August 31, 2020
Day 21 of lockdown ends with 108 prostrations to our protecting deities, to my lamas and to my ancestors – to thank them for alerting us with the Gelephu woman case, which sent the country to a lockdown. Imagine if that had not happened. Despite all our tantrums and complacencies, it is my firm belief that our tutelary deities have not abandoned us.
Legend has it that deity Pelden Lhamo appeared in Zhadrung Ngawang Namgyel’s dream to wake him up from his sleep because his Tibetan rivals had gathered 200 ngagpas to conduct a massive sorcery rituals. Likewise I believe our deities woke us up from our laxity towards Covid 19 with the Gelephu case. As much as we are alarmed by the recent spikes in positive cases, it could also have been worse. We never know.
To all those who have been affected and hospitalised, Bhutanese and non-Bhutanese, I pray that you all recover soon. Compassion and solidarity are what we need, irrespective of our nationalities.
Besides the valuable lessons we are all learning from this crisis, I am still inclined to believe that in a broader perspective, years down the line, we will look back at this period and be convinced that everything happened for a good reason.
Meanwhile, may the blessings of our deities, divinities and our ancestors never cease. 🙇🙇🙇
Dorji Wangchuk 