Mystical Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Central Asia and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people, wth an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on Earth and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World."

Places of Interest: As mentioned in the lonely planet guide Tibet has many places of interests. ‘There are many festivals throughout the year that attract the faithful as well as curious onlookers. Dancing monks can be seen in the Year End Festival (February/March), held to dispel the evil of the old year and auspiciously usher in the new one. Losar (New Year Festival) is a colourful week of activities (February/March), including Tibetan drama, pilgrims making incense offerings and Tibetans dressed in their finest crowding the streets. Two weeks later are the important Lantern Festival and M?nlam Festival. Cham dancing and chang drinking are the order of the day at the Tsurphu Festival (May/June).

The Gyantse Horse Racing Festival is a traditional event that takes place in July and features dances, picnics, archery and equestrian events; the Duchen Festival, held in Lhasa around August/September, celebrates Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath near Varanasi; the Bathing Festival (September/October) sees locals washing away the previous year's grime in the river; Lhabab (November/December) commemorates Buddha's descent from heaven. During the fifth and six lunar months (July and August) there are festivals at individual monasteries, including Samye, Tashilhunpo, Ganden and Drepung. So Tibet is full of things to see and do.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small village located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.

"Dalai" means "Ocean" in Mongolian, and is a translation of the Tibetan name "Gyatso", while "Lama" is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru", and is commonly translated to mean "spiritual teacher".

Education in Tibet

His Holiness began his monastic education at the age of six. The curriculum consisted of five major and five minor subjects. The major subjects were logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. The five minor subjects were poetry, music and drama, astrology, motre and phrasing, and synonyms. At 23 he sat for his final examination in the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, during the annual Monlam (prayer) Festival in 1959. He passed with honours and was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest-level degree equivalent to a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy.

Leadership Responsibilities

In 1950 His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power after China's invasion of Tibet in 1949. In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai. But finally, in 1959, with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile. Since then he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India (source)   

Music: While performing a search on Tibet l came across Singa Rinpoche. Who might he be you ask?  

He is a handsome but controversial young Tibetan lama which has emerged on Taiwan's music scene by releasing his first CD, a collection of rap and hip-hop songs which he claims can help promote Buddhism

Singa Rinpoche, 30, who is barred from entering Taiwan due to his flamboyant behavior on a visit to the island last year, released the CD -Wish You Well .

Most of the 12 songs on the CD were written and composed by a Taiwan musician and two were written and composed by Singa.

In the songs, Singa mixes rap and hip-hop with chants of Buddhist sutras, and switches from Chinese to Tibetan and English.

Here is one of this videos. Enjoy! 

Singa claimed he spent three years studying Buddhism in Nepal, Tibet and Thailand, before travelling around the world to spread Buddhism.

But when he visited Taiwan from February to April 2006 to promote his book, This is me, a living Buddha, he caused controversy because he acted more like a film star than a monk. He wore trendy clothes and received his disciples wearing a shirt and jeans, not the red cloak worn by Tibetan lamas.

Some Taiwan disciples alleged Singa had not finished Buddhist studies in India and had not been ordained, prompting the Interior Ministry to bar him from entering Taiwan for one year.

Still l think he is one good looking Tibetan!