Visiting the Jowo Buddha

Melbourne enters day 200 of lockdown days since march 2020. A sober thought, two thirds of a year spent at home. Like everyone else I miss travel, even the idea of travel, so have been spending time with photographs and journals from past journeys.

The Jowo Buddha is the most important statue in Tibet. It is believed to have been personally blessed by the Buddha. It came to be owned by the king of Magadha, who gave it to a Tang emperor of China. One of the emperor's clansman's daughters, Wenchen Kongjo, took it to Lhasa via Lhagang in a wooden cart when she married King Songtsen Gampo.

It is said when you see the Jowo statue for the first time, he will grant you a wish.

This picture is not mine, when I saw the Jowo we were not allowed to take photos. It was my second day in Lhasa, finally there after 5 previous trips to Tibet but always to Amdo. We had taken the train from Xining and 24 hours, and many many security checks later, there we were. The Jokhang was packed in equal parts with visitors and Chinese soldiers carrying automatic weapons. The temple was so full it was impossible to move. Our tour guide was struggling to keep us together and move us forward. We had been told that sometimes you just did not get to see the statue. Too many people and the guards would just throw everyone out.

With a lot of determination and pushing, we did actually come near to the Jowo. He is smaller than I had thought, pictures on the web make him seem larger. There was a monk painting gold on the little house the statue lives in. I stood gazing at him and wondering what my wish should be. We were still several rows of bodies back. Then a tiny old Tibetan lady appeared before me out of nowhere, she grabbed my hand in an iron grip and she surged forward with me flapping behind her. The crowd parted and suddenly I was face to face with the Jowo, she pushed the back of my head to remind me to bow down, I did, and whispered my wish. Then with my hand still in her grip we cleared the way again to do Kora around the statue, stopping at the side for her to point out something through the small window. I had lost sight of my group. On the third circumambulation, I can't believe we did one let alone three, there was my tour guide waiting with katas for us all. I squeezed her hand back and said thank you. She smiled wide, such a beautiful face. I turned and received my kata and then turned back to offer it to my personal dakini but she was gone.

To this day I believe I was blessed. My wish is private but did include all sentient beings. For me to be in Lhasa, and travelling with my precious teacher, was such a lifelong wish of the heart. But Lhasa is difficult also, there are so many overlays that I don't want to write about right now. In the crowded, heavily guarded and armed Jokhang, this dakini had transformed my visit to the Jowo, and I am grateful always.