Yingting's China --- Oct. 5, THU

Yingting's greeting

About Tibet

Approaching the Tibetans

Approaching the Tibetans

Following actually are parts of my diary written there and some photos taken there¡­

Sep. 13^th sunshine Wednesday

Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet, is the city enjoys most of the sunshine around world. In Tibetan "Lhasa" also means "the land of gods".

I was deeply impressed by two things there, the sunshine and the brilliant smiles the Tibetans have.

¡­

I was sitting under the shadow observing the people coming here to burn their first incense this morning. Suddenly I noticed an aged lama sitting near the corner feeding a lovely cat. With the brilliant sunshine behind him, it was really a nice picture and I automatically picked up my camera. Noticing my action, he suddenly stood up. I felt embarrassed and wondering how to say sorry for my interruption. But just at the moment, turning to me and holding the cat in his arm, he showed me the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. (See my friend in photo 1)

His smile melted the distance between the different races and made me feel safe and comfortable. We began to talk with each other for half an hour; his knowledge and his devotion to Buddhism added a very important lesson in my life.

Sep. 14^th sunshine Thursday

...

After visiting the wonderful Summer Palace (for the Dalai Lama to spent his summer), I was wandering on the path.

Suddenly I heard laughter from left side, a group of Tibetans were sitting on the threshold and chatting. Some foreign guests were taking pictures of them. But it seemed nothing can destroy their own peace, they paid no attention to these cameras.

For them, it was just a common afternoon and they enjoyed their own way to spend this afternoon with their own friends. (See photo 2)

I could not forget the smile this Tibetan mom showed me. (See the photo 3)

Can you image what kind of job she does? From her brilliant smile you can never find any trace of shame, but she showed me this smile a minute after she begging money from me. We called them the professional beggars. They are young and strong and they can do something more decent but¡­

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Maybe you will feel puzzled why I only prefer their smiles to the other topics.

For me, people are the soul of this land. From their smiles, you will definitely believe they must have their own gods living in the palaces of their own hearts.

Yingting