The Rite of Passage

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  Donzhulin Monastery, China
Friday, October 7, 2005

After a week of video training for WWF staff, Jonathan, Gomba, Jinhui, and I left for Donzhulin Monastery, nestled in a steep valley in Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve. We stayed the night in the nearby park visitor center, still awaiting finishing touches, and met Xiao Lin and Yunhua. They had left ahead of us to make sure filming the monks was okay.

It was.

Rising the next morning just after dawn, we began our day entering the temple with four hundred monks, all chanting and praying, dressed in maroon robes. The colored dragon drapes and thangka paintings reverberated with the droning and holy speech of the monks, followed by silences.

After the morning prayers was school for the younger monks: Tibetan, English, and Chinese lessons. I taught one class a couple of words in English: "horse" and "pig". They wanted to learn animals. My drawings were terrible sketches on the blackboard, but they understood: "H O R S E," they repeated. In the front row was the young lama, who enjoyed making faces and acting like an enlightened child should, if that means anything.

The young lama was selected when he was barely walking in a manner similar to the selection of the Dalai Lama. A high monk with discerning powers sat in front of a holy alpine lake and envisioned the home of three young boys. The three boys were then placed in a room with the deceased rinpoche's belongings. As the new lama was a reincarnation of the old rinpoche, the boy who recognized the belongings was chosen as the new lama.

Donzhulin Monastery has two lamas, one younger, one older.

01 Donzhulin Monastery

We met with the older lama, the rinpoche. He spoke to us and the high monks. We were thankful to be with him. Many years ago, during Mao Zedong's reign, he had to make a difficult choice: to "support" or not to "support" Mao. Not to support Mao would mean almost certain death, cutting of fingers and hands, and murder of many monks. To support Mao would mean losing face with monks of other monasteries. The rinpoche chose to "support" Mao.

As rain sprinkled onto the monastery courtyard, monks gathered for a big day: two young monks would endure a rite of passage in the temple. The two monks exuded nervousness. As a group, the monks entered the temple.

In the temple, the monks ate lunch. The youngest monks ferried rice, stew, and tea from the nearby kitchen, serving the monks one-by-one. One of the initiates, however, did not eat, instead staring off into the distance.

Let the Rite of Passage begin!

The initiates began the Rite of Passage by giving one yuan bills to each monk, a symbolic gesture of generosity. Then they proceeded to walk up and down the aisles clapping their hands and reciting aspects of Buddhism they needed to know to advance to the next level. They spun their bodies at each turn. One recited a passage; the other responded in agreement. The young lama looked on, making funny faces. The high monks gazed with grave stares. Soon, the Rite of Passage was over; the young monks were now one level higher.

At the end of the day, I had learned much more about the richness of Tibetan Buddhism, despite the Cultural Revolution. Although the loss of cultural knowledge and the impact of modern living has made a mark in monastic life, Donzhulin Monastery was attempting to revive Buddhism. The path they have chosen is difficult yet necessary.

Perhaps, over time, the "Not-monks," Red Bull, snuff snorting, card playing, girlfriend-on-the-side facet of the monks will diminish as their culture is revived.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

02 Enter the Monastery	A Boy Recites Tibetan	Four Hundred Monks Chanting	Mandala, part I
Mandala, part II	Mandala, part III	Mandala, part IV	Monk and Guard Lion
Monk Clothing in the Courtyard	Monks Entering the Temple	Monks in the Kitchen, part I	Monks in the Kitchen, part II
Monks Praying	Prayer Flags	Reflective Monk	The Initiate
The Initiation, part I	The Initiation, part II	The Rinpoche, part I	The Rinpoche, part II
The Young Lama, part I	The Young Lama, part II	The Young Lama, part III

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