The Mahakala "Black Cloak"

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on Sep 4, 2017.)

The Mahakala called "Black Cloak" on a mural
inside the Lamasery at Splendid China, Shenzhen

It has been over 14 years since I first set foot in Chin. Since then I have traveled to nearly 100 cities. But I have never been to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. My first taste of it was at Splendid China and the Folk Cultural Villages in Shenzhen, where I was able to see a miniaturized Potala Palace, and enter--for the first time--a full-sized lamasery. (I have since been to several more, notably Beijing's Yonghe Gong and the Guangren Temple in Xi'an).

Rotating Sutra Cabinets

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on Oct 9, 2017.)

The framework of a sutra cabinet (with the shelves removed)
at Longxing Temple in Zhengding, Hebei Province.

Previously, I have described the use of prayer wheels in Tibetan-style temples. These large drums, which may be located along a corridor, or at the side of a building, have a prayer written on them. Om Mani Padme Hum--"Hail the Jewel in the Lotus!" The belief is that every time a person turns one of these drums--whether laboriously, or with a fast spin--he gains the merit of having said that mantra (a set of supposedly powerful words) one time.