Kora (pilgrimage)

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Element in Tibetan Buddhism

title: "Kora (pilgrimage)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["buddhist-pilgrimages", "tibetan-buddhist-meditation", "bon"] description: "Element in Tibetan Buddhism" topic_path: "science/chemistry" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kora_(pilgrimage)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Element in Tibetan Buddhism ::

| align = right | direction = vertical | width = 220 | image1 = 20110725 Kora pilgrimage Bodhnath stupa Kathmandu Nepal.jpg | caption1 = Kora at Boudhanath stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal. One woman is spinning prayer wheels and both are holding/counting malas. | image2 = Kawa Karpo Kora Pilgrims 2009-10.jpg | caption2 = Pilgrims on the Kawa Karpo Kora circuit, an arduous 240 km (150 mi) 12-stage trek across six high passes of up to 4,800 meters (15,800 feet) | image3 = Kailash Kora Pilgrim - Full Prostration 2006-06.jpg | caption3 = A pilgrim circumambulating Mt. Kailash by performing full body prostrations | image4 = Tashilhunpo Monastery - Shigatse Kora Circuit 2010-06.jpg | caption4 = Kora circuit around Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse, Tibet NOTOC Kora (, THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription: kor ra) is a transliteration of a Tibetan word that means "circumambulation" or "revolution". Kora is both a type of pilgrimage and a type of meditative practice in the Tibetan Buddhist or Bon traditions. A Kora is performed by the practitioner making a circumambulation around a sacred site or object, typically as a constituent part of a pilgrimage, ceremony, celebration or ritual. In broader terms, it is a term that is often used to refer to the entire pilgrimage experience in the Tibetan regions.

Classification and foci

For "pilgrimage", Tibetans generally use the term nékor (), "circling around an abode" (, THL: né), referring to the general practice of circumambulation as a way of relating to such places. In the context of kora, the né or néchen () is rendered as "empowered", "sacred" or "holy" place/object, and the né is credited with the ability to transform those that circumambulate it. Aspects of both the natural and the man-made world are also considered to be the né of a wide variety of nonhuman beings such as iṣṭadevatās or ḍākinīs.

Né generally fall into the following four types:

  • Natural sites. The most momentous né are the great sacred mountains and lakes. They cover large areas, sometimes hundreds of square kilometers. Within these areas the points of power may include: peaks, rocks, caves, springs, confluences and sky-burial sites. Kora associated with these natural sites can be arduous treks of long distances, crossing a number of high passes and through difficult terrain. :In the Tibetan region, some traditional kora sites important to the region include: the sacred mountains of Mount Kailash (or Gang Rinpoche or Mt. Tise), Lapchi, Tsari and Kawa Karpo; Lake Manasarovar, Yamdrok and Namtso.

  • Man-made sites, including cities, monasteries, temples, stupas, hermitages, etc.

:For example, in Nepal, kora are commonly performed around Swayambhunath and Boudhanath, two important stupas in the Kathmandu Valley; in Tibet, around the Potala Palace or the Jokhang in Lhasa.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Boudhanath_20180111_GDK.jpg" caption="Boudhanath during evening Kora"] ::

  • Hidden lands (beyul): secret or hidden lands; paradisiacal realms located in the remotest parts of the Himalayas.
  • Holy person: a pilgrimage can be made to pay respects to a holy person, the holy person in such instances being considered a né.

The pilgrim is known as a né korwa "one who circles a né" (), thus defining them by the ritual circumambulation(s) they perform as part of their journey. Pilgrims seek to generate merit (see Merit (Buddhism) by performing koras, which are a major merit generator. The more potent the power place destination the greater the merit. A kora is performed by walking or repeatedly prostrating oneself. Prostration (e.g., versus walking), circumambulating repeatedly or an auspicious number of times all produce greater merit. Kora may also be performed while spinning prayer wheels, chanting mantra, or counting rosary beads. Buddhist pilgrims most typically emulate the path of the sun and circumambulate in a clockwise direction. Bön pilgrims traditionally circumambulate counterclockwise.

Notes

References

References

  1. (1983-05-16). "The sacred mountain: Travellers and pilgrims at Mount Kailas in western Tibet, and the great universal symbol of the sacred mountain".
  2. Snelling, John. (1990). The Sacred Mountain: The Complete Guide to Tibet's Mount Kailas. 1st edition 1983. Revised and enlarged edition, including: Kailas-Manasarovar Travellers' Guide. Forwards by H.H. the Dalai Lama of Tibet and Christmas Humphreys. East-West Publications, London and The Hague. {{ISBN. 978-0856921735
  3. Norbert C. Brockman. (2011). "Encyclopedia of Sacred Places". ABC-CLIO - 2nd Edition.
  4. Dowman, Keith. (1998). "The Sacred Life of Tibet".
  5. (2013). "Pilgrimage in Tibet".
  6. Huber, Toni. (1997). "Religions of Tibet in Practice".
  7. (2002). "Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland : An Encyclopedia, Τόμος 1". ABC-CLIO.
  8. Norbert C. Brockman. (2011). "Encyclopedia of Sacred Places". ABC-CLIO - 2nd Edition.
  9. (April 1, 2011). "Tibet". Lonely Planet.
  10. Jennifer Westwood. (2002). "On Pilgrimage: Sacred Journeys Around the World". Paulist Press.
  11. Baker, Ian. (2006). "The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise".
  12. Huber, Toni. (1999). "The Cult Of Pure Crystal Mountain : Popular Pilgrimage and Visionary Landscape in Southeast Tibet". Oxford University Press.
  13. "Lapchi". [[Rangjung Yeshe Wiki.
  14. "Tsari". [[Rangjung Yeshe Wiki.
  15. "Kailash, the White Mountain". [[Rangjung Yeshe Wiki.

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