Printing the Ancient Way Keeps Buddhist Texts Alive in Tibet
Of course, it’s good to make offerings to the Buddha using a lot of money,
but it’s more faithful to make offerings using your body, mouth and mind." So went a typical afternoon in one of the most revered institutions in the Tibetan world, the Parkhang printing lamasery in the mountainous heart of the Kham region.
The monastery was one of three pilgrimage sites in the Tibetan world, each representing the body, mouth and mind of the Buddha, Ms. Pema said.
The press, in the town of Derge, dates to 1729 and draws pilgrims from across the Tibetan plateau to the
three-story monastery, its walls painted scarlet and its roof adorned with golden Buddhist icons.
It has more than 320,000 wooden printing blocks that are on average more than 260 years
old, said Ms. Pema, a volunteer who cleans the monastery’s objects and guides visitors.
" Ms. Buffetrille said. that The operations of the printing press are today similar to what they were in 1985,
In hills to the east of the monastery stood clusters of red three-story wooden homes, a traditional design around religious centers in Kham.
