Religion & Spirituality

To understand how Tibetan Buddhism differs from other Buddhist schools we need to consider its development from two different perspectives, the first ideological and the second historical. Although these are here considered separately, they of course developed with reference to each other. Ideological Development Ideologically Tibetan Buddhism is a derivation of Mahayana Buddhism heavily influenced […]

Every Tibetan family struggled to afford the honor of sending a family member to a monastery. This indeed was no small sacrifice since the continuing upkeep of the monks was the responsibility of their respective families. To give some idea of the popularity of this religious mission, in the early twentieth century approximately one fifth […]

By Guy Rubin Centuries ago, in a cliff-face in the midst of China’s vast Taklamakan desert, artists hollowed, sculpted and painted 492 caves, creating over 450,000 square feet of spectacular murals, or more than thirty times the mural area of the Sistine Chapel. But whereas the Sistine Chapel was painted over a few years, the […]

Buddhism is said to have traveled into China along the Silk Road in the first half of the first century AD. Its rise to prominence grew in proportion to the increasing traffic along the Silk Road, so that by the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), when China’s capital, Chang’an, was one of the world’s most prosperous […]

Day One Today you will fly to Chengdu, the capital of modern Sichuan province. A historic capital serving as the traditional gateway to the Tibetan plateau, Chengdu has in recent years become a vibrant and sophisticated metropolis. Prepare yourself for mouth-watering Sichuan food, wonderful cultural sites and of course one of the rarest bears on our […]