Lama of Chonggu Si monastery, 2001

Lama of Chonggu Si monastery, originally uploaded by mutikonka.

Here's what Joseph Rock wrote about the Chonggu Gompa during his visit in 1928:

I was led over a steep stairway to the left into a fairly good room - for that part of the world. It was the best the monastery could afford and was evidently the quarters of a living Buddha. The ceilings and walls were painted, and at the head of the room was a throne and bed, above which hung some Tibetan scrolls representing Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow sect."
To my left a door led into a tiny private chapel, wherein reposed the tutelary demon of Buddha. From below juniper incense seeped through my glassless and paperless window and through every crevice in the floor.