Yesterday, in Tagong, a small Tibetan city just beyond the start of the Himalayan mountains, we received a personal tour of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery from a real live lama. We spun the prayer wheels, traveling around the monastery as part of what is a daily ritual for some people. We have spolen to some people who spend 2 hours every morning in the temple. Prayer wheels have long scrolls inside of them which are spread good will to people across the land. (The tenet of altruism is a significant connection between Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity.)

Just outside the monastery there was a monastic school housing male orphans fro 3-18 years old. They are taught the various sutras and ways of the Tibetan monk, and are given the choice to become a monk or attend a different school for more education. If you ask me, Tibetan toddlers and babies win for being the cutest in the world.

For Tagong, and the entire Tibetan population, religion plays such a large part in culture, politics, and economy. In a sense, Tibet has been left behind the world as for as technology goes. The romantic side of me always yearns to preserve this type of pristine culture. The Tibetan NGOs Professor Youtz wrote about are certainly putting out a valiant effort, but there must be more that can be done for a people with such a beautiful culture.