It was a dream come true to experience winter in the Himalayas of Tibet at 14,000 feet. I’d gone to Tibet to yak herd with Tibetan nomads — but first I had a special mission to carry out.
Before moving into a very basic shack with Tibetan nomads to learn how to herd yaks and practice nomadic Tibetan dialect, I visited as many sacred sites as I could around Tibet to carry out my mission.
My mission was to scatter my beloved chihuahua’s ashes at Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, nunneries, stupas, and sacred landscapes around Tibet after his traditional Buddhist funeral in China.
It was truly the perfect end to his spectacular life, considering that he once enjoyed a private audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
In my coming China / Tibet memoir, I discuss this grand Tibetan adventure — and misadventure, as I got very sick when at 14,000 feet.
Now my blessed chihuahua is one with the occupied soil of Tibet — and many Tibetan Buddhist friends think it’s not a coincidence that he had a private audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Harvard and then his remains years later ended up scattered all around Tibet’s most holy sites. So amazing.
