Talking to Buddha by engraving

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-17 17:46

The daily work schedule for these engravers depends on the sun -- from the day break to the time when "it is too dark to see anything." Then the engravers return to rest at "home," a line of wooden bungalows at the foot of the hill.

Over the past 14 years, the houses have seen different residents. As the construction of the pagoda is coming to the end, only nine engravers still work here.

Zhoigar is one of them.

It is not difficult to tell her from the other engravers because as shy as she is, the 26-year-old woman loves to sing Tibetan songs during work and her beautiful voice penetrating the "bing-bang" noises of stone-engraving has become a great joy to her work mates.

Like the other engravers who participated in the pagoda project, Zhoigar is not a Lhasa native, but from a farming family at Rinbung County of Xigaze.

She started her days in Lhasa as a waitress at a Tibetan restaurant, but in Zhoigar's eyes, the "dazzling, colorful life" at the prosperous plateau city is not comparable to the peaceful happiness she has found in engraving.

"I know many of the people at my age long for a modern bustling city life, but I prefer this simple and peaceful life as an engraver," said Zhoigar.

"My families are also very supportive to my decision as our Tibetans are loyal Buddhists. Engraving sutras on stones is a better way to be close to Buddha," she said.

To practice her utmost piety to Buddha, Zhoigar is not willing to have her engraving life interrupted. She has only returned home to see her family four times since she joined the engraver team in the winter in 2000.

Another reason for Zhoigar to learn stone-engraving is because her husband now, Gongbo Chagxi, a young stone crafter from the Tibetan Autonomous prefecture of Yushu in the neighboring Qinghai Province, also worked here.

"He asked me to leave the restaurant to work here. He is also my first teacher of engraving," said Zhoigar, pointing at a young man sitting nearby. "Because of him, I can have such a good life now."

However, the beginning is always difficult.

As Zhoigar could not read, she just copied what she saw on the sutra book onto the stone.

"The characters were no more than some magic patterns to me at that time," recalled Zhoigar. "It also happened a lot that I had my fingers injured by the engraving tools, but the worst was that I wasted a lot of stone plates because of my mistakes, which made me cry a lot."

The tears are paid back after eight years of practicing. Zhoigar now can finish the engraving of an average of 20 stone slates every day at a speed of one Tibetan character in less than one second. She has also become a teacher for the newcomers.

"The more sutras I have engraved into the stones, the more Buddhism teachings I have engraved in my mind, which is far more important than how much money I have earned," said Zhoigar.

As the years of hard work to be paid back with the pagoda to be completed, emptiness comes to Zhoigar along with pride.

She planned to stay in Lhasa with her husband to look for other engraving businesses after the pagoda is built in June.

"It's a mixed feeling to have to say bye to here. The growth of the pagoda saw the growth of my understanding of life. Good deeds will be paid back with even better things," she said.

The birth of her daughter Gesang Como in 2003, is regarded by Zhoigar as a prize from Buddha to her piety. The little girl, who has spent most time of her at the workshop, listening to the music of chiseling, is old enough to go to the kindergarten.

However, Zhoigar has no plan to pass her craft to her daughter.

"I hope she is able to go to college and become a doctor in the future instead of being a stone engraver, because it's a too tiring job," said Zhoigar. "But if she wants to learn the craft, I will also be supportive."

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