Wedding Preparations

Wedding preparations inside the dharamsala. Great concentration is needed for the task of plaiting 108 wedding ceremony braids. Female wedding attendant use straw for brushes to apply oil to the hair. Many of these Limi girls will never have the chance to marry in this polyandrous society. Many will bear children out of wedlock. Humla, North-West Nepal 1986

Trulshik Rinpoche

"If your mind is pure, everyone is a buddha. If your mind is impure, everyone is ordinary."-- Trulshik Rinpoche Chiwong Monastery, Solo Khumbu. 2007

Namdyol

As the fall night chills, Namdyol, twelve-years-old dressed in traditional sheep lined blanket, wearing turquoise and coral earring and necklace is ready to join other teenagers to dance and sing under the light of the moon. Yakpa, Humla, North-West, Nepal. 1985

SARASWOTI

Chhetrini, Saraswoti, pauses from pounding grains. In addition to the beaded necklaces from trading trips in India, silver coins from British-ruled India, fashioned by kamis, the blacksmith caste of Humla, adorn her chest. Simikot, Humla, Nepal. 1986

Tibetan Greeting

Tibetan greeting and farewell: exchanging energies with the touch of the head, master, with open hands, receives his disciple, who holds his hands in a gesture of offering. Humla. Nepal Museo Silver Rag (B & W Digital Print) Dimesion: 12.887” x 20” US$600 Edition 1/25

Springtime

Bhotia children delight in spring’s gift, fragrant peach blossoms. Bargaau, Humla, Nepal. 1985

Tamang Women

Women of the Tamang ethnic group carry loads of stones in Nagarkot, central Nepal. Across the Himalayas, women perform much of the field work and manual labor with a quiet, even cheerful grace. Lack of infrastructure and education means that hill villagers have few other ways to earn a living. Unfortunately, many of the young Tamang girls are sold by their families into prostitution to supplement their meager income and sadly for these girls, the road is a dead end ally. Nagarkot, Nepal

Gesar Dances

In a mountainous region of northern Kham, monks of Talok Monastery practice the Gesar dances that are performed during the annual summer festival. Kham, East Tibet. 1991

Prostrating to Lhasa

"Prostrating, I can use my whole body to pray," an itinerant monks says. "Many people tell me to meditate or stay in retreat...that my sins are all purified, but I prostrate for all beings, not just for myself." Sangwa Rinpoche expands upon this perspective, explaining that on an esoteric level, "prostrations open the body's central channel, preparing it for higher yogic practices." Kham Tibet, 1991.

HONEY HUNTERS

The Gurung men of Nepal are master honey hunters, risking their lives collecting honeycomb in the foothills of the Himalayas, using nothing more than handmade rope ladders and long sticks known as tangos. Chimro cliff, Siklis village, Nepal. 2003

Nomad Sister's

Nomad sister's rise up from their sheep wool bed. Changtang, Tibet. 1991

NYINGMAPA MONKS

Nyingmapa monks in ritual prayer. Sechen Monastery Boudhanath, Nepal. 1988

Trulshik Rinpoche

"If your mind is pure, everyone is a buddha. If your mind is impure, everyone is ordinary."-- Trulshik Rinpoche One of the greatest living spiritual masters of Tibetan Buddhism, Trulshik Rinpoche was one of the main teachers of the 14th Dalai Lama and of many of the younger generation of Nyingma lamas today. Chiwong Monastery, Solo Khumbu, Nepal. 1991

Covering several miles a day, monk pilgrims from Kham prostrate the full length of their bodies along ancient pilgrim routes. Over a thousand miles remain before they will reach their destination, Lhasa. Kham, Tibet 1991.

Tibetan Pilgrim

Elderly blind nomad pilgrim prostrates towards the Jonang Kumbum, in the remote Phuntsoling Valley. Where will you go after death? What will you become? No certainty! Not having the strength of realized mind Will death not terrify you? -The Seventh Dalai Lama "The Song of Essential Precepts" Phuntsoling, Central Tibet. 1990

Winter Morning Prostrations

Despite the chilly winter morning Buddhist pilgrims prostrate themselves before stone Buddha statues at the base of Swayambhunath hill.

 Kathmandu, Nepal 1987

Gerze Nomad

Gerze nomad woman churning yak milk into yogurt. Changtang , Tibet. 1991

Khampa horsemen, dressed in bengal tiger fur lined coats known as chubbas wait their turn to compete in the Paiyul summer horse racing festival in Eastern Tibet. Paiyul, Kham, Tibet. 1991

Drokpas

Drokpa, or nomad, mean, "people of the solitudes". Their way of life has remained unchanged for centuries, making them natural stewards of Tibet's grasslands and living examples of original Tibetan culture. Changtang, Tibet. 1991

Tibet

A nomad woman prepares Tibetan butter milk tea accompanied by her family members inside a yak wool tent. Dhamshung, central Changtang, Tibet. 1990

MAGHE SANKRANTI

Devotees worship on Maghe Sankranti winter morning. This shikaara style terracotta temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is located in a large courtyard near the banks of the Bagmati river. It was built in the 19th century by Jagat Sumshere Rana, a devotee of lord Vishnu commonly known as Jagat Narayan. Some of the important structures located in this temple complex include the skillfully sculpted stone statues of Vishnu in the main body of the temple along with the life size statues of Hanuman, Garuda, Ganesh, a bronze Garuda pillar, and a stately print house with many lavishly carved wooden windows. Sankhamol, Nepal. 1984

DEVOTION

A nomad pilgrim imbibing His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Mother. Mount Kailas, Tibet. 1995

Friendship

Humli girls from Northwest Nepal celebrate secrets. Bargaau, Humla, Nepal. 1986

Tibet

Nomad children take rest under the open sky after a long day herding yaks. Chang Tang, Tibet. 1991

Nomadic Ways

Drokpa nomad woman churns Tibetan butter milk tea. Dhamshung, Changtang, Tibet. 1990