Though I have travelled to many places, I feel as though this is the first time I have even left my backyard to venture into the wilderness that beckons from beyond the gates. A pilgrimage of grand and epic proportions, inexplicably vast and infinite, led by His Holiness the Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, with a caravan of cars stretching from horizon to horizon, on a tour of four days that was so intense, so amazing, so spiritually evoking and heart melting, so powerful and majestic, so tearfully raw and bittersweet, I cannot put it all into words just yet, the emotions and grandiosity of what we have been through is simply too fresh to try and comprehend at this time. I suppose some might say that I’m being dramatic, but I kid you not, this trip was so powerful that it has truly changed me and who I am, how I see the world, and just how special of a place Ladakh really is. Everyday was another adventure, climbing mountaintops to find hidden and remote monasteries that reach out and touch the heavens, valleys and rocky slopes full of red rock and moonlike earth unlike anything I’ve seen on our planet before. Inside sacred caves, up and down twisting and turning stone staircases leading to shrine halls that appear to be floating above the earth and sitting above the clouds. Lines of villagers, locals, monks, lamas, even the earth itself seems to lower its mighty head and bow in respect as we passed. Tea offerings by every possible level of societal beings, from beggars to councilmen, highest lamas and abbots to local communities and schoolhouses, all wishing to pay respects and offer what they could, all they have in the world for some, in hopes that the Karmapa would grace their lives with his presence and stop their way. Every Gompa we visited was decked out in complete ceremony and color, banners and musical instruments, brocade and lights, drums and bells, singing, dancing, shouting, screaming for joy. Mandala offerings from all monasteries, some performed in styles I had never heard before, greetings and most honorable respects from all Lamas and Rinpoche’s from the entire state, they were coming out of the woodwork to be present for this most historical of events. The greeting, ceremony and welcome our caravan received was immeasurable, incalculable, so hard to describe its sheer size, every single place, every stop, rich or poor, high or low, mountaintop or valley bottom - it was completely unbelievable and the most wonderful display of respect and rejoicing I have ever seen. Karmapa was greeted and treated like a king, with all the knightly details and due regal pomp, the entire state was caught up in the majesty of it all, for this Pilgrimage was to change all of their lives, and ours as well.
I have completely been cut off from the world, and these four days were so packed, so dense, so much happening in so many different places that I cannot show it all or give you every location in detail never mind trying to catch up without one feel swoop of photos and thoughts at once. I only hope to be able to show you a glimpse, a slice, a mere morsel of what went on, as to omit or skip something would be such a grave injustice as each place was so very special. I have included as few photos as I could to show it all - it seems very interesting that after all my cutting and editing, trimming what I could, I am left with a collection of exactly 108 photos. These 108 moments are included to show you as best I can the incredible activity of Karmapa - the deep appreciation and respect all of Ladakh has for him and he for them. Every welcome ceremony is different, each mandala offering was performed in its own way and deserves its own mention at the very least. Some were in great halls brightly lit and full, many were in small shrine rooms and even at the entrance to cave openings, many times very few people were allowed in, one evening we entered a gonpa with no power at all and performed the mandala offering by flashlight and the help of some cell phone torches. I cannot be the one to choose what gets seen and what doesn’t, so in the end I leave it up to you to - I hope that you take the time to see it all if you wish. They say that a photographer is merely showing what has happened, letting the story of that precise moment speak for itself, more of a storyteller than an artist - I like this description. I consider myself extremely lucky and so blessed to have been asked to cover this event, to be involved and to have taken a side seat to an event of such importance as this one. I am just an observer, a fly on the wall, watching and taking it all in, and being changed deeply in the process. In retrospect I spent most of my time trying desperately to get out of the way, to be as small and flat as possible, to avoid interfering or being noticed, in the grand hullabaloo and craziness of it all, and to come out with a few decent photos on the other side. In the end I have 80 GB of video, a few scrapes and cuts, one bloody little toe, a couple pieces of gear that I won’t be finding anytime soon as well as most of my stuff having a heavy coating of dust and grime on every possible surface. But my heart is crying out in happiness, many moments I felt like I could fly, quickly followed by jarring reality - and the steep learning curve being in close proximity to Karmapa can bring. I will carry Karmapa’s example with me for the rest of my life - I have seen the incredible magnitude of what a real bodhisattva is capable of and how far myself I have left to go. Lessons learned, moments savored, body beaten, heart opened, notches added to the belt of life, memories created, a journey of a million lifetimes - completed
I have completely been cut off from the world, and these four days were so packed, so dense, so much happening in so many different places that I cannot show it all or give you every location in detail never mind trying to catch up without one feel swoop of photos and thoughts at once. I only hope to be able to show you a glimpse, a slice, a mere morsel of what went on, as to omit or skip something would be such a grave injustice as each place was so very special. I have included as few photos as I could to show it all - it seems very interesting that after all my cutting and editing, trimming what I could, I am left with a collection of exactly 108 photos. These 108 moments are included to show you as best I can the incredible activity of Karmapa - the deep appreciation and respect all of Ladakh has for him and he for them. Every welcome ceremony is different, each mandala offering was performed in its own way and deserves its own mention at the very least. Some were in great halls brightly lit and full, many were in small shrine rooms and even at the entrance to cave openings, many times very few people were allowed in, one evening we entered a gonpa with no power at all and performed the mandala offering by flashlight and the help of some cell phone torches. I cannot be the one to choose what gets seen and what doesn’t, so in the end I leave it up to you to - I hope that you take the time to see it all if you wish. They say that a photographer is merely showing what has happened, letting the story of that precise moment speak for itself, more of a storyteller than an artist - I like this description. I consider myself extremely lucky and so blessed to have been asked to cover this event, to be involved and to have taken a side seat to an event of such importance as this one. I am just an observer, a fly on the wall, watching and taking it all in, and being changed deeply in the process. In retrospect I spent most of my time trying desperately to get out of the way, to be as small and flat as possible, to avoid interfering or being noticed, in the grand hullabaloo and craziness of it all, and to come out with a few decent photos on the other side. In the end I have 80 GB of video, a few scrapes and cuts, one bloody little toe, a couple pieces of gear that I won’t be finding anytime soon as well as most of my stuff having a heavy coating of dust and grime on every possible surface. But my heart is crying out in happiness, many moments I felt like I could fly, quickly followed by jarring reality - and the steep learning curve being in close proximity to Karmapa can bring. I will carry Karmapa’s example with me for the rest of my life - I have seen the incredible magnitude of what a real bodhisattva is capable of and how far myself I have left to go. Lessons learned, moments savored, body beaten, heart opened, notches added to the belt of life, memories created, a journey of a million lifetimes - completed
