhasa.
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Tagged as:
buddhism,
Hemis Festival,
Kashmir,
Ladakh,
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