After She Married into the Snow Mountains

The snow mountains stand in silence. The waters of Jipo Tso are clear, and prayer flags move in the wind. Six winters ago, she married into a family here.

At Jipo Tso, we met དཔལ་འབྱོར Yongzang. What follows is her story, in her own words.

I am twenty-seven years old. I came into this family in winter. I still remember the first time I arrived. The mountains were so white with snow that they almost hurt my eyes, rising right in front of me. Nearly six years have passed. Now I am the mother of three children.

When spring comes, the snow slowly melts and color returns to the land. After living here for a while, you begin to live with the seasons too. This family has watched over this sacred mountain and lake for generations. When I first arrived, the elders told me that the mountain is a sacred dwelling, and that the waters of the lake must never be polluted.

What they taught me, I now teach my children. Do not throw anything into the lake. Do not dirty the water. Anyone who comes here should respect the mountain and the lake. These are simple things, but this is how people here have always lived.

All these years, the water has remained clear. When people come here thirsty, they can bend down, cup the water in their hands, and drink.

To us, the sacred mountain and lake have never been something distant. We open the door and see the mountain; we walk to the shore and see the water. They are part of our everyday lives—like the elders in the family, like relatives who have always been beside us.

The elders taught me to care for this lake. Now that I have children of my own, I have begun telling them the same things. My children are growing up running between the mountains and the lake.

This is our home.