Examples of these teachers are Karshu Gonpo Dorje and Kunpang Sherab Gyatso.ĭepictions of figures with Eye Coverings conveys the meaning that those individuals have spent long periods of time wandering in the mountains and in prolonged retreat settings in isolated locations. Some teachers are even shown with the coverings as part of their standard iconographic profile. In Himalayan art, painting and sculpture, the figures of religious teachers are sometimes depicted wearing Eye Protection. The second is a type of eye shade worn by scholars and editors while working for long hours on written texts. The coverings are typically made from woven horse hair, either thick or thin, depending on the situation for which they were created. Their function is the prevention of snow blindness and eye damage from the glare of the sun off of the white snow. The first is simply a type of eye protection, a version of sun glasses worn while travelling in the high snowy mountains.

The Tibetan word 'dom ra' is sometimes used, possibly named after the bear-like hairy look, or possibly because it is made from Himalayan bear fur or hair. A possible fourth type, similar or the same as the third, is used in the Chod practices of Machig Labdron. Two of the types are functional and common for all and the third is a type of eye covering used in meditation practice. There are three or more types of eye coverings used in the Himalayas and Tibet. He says he escaped to India 40 years ago to be closer to the Dalai Lama.Eye Coverings, or Eye Protection (Tibetan: mig ra, mig dra. I watched the destruction of our monasteries,' he recalls. I realized I didn't have freedom of religion. 'When I got out, I was still under surveillance, so I couldn't meet with other people. Pemba Wangdu grew up in Tibet and served prison time there - three years, three months and six days, he says - for being a follower of the Dalai Lama. In other words, he warns, 'There will be fracturing.'Īs the Dalai Lama's monastery in Dharamsala filled in September with the faithful, all praying in unison for their leader's longevity, an 89-year-old Tibetan man hung back, resting on a stone bench, softly chanting. 'It's also possible that the Chinese will manipulate these differences to make them divisions.' They have shown greater unity in exile than they showed when they were in Tibet,' he says, referring to centuries of regional infighting among the four schools. 'The Tibetans themselves were never completely united in the past. But that wasn't always the case, says Mathur, the ex-adviser to the Indian government. There are four main schools of Tibetan Buddhist thought, but only the youngest one is headed by the Dalai Lama. Thousands of Tibetan Buddhists made a pilgrimage in September to the Dalai Lama's monastery in northern India to pray for their spiritual leader's longevity. It's about who truly heads the Tibetans.' 'The Dalai Lama's reincarnation is a civilizational struggle between China and Tibetans over who controls Tibetan Buddhism,' says Amitabh Mathur, a retired adviser to the Indian government on Tibetan affairs. But this time, politics may complicate the search. He's supposed to tell aides where to look for a child who will next embody his essence. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama himself gives instructions before he dies.

He is the 14th Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's traditional high priest - the same being, faithful believe, that has been reincarnated for more than 600 years. Tibetan Buddhists believe their spiritual leader, now 84 and ailing, will be reincarnated when he dies. They carried fruit baskets as offerings and chanted in unison, all praying for the same thing: the Dalai Lama's longevity.

Orange-robed monks with shaved heads huddled cross-legged on the floor, as Tibetan opera singers in multicolored gowns teetered under the weight of giant silver headdresses. Thousands of Buddhists from all over the world made a pilgrimage this fall to a monastery high in India's Himalayas. Flanked by Buddhist monks, the Dalai Lama, 84, greets visitors in September at a prayer ceremony at his monastery in Dharamsala, India.

Tibetan lama sun glasses