Tibet Consciousness – Glimpses of Tibetan Identity – Images of Yamdrok Lake
Tibet, known as the Land of Snows, is a country of immense natural beauty. The landscape is intrinsically linked to the lives of holy enlightened beings and imbued with the mystique of powerful mountain gods and goddesses. There are many places of power and natural beauty in the country and one such place is Yamdrok Yumtso Lake.
Yamdrok Yumtso is a freshwater lake that lies around 90 kilometres to the east of Gyantse and 100 kilometres southwest of Lhasa. The largest lake in all of southern Tibet, it is roughly 638 kilometres2 and its average depth is about 30 metres, although it can reach 60 metres at its deepest. Its waters are a deep turquoise which is where it gets its name — roughly translated as ‘Turquoise Lake of the Upper Pasture‘ — and is fed by numerous streams from the surrounding snow-capped mountains.
Yamdrok Yumtso is considered to be one of the four largest sacred lakes of Tibet, the other three being Lhamo La Tso, Namtso and Manasarovar. According to local legend, the lake is the physical manifestation of the goddess known as Dorje Geg Kyi Tso.
The landscape of Tibet is sacred to the Tibetan people. Just as how mountains are believed to be the homes of gods and goddesses, so are Tibet’s great lakes. As they are considered the earthly abodes of powerful protective deities, Tibet’s lakes are intrinsically invested with spiritual power. Yamdrok Yumtso is one such lake and is believed to have the power to grant divinatory visions to those who meditate upon her serene yet supernatural waters.
Local villagers and high lamas alike make the pilgrimage to her shores, and they can be seen walking along the lake’s shores in prayer. To complete a circumambulation of the lake within seven days is said to purify tremendous amounts of negative karma.
Her waters are said to have powerful properties, which include healing diseases, granting long-life and increasing one’s intellect. The lake is so revered that it is said if her waters dry up, the entire land of Tibet will no longer be habitable for humans.
Together with Lhamo La Tso, it is one of two lakes which are said to provide visions that can help locate the reincarnations of high lamas. According to tradition, an appointed search party will travel to the lake to engage in lengthy prayers. Throwing a khata, a Tibetan silk scarf, into the waters along with other ritual objects and medicines, one of the party then has visions. When correctly interpreted, these visions can lead to the successful recognition of a high lama’s reincarnation.
The lake and its islands are closely associated with Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava, the great 8th century Indian mahasiddha who was invited to Tibet to tame the local deities that hindered the spread of Buddhism in the country.
Dorje Geg Kyi Tso, the goddess of Yamdrok Yumtso, is part of a group of such deities known as the Tenma Chunyi, who opposed the growth of Buddhism in Tibet.
I am pleased to share pictures of The Yamdrok Lake taken on October 31, 2015. The Lake is covered with fresh snow and its pure whiteness gives me a sense of Hope and my heart tells me that ‘Freedom is Near.’
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow,
For I hear the Bells of Freedom ringing,
Freedom is Near, Tibet blanketed by Freedom.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA
Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment
Snow scenery of Yamdrok Lake in Tibet
2015-11-02 10:22 Xinhua Editor:Li Yan 1
Photo taken on Oct. 31 shows the snow scenery at the Yamdrok Lake in Nagarze County of Shannan Prefecture, southwest Tibet.The Yamdrok Lake, about 100 kilometers south of Lhasa, is one of the four holy lakes in Tibet. (Photo: Xinhua/Liu Dongjun)
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