By Dan Kendall

The smell of coal smoke hangs lightly in the air, and my feet crunch in the cold snow. Wishing I had worn another layer, I roll up the collar of my light winter coat to cover my neck. The streets are deserted and although it is black with darkness, snowflakes can be seen falling in the light of the street lamps. It is new year’s morning in Beijing, China. Chinese New Year falls on the first new moon of the lunar calendar, usually around the end of January or early February. I have been in China for about a month, living and traveling with Buddhist Master Dechan Jueren.

As we arrive at the back of the Yong He Gong Lamasery (Palace of Harmony or Beijing Lama Temple), the large green gates swing wide and we are graciously invited to enter by a tall young lama with bright red and yellow robes. His giant ridged yellow hat gives him the illusion of being eight feet tall, but maybe I am only sensing the stature of his spirit. We are welcomed with a smile, the master is well known here, and led into a beautiful courtyard surrounded by tall red buildings. Each building is built on giant red columns, has a sloping roof turned up at the corners, and is decorated with beautiful ornate colors. Yong He Gong used to be an imperial palace and was the birth place of the renowned Qing emperor Qian Long, also a living Buddha, who transformed it into a Lamasery around 1744. We stand for a moment in front of the Panchan Pavillion, which was built for the sixth Panchan lama. Above the door is a plaque in Mongolian, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese surrounded by dragons. Inside is the Bampa, a solid gold urn used to identify Living Buddhas by drawing ivory ballots, its twin sits in a temple in Tibet. In the quiet pre-dawn darkness, I can now hear soft chanting. As we approach the hall of eternal happiness, bright candlelight can be seen through a haze of incense smoke.