My name is Wayne and I created this page to help you find out a few things about my interests and what I sell. I've been interested in Tibet, its religion and culture for quite a few years now. Most people know a little about Tibet, possibly from movies like Seven Years in Tibet or Kundun. I will list some books and other movies if you would like to become more informed, so I'll keep the history lesson short. Basically, China invaded Tibet in the 1950's and "peacefully liberated" it by killing about 1 million people, around 1/6 of its population.

At the time of my writing this, I have just returned from a 3 month trip to Nepal and Tibet, with virtually all of July and August spent in Tibet at my teacher, Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche, monastery. I also spent 3 weeks total in Kathmandu. The time spent at the monastery was definitely a life-altering experience that I hope I never forget. There was nothing particularly striking that I can say it me right between the eyes but there were many continuous, repetitive, or singular things that happened that add up to something significant. Before I get too "wordy", the website of my teacher and ways to help the monastery and school is: katogcholing.com

To begin with, the monastery Katog Mardo Tashi Choling is not in the Tibetan Autonomous Region created by China which covers a much smaller area than what was historically Tibet or is predominantly ethnically Tibetan. It is located in the Golok area of what was Amdo province of Tibet, in the northeast corner of Tibet. It is now considered, by the Chinese, to be part of Sichuan and Qinghai provinces of China. Because of this, the area paradoxically seems to be a little more free and have more of Tibetan culture intact than in the T.A.R. At least on the surface. In Amdo it is OK to have pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and they are sold and displayed openly. In the T.A.R. a Tibetan will get arrested and beaten for having one. The Amdo area has had more Han Chinese living there for a much longer time than just since the Chinese invasion of Central Tibet and thus has had a longer history of the two peoples living together. Khentrul Rinpoche said that in the meetings he had with Chinese government officials about schools he was not afraid to tell them anything that he thought. This would not be allowed in the T.A.R. where the Tibetan people seem to be more subdued and beaten down and completely under Chinese control. Unfortunately, since before the Olympics in 2008, the political situation has gotten much worse for Tibetans in the provinces of China.

Speaking of schools, Rinpoche says that it is the worst now that he has ever seen. The Chinese are taking children from the nomads, farmers, and the monastery schools and putting them in Chinese boarding schools. If this continues, there will be no one to carry on these ways of life. Technically monastery schools are not allowed, but at present he is allowed to keep some students in the monastery school (for more information on the monastery see katogcholing.com). This summer there were about 28 kids in the school. Last summer there were almost 100. The smaller number is due to the Chinese going to the villages and taking the kids away to Chinese boarding schools. For about 5 weeks I helped teach English to the kids in the school and that was a very special experience. There are at least 4 of them that I wanted to take home with me. They were dirty, had no self-control, and their noses were continually running into their mouths but were really special kids and I really miss them. I may put some of their photos in my listings.

For about 2 weeks in August there were around 73 Americans at the monastery. The main reason for this was that the head of the Katog lineage of the Nyingma school, Katog Moktsa Rinpoche, had been invited to the monastery to give a long series of empowerments to Khentrul Rinpoche western students. Moktsa Rinpoche spent 5 or 6 days straight giving empowerments, and it was a real privilege to receive them.

I have been saying this for a long time, but I really do intend to get a website and my photographs will be available on it, as well as other things that eBay is not a good venue to sell them on. I took roughly 3,000 photos in my 8 weeks at the monastery and I honestly think I have enough good ones that a book project is possible. Since I haven done this before, it will take some doing if it is even possible. I thought that I would have to take at least 2 or 3 trips there to get enough photos for a book, but I've gotten so much encouragement from people who have seen some of them, that I think I have enough already.

I could write many more pages about my experiences, but I don't think many of you would be willing to read through them all. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me.

Besides this trip, I have been to Tibet 2 other times. In 2005 I did the pilgrimage around Mt. Kailas and Lake Manasarovar, and in 2004 I spent two weeks in Central Tibet. If you want to know any other information about these trips, also feel free to email me.