Two things that strike
travellers the most about Tibet are perhaps the very strong sunlight and very
thin air on the plateau, and the smiling-nature of Tibetan people. While the
former one has its own scientific explanation, the latter is a transparent reflection
of the hearts of the pious Tibetans that harbours no hidden intentions. It is
indeed interesting to look into the root of it.
A popular myth on the
origins of Tibetan people tells us that they are the descendants of Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa, the
compassionate monkey-father, who is believed to be the incarnation of
the Bodhisattva of compassion. So Tibetans are believed
to be inherited with compassionate and warm-hearted nature. No wonder many of
the early Western explorers described Tibetans as a race of ever-smiling and
kind-hearted people.
Tibetans are perhaps a
race where the spirituality has the greatest influence on their way of life or
the culture. Buddhism had a profound impact over the thinking and the lifestyle
of Tibetan people since it initially flourished on the roof of the world in
seventh century. Buddhism today is interpreted as “a science of the mind” with
very vast content by many of the contemporary scholars, but for ordinary
Tibetans, the most important theme of their ancient religion is to be kind to
other and refraining from doing evil things. So smiling is the simplest practice
of it where the gesture brings joy to others, and at the same time keeps oneself
in a pleasant mood.
While Tibetans are
generally kind to each other amongst themselves, they are especially more
benevolent towards people from outside. It has been the tradition of Tibetans
for centuries to receive pilgrims warm-heartedly, and provide them food and
shelter generously but expecting nothing in return. The broader implication of
this today is the friendly attitude of Tibetans towards travellers from various
parts of the world.
If there is one simple
thing that every traveller can learn from Tibetans that will spread joys when
they go back to their respective countries—it’s “Tibetan smile”.
Smile it like Tibetans and it is the ultimate goal of Explore Tibet to give you an authentic Tibetan Experiences.
