Burpees around the temple

 The old part of Lhasa, Tibet's capital, is truly beautiful.

Quickly I learn that walking the kora is a daily ritual. When you walk the kora, you walk around a sacred place. In the old city of Lhasa, the Jokhang Temple is the place where Tibetans walk their kora. Every morning and afternoon when I have time, I go to the temple to enjoy the busy streets and see the devoted people. Sometimes I walk the kora myself. Not everyone walks however. There are also people and even children who prostrate, as a submission to their religion. When prostrating, they throw themselves on the ground and, while kneeling, get up again to repeat this heavy movement. You should know that the kora around the Jokhang Temple is about 1.5 kilometers.

You must know that the kora arounf the Jokhang Temple is about 1,5 kilometers.

After a few days I still find it uncomfortable to see people prostrating. I am so impressed by this devotion to a religion that I feel that I am leading a superficial life in the prosperous Netherlands, while the Tibetan habitat here is being reduced by the week by the Chinese. I just can't see myself doing burpees around a temple twice a day.

Later I talk to someone about my discomfort and my seeminly superficial life, as it still bothers me. It led me to the following insight. We in the West are also devoted. Perhaps less and less to a religion, but what about devotion to everything that prosperity brings us? Standing in line for hours for the latest iPhone, Limited Edition Sneaker, tickets for your favorite artist. Devotion for the coolest coffee bars, vegan pop-up restaurants, the latest fashion?

They don't know any better, but neither do we. Sometimes we are more alike than we think.