The Tibetan Plateau Spans nearly a million square miles. Covered in high grassland and surrounded by looming mountains, it is known as the water tower of Asia because some of the most important sources of water trace their origins to Tibet. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the two longest rivers in China, and the third and sixth-longest in the world, respectively, originate from the Tibetan Plateau. It is a land where the ancient nomadic ways of life never died. To this day nomadic people constitute about 40% of the total population of Tibet. Living on the grasslands, they survive as herders, ever roaming from place to place.

It is a land with one of the highest mountains on earth, including Mount Everest at the border, the region has an average elevation of 14,000 ft it is the highest region on Earth. It is no wonder such a strong sense of spirituality has taken root there as even the land itself seems to grasp at the heavens.

Though there is a practiced local religion, known as Bon, Tibet is most strongly associated with Buddhism. A religion that originated in India and over the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries spread like wildfire across Asia, it is now one of the major religions of the world, with roughly 500 million followers. Buddhists believe that existence is a cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth and it is only through spiritual enlightenment that one can break themselves free of this cycle.

At the time China was by far the strongest political force in Asia and, like in the Roman Empire, their hegemony led to expansive road systems and trade routes that allowed for relatively safe travel across long distances. These ‘silk roads,’ facilitated the movement of goods and people… but also of ideas. Buddhist teachings spread across them like wildfire. Traveling from India all the way to Korea, Japan, the Philippines over the next few centuries.

Buddhist texts were first introduced to the Tibetan plateau, from India, around 600 CE. Tibet, while geographically right next to the birthplace of Buddhism, had the Himalayas to isolate it from the Ganges valley, known as the heartland of Buddhism. Imagine climbing those narrow winding roads, with a pack animal and trade goods, and most importantly to history — Buddhist texts.

Though Buddhism’s influence in Tibet waxed and waned, over time the religion took root and flourished, eventually evolving into its own belief system, differing from the Indian version that gave birth to it. Though Tibet is a relatively small and isolated region, their version of Buddhism has had a large influence at many different points in history. When the Mongols conquered China and formed the Yuan dynasty, Tibetan Buddhism was made the de facto state religion of China.

The Tibetan term for their own religion translates directly to ‘the dharma of the insiders.’ The insiders refer to us. Unlike most world religions, such as Christianity or Islam, which focus on the source of truth being distant and cosmic, Tibetan Buddhism’s core principle is that the source of truth is found in ourselves. According to Tibetan tradition, the Buddha identified two core mental qualities that come with meditation practice: serenity, and insight. It is through meditation, or ‘mental development,’ that one can organize the chaos in their head and cultivate a calm and luminous mind.

Our collection of traditional Tibetan music, with understated rhythm, and subtle accents of percussion, vocals, and chimes can help you find the peaceful emptiness of mind that is necessary for mediation. It is music that is meant to ooze into your subconscious rather than to engage your active mind. Music that reflects the very principles of meditation, tranquility, and insight. Music from the highest place on Earth, songs that touch the heavens.