A Hundred and Eight Stupas

The wall of Erdene Zuu is its own argument: one hundred and eight stupas, whitewashed, evenly spaced, running their perfect perimeter against the grass sea. One hundred and eight being the sacred count, of beads and of sins, depending which monk you ask.

I walked the outside of it in the morning light and counted, because a researcher is a condition, not a choice. I got one hundred and seven, walked it again, got one hundred and nine, and accepted the average with professional humility.

From a distance the wall reads as a white stitch across the steppe, holding the sacred precinct onto the land. Given what happened to every other structure this valley has held, the stitching has done remarkable work.