In Tibet, I sat by the roadside with a High Lama

Zamerchen Nunnery is a place thick with tales of the flying lamas of old Tibet. As we approach, a white car stops and Lama Kunsung Dhundup slides from the passenger seat. After adjusting his robe, he draws a long breath, and asks me to 'sit with him’ by the side of the road. ‘Hundreds of years ago, the Lamas at this monastery flew to ceremonies,’ the venerated Lama tells me, his eyes flickering between attention and reflection. ‘Modern Lamas have lost those powers of great concentration,’ he continues, with an air of humility. Later, I accompanied him to the Nunnery, where a crowd of nuns fell at his feet to be blessed.

This moment revealed Tibet in all its confusing wonder–a Lama who had spent 10 years in solitary meditation in a cave in the hills, now being chauffeured around in a Lexus.

Lama Kunsung Dhundup adjusts his robe

Zamerchen Nunnery, Nangchen County, Tibet