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The fire breaks out at the historic Jokhang temple, more than 1.300 years of history, located in the center of Lhasa, It seems that it has not affected the main chapel
AGENCIES/ FERNANDO PASTRANO
@abcviajar
20/02/2018
This file photo taken on 10 September 2016 shows Chinese tourists on the roof
of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa – AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE
Jokhang Temple, located in the center of Lhasa and considered one of the most sacred in Tibetan Buddhism, has resumed its usual activity after the fire suffered on Saturday, that caused no victims, according to the official Chinese agency Xinhua.
Barkhor Street, that surrounds the site and is visited every day by hundreds of pilgrims, was reopened on Sunday, according to state media, which indicated that hardly any remains of the fire could be seen, except for marks left by water in the main hall of the temple.
A photo of the fire taken by a witness shows the main roof of the Jokhang engulfed in flames, Therefore, there is fear that the damage is more serious than what has been revealed through the scarce information from the communist regime's media..
Information about Tibet, region whose access is practically prohibited to the foreign press, is heavily censored, and the origin of the fire has not yet been determined..
The temple has closed its doors from this Monday until Thursday 22 February, something that according to those responsible was already planned before the incident and is due to the festivities for the Tibetan New Year.
Jokhang Temple, more than 1.300 years of history and where a community of monks lives, It is one of the most revered in Tibetan Buddhism and receives thousands of pilgrims every day..
Según Xinhua, Many Tibetan pilgrims cried with relief upon learning that the temple's most precious image, one that portrays Sakyamuni Buddha when he was 12 years, had not been damaged by the fire, which was declared around 18:40 Saturday local time (10:40 GMT) and was turned off shortly after.
This is the Jokhang temple
Jokhang Monastery (House of God in Tibetan), was built in the s. VII, It is located in the old center of Lhasa (Barkhor neighborhood), and it is the «gompa» (monastery-convent-university) most revered in Tibet. To try to understand it, some westerners call it «Lhasa Cathedral».
Its proportions are not as majestic as those of the Potala, but religiosity, the fervor of the thousands of pilgrims who visit it every day, It is something that gives it a very special character..
inside, in a barely lit chapel, with a sticky and slippery floor due to the drips released by the ghee lamps (yak milk butter), the image of Jowo Sakyamuni is venerated, an enigmatic Buddha brought fourteen centuries ago by a Chinese princess forced to marry a Tibetan king for reasons of state.
Being able to contemplate the statue is something like hugging the Saint Compostela or walking around the Kaaba. The pilgrims form a long line whose origin is impossible to guess.. Their whispers mix with the monotonous chants of the lamas and the sound of feet dragging on the floor of worn and shiny flagstones..
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