by Jonathan Bell, August 17, 2002

Contents of this report

• Conservation team meets the monastery's leader and receives his blessing.
• Focus on the Protector Temple, the site's oldest building

So far, our visits to Dhe-tsang Monastery have been assisted by the Dhe-tsang Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports many excellent charity programs in the region. The organization's work is inspired by His Eminence, the 7th Khejok Rinpoche, a Buddhist teacher and leader whose traditional home is Dhe-tsang.

While it was great to have the Foundation's cooperation, none of us had ever met the Rinpoche himself, and it would be his opinion that would guide the attitude of the monks toward our work. The extent to which the lama fully understood the scope of the work or its value was unknown and, I thought, would remain that way, as the program budget didn't permit any sojourns to Australia, where Khejok Rinpoche now resides.

My first visit to the monastery took place in August 2001, and was a whirlwind visit. Three days is hardly enough time to begin to understand and explore a monastery the size of Dhe-Tsang. However, I was able to assess the site for the possibility of a future long-term project. Given the lamasery’s unique architectural and artistic wealth and the distinct need for a master preservation plan as more and more buildings are constructed and/or renovated, both the need for a conservation project and its potential scope were overwhelming. This could be a huge and richly rewarding project.

One building in particular attracted more attention both from the monks and from my team the Protector Temple. The significance placed upon it by the monks is indeed warranted. Claimed to be one of the original 4 structures erected on the monastery grounds in 1414, the first floor of the building is replete with refined wall paintings presenting a compendium of Tibetan Buddhist iconography. Carbon-14 dating of two plaster samples revealed that the paintings in the main hall dated from about 350 to 400 years in age, suggesting that the temple may be younger than claimed by the monks and certainly demanding further investigation.

Knowing this, I put together a team of wall painting conservators, architectural conservators and a few other conservation-related specialists to head out to the site and begin a thorough documentation and conditions assessment of the Protector Temple and other buildings. Upon arriving in Ma’erkang, an important political and trade hub on the way to Dhe-Tsang, I was informed that Khejok Rinpoche was staying in the same hotel, on his way to the monastery the following day. This was surely an auspicious coincidence! I, along with Wu Bangfu and Vivian Qiu, two logistics directors for my team, sought an audience with the Rinpoche that same night.

The Rinpoche of Dhe-Tsang Monastery is a sight to behold. Swathed in the monastic robes of his position, bespectacled, and smiling, the sixty-something gentleman exudes warmth. Though not the first Rinpoche I had met, he impressed me unlike any other for he also was quite a jovial fellow, with a ready sense of humor. We spoke at first through his secretary and interpreter, but then in English.

After his expression of gratitude for our help and my own thanks for the opportunity Dhe-Tsang was offering us, we began to chat about other matters. In broken English, he spoke of his just-completed trip to Lhasa and the walk around Mt. Kailash, explaining the difficulty of the trek by pointing at his crossed legs and exclaiming, "These legs no good!" After a bit more conversation and requesting that the whole team have the opportunity to have an audience with him upon our arrival at the monastery, we parted.

When next I saw the Rinpoche, I brought the entire team to enjoy a formal audience in his very comfortable residence within the monastery. He graciously welcomed us to Dhe-Tsang and thanked us for our efforts so far. After further chatting and blessing each and every one of us, the Rinpoche mentioned that he would come to see us at work in the temple, which I found surprising but encouraging.

Later that day, we were indeed graced with his presence at the temple….twice! It became clear that the entire monastery not only welcomed us sincerely, but placed a great importance on our work. The Rinpoche himself demonstrated both great interest in our efforts and a learned understanding of our goals and approaches. The fact that his second visit to the temple was in direct response to a question regarding the identification of one of the central figures painted on the wall made it clear to me that our project was welcomed by the Rinpoche himself and, therefore, supported by the entire monastic community.

Anyone experienced in conservation fieldwork, particularly in developing countries and regions, knows that local support for the project is vital to its success. Such an enthusiastic welcome from Dhe-tsang's highest spiritual authority bodes well for the preservation of the monastery's rich cultural heritage.