Lama basketball players harbor hoop dreams

MAERKANG, Sichuan: Clad in a red cloak and bouncing a basketball, Chenang Doje heads to the court behind his monastery after his Buddhism studies.

He joins his fellow monks in copying the moves of their favorite NBA stars.

"I like Michael Jordan very much," Chenang Doje, a member of the Tsuame Monastery basketball team, said. "His flying slam dunks are gorgeous. Among the NBA players in service now, I like the (Denver) Nuggets' Allen Iverson."

At an altitude of 3,400 m, the Tsuame Monastery sits almost atop the Holy Tsuame Mountain in the Tibetan-inhabited Maerkang county, the seat of the Aba Tibetan-Qiang autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province. Even in this isolated area, basketball and the Olympic Games are favorite topics of discussion, besides Buddhism.

"Our monastery has a half court," Cewangtar, the deputy director of the monastery's administrative committee, said.

"We are going to build a full court this year."

He said a deputy head of the prefecture has agreed to donate two basketball stands.

Cewangtar, 39, is also a basketball fan. When he hears the name Yao Ming, the Chinese NBA star with the Houston Rockets, his eyebrows rise as if he had just heard the name of an old friend.

He said that among the 86 monks at the monastery, half liked playing basketball. Their team often plays the teams of government departments and businesses on weekends.

After the monks finish their Buddhism lessons some go to the court to play, while others sit and watch. As the players are all dressed in the same cloaks, they have to distinguish their teammates by their faces.

"We're so interested in sports, especially basketball. So we all hope the Olympics can be held in our country," Cewangtar said.

However, the monks have only three TV sets. Furthermore, according to monastery rules, they have to wait until weekends to watch sports TV programs, including NBA games. Cewangtar said during the Olympics, monks will be allowed to watch TV every day.

"I will watch basketball and track and field," Nyi'ma Doje said after sinking a three-point shot while playing a pick-up game with his fellow monks.

"I hope the Chinese team puts in a good performance, especially Yao Ming."

Cewangtar said: "Sports and Buddhism are connected. Sports can make people strong and healthy.

"Without a healthy body, one cannot practice Buddhism effectively."

Xinhua

(China Daily 04/22/2008 page6)