Bhutan-3 Buddhist Culture

The Go Learn travel program always has an educational component. This trip focused on both Bhutan’s distinctive culture, and on health care in a unique developing country. Jeff, our tour leader, is a physician and a Professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and has studied Global Health, particularly in resource-limited settings. We visited the Institute of Traditional Medicine, where we learned about how Bhutanese doctors utilize both traditional and allopathic (modern) medicine. The Institute of Traditional Medicine had a fascinating museum, but no photos allowed (☹️). We then visited the Main Hospital and met with the head of the Health Ministry, who was very impressive. Jeff, our tour leader, made important connections with the leaders in Bhutan’s medical establishment to develop mutually beneficial training opportunities. Not great photo opportunities. 

Jeff and Elizabeth, our Tour Leaders from Go Learn. 

 

We also visited the Royal Society for Protection of Nature, where we learned about their efforts to protect the severely endangered Black-necked cranes. (More about Black-necked cranes in a later post.) 

Bhutan is an unusual country, still a developing one, but one that provides free education and free health care to all of its citizens. 

The main things we saw on this trip were Buddhist shrines, temples, and monasteries. We had two local guides, Karma (great name!) and Namgay. The interiors of the shrines were spectacular, but photos were not permitted ☹️. Karma and Namgay explained what the different statues represent, typically the three Buddhas, past, present, and future. They told us stories of the Buddhas, and explained what the hand gestures represented. Really amazing!

Karma and Namgay, our local Bhutanese guides. 

Bhutan’s topography is extremely rugged and mountainous, with steep, high peaks, deep river valleys carved by fast-flowing rivers, and rapid elevation changes. Historically, people traveled on foot, and at strategic locations, suspension bridges were built to cross canyons. On our first day in Bhutan, we drove from the airport in Paro to our first hotel in the capital Thimphu. Along the way, we stopped to visit Tachog Lhakhang, where there is a traditional bridge made using ancient iron chains. This bridge was built in the 14th century (!!!) by the saint Thangtong Gyalpo. 

The 14th century iron chain bridge was closed to crossing, but there was an adjacent, somewhat more modern pedestrian bridge that used to cross the river. The bridge was strewn with Prayer Flags. 

On the other side of the river, we came across our first Chorten (also known as a Stupa), a Buddhist shrine, often containing religious relics. It is typical to walk clockwise around a Buddhist shrine, not counterclockwise, as it is a sign of respect and symbolizes following the right path. This is called circumambulation. 

This Chorten had prayer wheels, which can be rotated in a clockwise direction.

Up the hill was a cave filled with these small painted cone-shaped objects. These “tiny bells” are Tsa Tsas, which are miniature stupas or chortens used as sacred objects and devotional offerings in Bhutanese Buddhism. They are typically made from clay or plaster, sometimes mixed with the ashes of the deceased as a memorial.

There are many Tsa Tsas behind the prayer wheels in the Chorten.

In Thimphu, we visited Tashichho Dzong. A Dzong is a fortress-monastery in Bhutan that serves as both an administrative center and a monastic institution, with functions ranging from religious to military and civil purposes. Many of the Dzong fortresses were constructed in the 17th century to defend against Tibetan invasions. This Dzong houses both a Buddhist monastery and government offices. (Not a lot of separation between church and state…) 

There were a lot of monks at the monastery.

We walked through passageways where photography was permitted. These are images
wrathful deities, enlightened beings, and spiritual teachers.

I went to the National Memorial Chorten on an exercise walk from my hotel. I circumambulated the Chorten eight times, clockwise, of course. (Our guide Namgay told me eight times, as eight is a magical number.)

We walked around Thimphu and discovered the Walking Buddha Statue in Coronation Park. The Walking Buddha Statue was a gift from Thailand. The statue is 45 feet tall. 

They were erecting bleachers for an upcoming festival in Thimpu, which I discovered was the Global Peace Prayer Festival. I got an interesting picture of the Kalachakra deity at the entrance gate. 

We visited the Great Buddha Dordenma, a gigantic statue in the mountains of Bhutan. The statue is made of bronze and gilded with gold, and stands 177 feet tall. The statue houses over one hundred thousand smaller Buddha statues, each of which, like the Great Buddha Dordenma itself, is made of bronze and gilded in gold. No photos inside ☹️. It is considered a symbol of peace, happiness, and prosperity, and is believed to bring about spiritual well-being and inner peace for those who visit. 

It was surrounded by a plaza with other statues, and there was a festival in progress on the grounds.

There were a lot of monks waiting.

We then had a long drive to Punakha, which is the capital of Bhutan and was the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. Along the way, we stopped at Dochula mountain pass, at an elevation of 10,177 feet. We got there at dusk, and the photography was excellent. A great view of the distant mountains and the rising moon.

At the pass, there is the Druk Wangyal monastery.

More impressive at the Dochula Pass are the Druk Wangyal Khang Zhang Chortens. There are 108 Chortens, and 108 is also a magic number in Buddhism. 

You can see the moon rising in this shot. 

Throughout Bhutan, there were Entry Gates, and this one at the Dochula was most impressive as the sun was setting.

Here are pictures of other entry gates, one in Thimphu, one at the Great Buddha Dordenma, and one in the mountains near Wangdue. 

Earlier, I mentioned a suspension bridge strewn with Prayer Flags. There are multiple types of prayer flags. The most common type is Lungdhar flags, which are colorful squares strung together. This Chortten is strewn with Lungdhar flags.

At this mountain pass, we can see two sets of red Manidhar flags on the hillside above the Chorten. Manidhar flags that are erected in honor of a deceased person. There are Buddhist blessings from hoisting 108 Manidhar flags.  Again, the magic number, 108. 

White Manidhar flags are more common. Bhutan is quite windy, and this video shows how impressive Manidhar flags are in the wind. 

On another mountain pass, I got I nice picture of the sun setting behind the mountain. 

The next day, we visited the Punakha Dzong, dubbed as the “Palace of the Great Happiness,” which is the most intricately decorated castle in the kingdom, and was once the winter palace of the Bhutanese rulers. Once again, no photos inside the temple ☹️.

We crossed a wooden bridge to get to Punakha Dzong.

The Ficus religiosa, or sacred fig tree, in the courtyard of the Punakha Dzong made for a good picture.

We next visited the Chimi Lhakhang temple, devoted to the 15th-century saint Drukpa Kunley, known as “Divine madman,” who allegedly taught Buddhism by singing, drinking, and, most significantly, his incredible sexual exploits with his “magic thunderbolt of wisdom.” A visit to the temple is believed to boost fertility, attracting childless couples from all over Bhutan and foreign countries seeking blessings to beget children. The temple was full of phalli (plural of phallus), of various sizes. Disappointingly, no photos inside the temple (☹️). The temple guides wanted to show us the notebook with testimonial evidences of previously barren couples who successfully procreated after a temple visit. Color me skeptical.

Bhutan is obsessed with phalli. The buildings around the temple are decorated with phallic symbols, in acknowledgement of the “Saint’s” prowess. There were also many small stores selling objet d’art. 

Lana said she had chosen her gift for her upcoming birthday. 

Phallic images are not limited to the environs of the the Chimi Lhakhang temple. This was a sign, possibly for a yoga studio, that I saw on our first day in the capital, Thimphu, and then a gift shop in Wangdue. 

I mentioned the movie The Monk and the Gun in a previous post. In a very funny scene, a confused American is presented with a ten-foot phallus.

I woke early on our first morning in Jakar and went for a walk. I got good pictures, including one of a nearby Chorten.

We then went to the Jakar’s annual Tshechu festival. A Tshechu is a vibrant, multi-day religious festival in Bhutan featuring masked “Cham” dances, religious rituals, and community gatherings. These festivals celebrate events from the life of the 8th-century master Padmasambhava and take place in the courtyards of Dzongs.

Women danced traditional dances. 

The costumes for the men’s Cham dances were very interesting. 

They went around and threw first rice and then yak cheese on the audience, who really did not like this. 

In that last video, you saw someone playing a Tibetan Horn or Dungchen, about nine feet long. On one of our long drives, we stopped at a place that sold souvenirs (and had restrooms!). They wove fabrics with wool from yak hair, and sold impressive stuff.

A woman described the traditional methods they used to dye the wool into many colors, often as a multistep process. I was impressed! 

They also had Dungchens for sale, and one of the natives attempted to play it, not very well, IMHO. In a previous blog post, I described how I used to play the trumpet, and how I took my trumpet to Dodger baseball games. So I picked up the Dungchen and blew the horn. Fortunately, my performance was recorded for posterity. 

In addition to the dancing at Jakar’s Tshechu festival, there was a vibrant marketplace. This is a rural village that has small shops with limited merchandise, supporting a large surrounding area of farms. This five-day festival takes place once a year, and merchants bring truckloads of merchandise to sell. For the locals, it provides a unique shopping opportunity. It reminded me of the hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria, where we saw the same merchants selling hardware, clothing, produce, or kitchen items from their trucks at the different towns. I also got wonderful people pictures, which I will put into a later post. 

The following day, we drove to the Gangtey Monastery, arriving late in the day, where the light was wonderful for photography. As we drove up, I  took a picture from the bus of what seemed to me a most incongruous sign: I ❤️ Gangtey. 

The detailed painted carvings on the buildings were impressive. 

We went into an inner chamber, where the head monk talked to us about meditation, and then led us in a meditation session. I asked, and he said yes, I could take pictures in this room. I was surprised because we had taken off our shoes; we had to remove our shoes every time we entered a shrine where photos were prohibited. 

On our last night in Bhutan, we were in Paro, a major city where the airport is located. Go Learn took us to a Farmhouse / B and B for our “Farewell Dinner.” It was by far the best meal we had in Bhutan! Before the dinner, they started a bonfire outside and had dancers to entertain us. These dancers were excellent, or at least much better than the villagers at the Jakar Tshechu festival. I really liked the music. I have used Google to try to learn more: The center musician is playing a Yangqin, a type of zither, and the one on the right is playing a Dranyen, a Himalayan folk music lute. 

Here are some videos, 

This video shows a Yak dancing; this looks quite difficult to me!

That is all for this post! Bhutan was fabulous! There will be several more posts, including Animals, Hikes to Monasteries, and Pictures of People.