Lhamo La-tso, the Lake of Visions
In the mountains of Tibet, a small lake is said to show visions of the future. In 1935, a regent looked into it and saw where to find the next Dalai Lama.
What was reported
Lhamo La-tso is a small oval lake high in the mountains south-east of Lhasa. It's sacred to Palden Lhamo, a protector goddess, and Tibetans believe that those who pray there can see visions in its water.
When the 13th Dalai Lama died in 1933, the regent, Reting Rinpoche, went to the lake. He reported seeing three Tibetan letters, Ah, Ka and Ma, a monastery with a roof of jade and gold, and a house with turquoise tiles. The search party later found a two-year-old boy in a house that matched, in the Amdo region. He became the 14th Dalai Lama.
Explanations offered
The visions are a matter of faith. The search also used other signs, such as the direction the 13th Dalai Lama's body turned after death, and tests of the child. The lake remains a place of pilgrimage.
- When
- Visited for centuries; famously in 1935
- Where
- Gyaca, Shannan, Tibet, China
- Witnesses
- Tibetan lamas and pilgrims
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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