In April of 2007 I made a solo trek through four valleys in the Mt. Everest region of Nepal. While part of the country of Nepal, this region is largely populated by the Sherpa people, who practice Tibetan Buddhism and whose ancestors are Tibetan. The Chinese occupation of Tibet over the last half century has made practicing traditional Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet very difficult, restricted and often dangerous. In 1959, in the face of growing danger from the Republic of China, the Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India . As the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama has been leading his government in exile and working for peace and the freedom of Tibet ever since. Thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns have also fled Tibet to practice in peace in other parts of the world. Being close to Tibet, both geographically and culturally, the Mt. Everest region is a desirable place for refugee Buddhist monks and nuns to come to. Monasteries are found in many of the villages in the region and carry out their traditional roles as an integral part of Tibetan Buddhist culture.
While trekking through the small village of Thamo in a valley to the southwest of Mt. Everest I came across a partially constructed monastery. The lama in residence was glad to give me a tour. The monastery is being built to house a group of Buddhist nuns who have been worshipping in the village for some years and have outgrown their space. As funds are raised, construction on the new monastery goes forward. The project has been underway for several years and several more years are needed before completion. In the meantime the nuns have been conducting their daily practices in a very small hut that used to be a schoolroom. I was allowed to observe their ceremony and, for a donation to the construction effort, encouraged to take photos. The young nun in the photo is a Tibetan refugee who had first studied in the south of India and had recently moved to the Thamo monastery. During their puja, or ceremony, she never stopped chanting but was very curious about the blond foreigner with the camera. Her inquisitive gaze followed me around the room while many the older nuns continued chanting as if I wasn’t there.
1/50 sec at f/5.6
ISO 1600
Canon 5D
28-135 mm lens
