Our Journal

Thartsang Tso
Animals and Surroundings

Thartsang Tso

Thartsang Tso is a sacred lake near Labrang where people make offerings on auspicious dates. They raise prayer flags and throw papers inscribed...

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Sagadawa
Religion and Culture

Sagadawa

Sagadawa is the full moon of the 4th month of the lunar calendar. This is the day that the Buddha was born, gained enlightenment and passed awa...

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Giving and Yaks
Religion and Culture

Giving and Yaks

Giving is a core value in Tibetan Buddhism. One can give material gifts, but also less tangible, more powerful offerings like love, time, or de...

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Tsa-tsas
Craft

Tsa-tsas

Tsa-tsas are a form of Buddhist art that has flourished for centuries across the Tibetan Plateau, throughout the Himalayas, and beyond, as far ...

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Blue Camel
Religion and Culture

Blue Camel

In Amdo, everyone uses the Lan tou, or Blue Camel in Chinese. A blue three wheeler pickup truck, it has become the most popular form of transpo...

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Joma Root
Religion and Culture

Joma Root

Joma is a high protein, bulbous root that grows in clumps in the rich, black soil of the pasture. The native pigs spend all their time scroung¬...

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Fire Offerings
Religion and Culture

Fire Offerings

Several times a year monks from the monastery in Ritoma are invited to Norlha to conduct rituals. These vary according to need; usually, a divi...

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