Colette's Grand Detour

Jokhang Temple, in the heart of the old town in Lhasa, is the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism and the most sacred temple in Tibet. It is even more revered than Potala Palace. To enter the temple you must pass through security into the Barkhor Quarter. Security and passport checks are pretty standard at almost every place you visit in Tibet. And there will be police and security cameras everywhere.

The temple was founded in the 7th century by King Songtsen Gampo, seen as Tibet’s great unifier and was built as part of his efforts to consolidate Buddhism across Tibet. Because of this, the temple is seen as the seed-point for Tibetan Buddhism history. The King had 2 wives, one from Tang China and one from Nepal and both are said to have brought sacred Buddhist statues and texts to Lhasa as part of their dowry. The most important object in the temple is the Jowo Shakyamuni statue, said to have been brought to Tibet by the Tang Princess, and legend said it was personally blessed by the Buddha during his life time.

We were able to take photos inside the first courtyard and inner kora route but not in the temple itself, which is absolutely stuffed full of paintings, statues and giant mandalas. The temple style is a unique blend of Indian, Nepalese and Chinese Tang influences, with whitewashed walls, gilded roofs and intricately carved wood work.

The temple is only open to pilgrims and worshippers in the morning and then to tourists in the afternoon. Even in the late afternoon though, there were many devout pilgrims in Barkhor Square performing full-body prostrations in front of the temple.

The other important part of any pilgrimage to Jokhang Temple is to complete a kora around the Barkhor circuit, travelling clockwise around the streets that encircle the temple. We saw hundreds of people completing their kora, reciting mantras, spinning their handheld prayer wheels and some even slowly making there way around doing prostrations. The Barkhor circuit is also a great place to go shopping, which feels a bit odd to say about a pilgrimage circuit. But the streets are lined with shops selling everything from prayer beads, to monks clothing and all the equipment like kneepads you might need if you are planning to prostrate.