Five-year-old Goinbo Cering is on his way to Lhasa, undertaking a monumental pilgrimage that will take six years.
To date, the boy has walked for eight months from his hometown in China's northwestern Gansu Province to Sichuan Province which borders Tibet. Even the tough weather has not dampened his enthusiasm for getting to the sacred destination, the Jokkang Temple, in the heart of Lhasa City.
"I will be 10 years old when I see Lhasa," Goinbo said in a little chirpy voice, a dusty scar clearly visible on his forehead. It will take five years or more for him to see "the Living Buddha".
"I'm not tired, but I miss papa and mama," he said, the dazzling sunshine beaming off his face.
His parents had saved 7,000 yuan (nearly 945 U.S. dollars) for their son's journey. Goinbo can sometimes get extra alms giving from other believers he comes across in his travels.
The belief of Tibetan pilgrims is not a matter of time and money -- instead it's all about faith. As an honorable part of Tibetan life, devout believers prostrate themselves all the way to Lhasa from their hometown hundreds or thousands of kilometers away.
"I prostrated humbly on the mountain, moving towards you, just for feeling your sweet warmth," wrote Tsangyang Gyatso, the unconventional sixth Dalai Lama (1683-1706) in 18th century Tibet. He was famed for a remarkable collection of beloved poetry and died in his mid twenties.
Last year, 328,000 pilgrims visited the Potala Palace, Norbuglinkha and Johkang Monastery, the top three religious sites in Lhasa. Despite the operation of the 1,956-km-long Qinghai-Tibet railway that became operational in July last year, most pilgrims stick to the traditional ways to practise their piety.
Rigba Gyamco, Goinbo's 25-year-old uncle, who has already made five pilgrimages to Lhasa, accompanied his nephew along the way. Without a map or compass, old traditions ensure the fledging pilgrims receive firsthand guidance from someone who has walked and remembered the route.
"I hope Goinbo can become a Zhaba in his teen years (the name for a young Lama) to lead a monastic and erudite life," said Rigba, who recalled the dozen years he spent in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
The pair started their journey with three female relatives on February 19, the first day of the Tibetan calendar New Year - the same day as the Chinese Lunar New Year by coincidence. They walked for eight months to Guanyin Bridge (Guanyin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) in Sichuan Province, a sacred place where they began to crawl and kowtow.
With protocol untouched, clapping hands, reciting mantras, raising them above their head and then lowering them to the chest, believers repeat three times before crawling full body on the ground. They then make a mark, stand up, walk to the mark and bow again.
Each day, Goinbo and his uncle rise at dawn, marching forward in this particular way. At noon, they drink buttered tea, eat roasted barley mixed with butter and hard wheat cake. Sometimes they stop for a while to listen to the daily news on the radio.
"A pilgrim's life is easier now," said Rigba. They used to use a trolley, but now they have a diesel-run motor tricycle. It is packed with their camping canvas, bedrolls, dry wood sticks, an energy-efficient light, portable solar panel and other necessities.
He explained that they usually rode 500 meters or more, stopped the trike, then walked back and began to crawl and kowtow on the same road.
Far away in the distance was range upon range of the snow-swept peaks of the Que'er Mountain. This was the greatest challenge of the Sichuan-Tibet route where the altitude averaged about 5,000 meters. Goinbo and his uncle would have to cross over it in a few days.
"We feel no fear. Loneliness and pain is the pilgrim's road to winning divine favor and building an afterlife," said Rigba, a glow of satisfaction on his face.
Source: Xinhua
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