BY CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
LHASA – The Jokhang Temple, one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most sacred sites, has endured theological feuds, political upheaval and widespread destruction at the hands of ax-wielding communist Red Guards.
Yet nothing in the temple’s rough history prepared its monks for what might be the biggest threat yet to their monastic existence — tourists.
Already under tight supervision by communist authorities, the monks now find themselves playing tour guide, doorman and janitor to thousands of daily visitors attracted by the Chinese government’s drive to exploit Tibet’s rich and still active religious heritage.
”This used to be my college, but now it’s like a museum” that attracts tourists mainly from China, but also from elsewhere, said Nyima Tsering, a vice chairman of the temple’s government-appointed management committee and a Buddhist scholar at its seminary.
After decades of suppressing and then tightly regulating Tibetan Buddhism, China’s government is promoting the faith and its monuments as tourism lures to boost the Himalayan region’s poor economy.
Yet China remains a communist state that is officially atheist. As the Tourism Bureau invites outsiders to ”Come visit the holy land,” officials continue to limit the numbers of monks per monastery, dictate how they run temples and bar children from participating in Buddhist festivals or other forms of religious expression.
Many of Tibet’s 46,000 Buddhist monks and nuns find the influx of tourists another burden. Between visitor duties and mandatory Communist Party study sessions, Nyima Tsering estimates he has just two hours a day for religious learning, a pursuit to which monks once devoted most of their time.
The lack of study shows in the quality of newly graduating lamas, he said, contending they lack the depth of understanding that their predecessors gained during decades of contemplation of Buddhist sutras, or holy texts.
The flow of visitors has surged by double-digit rates the last three years, driven largely by huge increases in the numbers of travelers from other parts of China.
