To the north of Bodhgaya, some 10 kilometres away, is Dungeshwari Hills — named after the Hindu goddess Dungeshwari (a form of Maa Durga). To the Tibetans and the Bhutanese, the place is known as Mahakala Cave, after the Mahasiddha Shrawarigpa (Ritro Wangchuk in Dzongkha) is supposed to have had the vision of the Six-Armed Mahakala.

Here there is a cave where Siddhartha Gautama almost died after practicing extreme austerity. An image of a self-mortified Buddha can be seen in the cave.

As the light of life was deeming away from him, Buddha heard a sitar player tuning the instrument. When the musician tightened the string too much, the string broke. When the string was too loose, the sound was terrible. It was only when the string was somewhere between being too tight and too loose that the sitar sounded perfect.

It then dawned on the Buddha that enlightenment can neither be found in the hedonistic princely life, nor in the extreme self-mortification of one’s body. He needed to find a middle way — a path between the two extremes.

He then got up and went looking for something to eat. Descending to the village, a milkmaid named Sujata offered some kheer — a traditional Indian dish of rice and milk pudding. Another farmer offered him a kusha grass mat to Buddha. He then got the strength to continue his search for enlightenment, which he achieved under a Bodhi tree in present day Bodhgaya.

Both the Mahakala Cave and Sujata’s house have become destinations of Buddhist pilgrims today.

The Middle Path

The Middle Path philosophy was later expounded by Nagarjuna in the first century and became the main foundation for the Mahayana, and later Vajrayana, schools of Buddhism. Nagajuna, and his student Shavaripa, visited the cave, which perhaps provided him with the inspiration and motivation.

For me, the middle path philosophy is one of the most important teachings of the Buddha. While the Four Noble Truths and Eight-folds Paths are indisputable, the middle path philosophy is practical and of greater use in life, where we are reminded to avoid the extremes and also find a moderation – a limit in whatever we do. Traditionally it is called Tsham tshey and it is a popular value we teach.

Is it relevant today? You bet!

As children grow up with all sorts of imported values and beliefs, they will increasingly be wary of parents and elders telling them not to do this or that. This is where middle path philosophy comes in, whereby we can advise them to know the limit (tsham tsey) in anything they do or pursue — money, materials, social media. To tell them not to do this or that would be futile.

Furthermore, the world is burning. There is so much hate and division – all because we can’t find a middle ground, no compromise, no acceptance of the other. Those of us, and those nations and communities that practice it are in a way fortunate.

My pilgrimage in 2026 continues for a week in India starting from the spot where Prince Siddarta attained enlightenment and became Gautama Buddha 2500 years ago.

The dust and air is stifling but I guess this is the price we pay for seeking something greater.

There is a Nyingma Moelam going on. What a beautiful coincidence. I hadn’t planned for that but happy to contribute and pray on everyone’s behalf.

I just realised it has been 30 years when I was the first time in 1996. Time flies, as they say.

Dorje Dhen: the meaning

The literal meaning of Dorje Dhen, to refer to Bodhgaya , means Vajra Seat (Vajra Sana in Sanskrit). It refers to the seat on which Buddha sat as he achieved enlightenment. While the Mahabodhi temple is famous and revered, it is the seat one should not miss to get a blessing. It is near the Bodhi tree.

The seat is believed to have been found and restored by King Ashoka.

Tshe-bumpa

There are four very sacred tshe-bumpa that were put on four miniature stupas by a Tibetan rimpoche and consecrated by late Dudjom. Look out for them. They are towards the right as you enter the main gate. You will meet them only if you do the middle circle.

#EightPlacesAssociatedToBuddha

#Pilgrimage2026

My earlier post on the works of Bhutan Stroke Foundation garnered some interest. Thank you all for your responses and wishes.

One frequent comment our people get at the foundation is why we need to exist because we have free medical service in the country.

Yes, that’s true. However, stroke is not just a medical case. It is a traumatic personal, social and financial situation. It leaves a person debilitated for months or for years and requires constant care and attention. It disrupts the life of the whole family. The recovery, where possible, takes time. It requires skills and patience, and it requires lots of resources.

The free medical service more or less stops once the patient is discharged from the hospital and is told to go home, and to return to continue the physiotherapy and in many cases speech therapy. For the urban poor and for people from rural areas it is marked by a huge economic strain.

Furthermore, people are often rushed to Thimphu in an ambulance in a medical emergency. And because it is an emergency the patient and the accompanying person go from a district hospital to Thimphu – without any preparation for the journey – no food, money, or extra clothes.

And once the patient is discharged and shown the Exit door, many don’t know where to go. They don’t know where to stay to continue with physiotherapy sessions and follow-up treatment.

This post-stroke care is one area where we are trying to expand our services, besides the massive awareness campaigns and health screening we have conducted so far.

We are taking small steps. Some of our volunteers are visiting patients lying at home to clean them of sweats and bed sores, help them do physio exercises, and cheer them up. There is a lot we can do, and a lot of work and ways we can help.

The foundation is struggling in terms of resources, but it is doing well in volunteerism and goodwill. As a communication practitioner I know I can write the story of each successful case we have handled, or the misery that someone is going through. If we do that millions will be raised in a matter of days.

But we continue to resist the temptation, and respect the privacy of our beneficiaries. We don’t splash them on Facebook. We won’t take selfies when we rescue the patients from the hospital doors. We mustn’t show off feeding the sick. We will not update delivering food and clothes to the affected families.

Hence, for some time we will go about with the face value of the foundation team. Besides the faces of the foDawa Tsheringhering, our new ED Rinchen Khandu, and of our goodwill ambassadors and the medicals professionals supporting us silently, my face will be what you will see for some time – seeking alms. 😎😎😎

(By the way I am on a month-long pilgrimage – starting and ending with sacred sites in Bhutan. Do you like my monk bag? 😁😁😁)

On the eve of the Sharchop Losar (New Year), I convened the first Board Meeting of the year for Bhutan Stroke Foundation where we welcomed the new Executive Director, Rinchen Khandu — who was formerly a teacher and university lecturer, and the Project Manager, Tandin Chogyel.

We also created a space in the foundation for the founder and former Executive Director, Dawa Tshering. He will continue as Advisor and Goodwill Ambassador on pro-bono. In the organizations I lead, I have begun to honour those who have come before us by assigning emeritus and advisory roles. And not to simply write them off. Besides, Dawa’s story is the story of the Foundation. After his wife got a stroke, he decided that no one should go through what he went through. Isn’t this inspiring?

What does the Foundation do?

The Bhutan Stroke Foundation fills the gap between the clinical services provided by the state and the time people make a full recovery. From the day they are declared out of danger till they are fully reintegrated to the society it takes between six months to two years.

For those in the higher socio-economic status, things are okay. They manage. But for economically distressed families and rural folks, having a stroke patient at home suddenly turns life into hell. Their livelihood is hampered, career is disrupted, and their full recovery is not guaranteed. Only those who face this know the gravity. The government cannot reach everywhere and to everyone. We must do our bit.

We pride ourselves as a Buddhist nation, and make happiness our brand. But Buddhism is not about seeking happiness. It is about removing or helping remove the causes of suffering. In the words of His Eminence Zuri Rinpoche, there is no greater Dharma than helping someone in distress and living a life of hell. As a pop song goes, heaven is a place on earth. So is hell. What the foundation is doing is putting Buddhism into practice.

For me, with two spiritual projects at GMC on my shoulders, I am hard-pressed for time and energy. But, thinking of all the suffering, I just decided that I need to find both and keep going with this.

In gratitude.

As we welcome the new year, we would like to thank Zuri Rinpoche for keeping us afloat by granting us the Endowment Fund of Nu. 4 million. We thank our two other spiritual patrons – His Highness and Eminence Kathok Situ Rimpoche of Kathok Yoesel Samtenling Monastery ཀཿཐོག་འོད་གསལ་བསམ་གཏན་གླིང་དགོན་སྡེ། and Her Eminence Dorje Phagmo Rimpoche, whose donations and blessings keep us all safe and strong.

We thank the Government of India for supporting projects for the CSOs, including the BSF, and all the individual donors and friends in Japan, Italy, Australia and in the US.

2025 has been a fairly successful year for BSF where we consolidated a small young foundation and made our presence by reaching out to 10,000 people in 13 Dzongkhags through advocacy programs. For the first time, the foundation didn’t close the year in red.

Looking ahead.

ADVOCACY. We will continue to create awareness about stroke and cardiac arrest, which is no longer a disease of the elderly. Incidences of stroke now affect people as young as 12. Cases have skyrocketed after Covid-19. Everyday there is one or more people admitted in Thimphu hospital from stroke. Noticing the signs and symptoms is crucial. Prevention is the key. Check the health advice in the footnotes.

POST-STROKE CARE. Our centre in Thimphu continues to host some 20–30 people who are recovering and slowly reintegrating back to the society. People from rural areas are often rushed to Thimphu in an ambulance in a medical emergency. And once they are declared out of danger, they are discharged and shown the Exit door. Many don’t know where to go. They don’t know where to stay to continue with physiotherapy sessions and treatment that can go on for months. Some don’t even have extra clothes or money. We try to help all the cases. To respect their privacy, we don’t splash them on Facebook. We don’t take selfies when we rescue patients from the hospital doors. We don’t show off feeding the sick.

NEW CENTRES. In the coming years, we look forward to creating three more such centres for post-stroke care and information — in Gelephu, Mongar and Trashigang. We are aware of many stroke patients in villages without proper care – lying in bed for years – some with bad bedsores. Hopefully we can reach out to them.

Furthermore, the need for such centres will only increase with one fifth of the population living overseas and ageing parents left on their own here.

Looking forward to all your goodwill and support.

I am ending the Year of the Snake on a high note. A few more temples and statues built here, a few more differences I could make in other people’s lives there, and a couple of big deals I could broker elsewhere (at pro bono, though).

One thing that I continue to do is not to differentiate between things, occasions, moments, experiences or people, and to embrace everything and cherish everything that comes my way. I have learnt that there is no absolute, although life as seen by us the mortals and the unenlightened is still relative, imperfect, and dualistic. However, we make every effort at every moment to see the impermanence, emptiness and perfection of nature that really is.

In a few days time, those of us who are from the East will welcome the New Year.

To all who have walked with me, thank you for the company. Let’s keep going.
To all who have supported me, thank you for fueling me up. Please keep it coming.
To all those who were unkind to me, I thank you too for, it made me more stubborn – more committed, while really my compassion.
To all those who sought my help and benefited in some ways, I thank you because you made me come alive. You made me feel that I mattered.

Wishing everyone a Happy and a Harmonious Year of the Horse.

Buddhism, whether we like it or not, whether we agree or not, has diverged quite a bit into various schools and sects – often characterised by dogmas and divisions, and us-versus-them attitudes.

While these variations are natural evolution (and by the way, Buddha never restricted anyone from moving away from one path), this development has nonetheless taken away believers and practitioners from the core fundamentals of concepts and conduct, and of mindfulness and wisdom, which are all emphasized in the early texts.

For instance, the two concepts of impermanence and emptiness are almost forgotten as people relentlessly seek power and wealth as if they are unchanging, solid and permanent.

In my own analysis of why the younger generation of Bhutanese feel alienated from the religious traditions points to situation of dichotomy between where they try to access Buddhism from, what they are faced with every day. In other words, the proliferation of technology has brought about the translated teachings of the sutras such as Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra to the smartphones of the tech-savvy Bhutanese, who then see no connection between the basic philosophical tenets and the ritualistic traditions they are invited to. What is the relation between emptiness and disposing off the torma?

Furthermore, the GenX and the various Buddhist teachers and institutions of our time would do Dhama a favour if we all once went back to what Gatama Buddha taught, and then resume our spiritual journey. Meaning, we refresh our memories and mindset with some dose of impermanence and emptiness, rather than over glorify power, fame and fortune. This would make us a little more Buddhist, a little more humble, and a little more content. Otherwise, mindlessly conducting rituals and going about with all the mundane vices is confusing our younger generation.

Along this thought my sitting room will now have this large statue of Buddha Shakyamuni – and nothing else, to greet visitors coming to my humble place in GMC. At least, to all the chhilips who come there will be told to start their mindfulness residency by understanding the Four Noble Truths.

Of course, the statue is laden with all the precious zung and relics to honour our own Vajrayana tradition.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Buddhism, whether we like it or not, whether we agree or not, has diverged quite a bit into various schools and sects – often characterised by dogmas and divisions, and us-versus-them attitudes.

While these variations are natural evolution (and by the way, Buddha never restricted anyone from moving away from one path), this development has nonetheless taken away believers and practitioners from the core fundamentals of concepts and conduct, and of mindfulness and wisdom, which are all emphasized in the early texts.

For instance, the two concepts of impermanence and emptiness are almost forgotten as people relentlessly seek power and wealth as if they are unchanging, solid and permanent.

In my own analysis of why the younger generation of Bhutanese feel alienated from the religious traditions points to situation of dichotomy between where they try to access Buddhism from, what they are faced with every day. In other words, the proliferation of technology has brought about the translated teachings of the sutras such as Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra to the smartphones of the tech-savvy Bhutanese, who then see no connection between the basic philosophical tenets and the ritualistic traditions they are invited to. What is the relation between emptiness and disposing off the torma?

Furthermore, the GenX and the various Buddhist teachers and institutions of our time would do Dhama a favour if we all once went back to what Gatama Buddha taught, and then resume our spiritual journey. Meaning, we refresh our memories and mindset with some dose of impermanence and emptiness, rather than over glorify power, fame and fortune. This would make us a little more Buddhist, a little more humble, and a little more content. Otherwise, mindlessly conducting rituals and going about with all the mundane vices is confusing our younger generation.

Along this thought my sitting room will now have this large statue of Buddha Shakyamuni – and nothing else, to greet visitors coming to my humble place in GMC. At least, to all the chhilips who come there will be told to start their mindfulness residency by understanding the Four Noble Truths.

Of course, the statue is laden with all the precious zung and relics to honour our own Vajrayana tradition.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

My cousin, childhood friend, schoolmate, business partner, and a family friend passed away after a long battle with a terminal illness. He was just 64. His demise leaves a hole in my heart that will never be filled. 

The loss will always be felt by his family and the film industry, for Pema was the liveliest person, the most loving father, and helpful to everyone in the film fraternity. He was self-taught and gave everything to the art, and to others. He kept nothing for himself.

When we were growing up, he took care of me like my elder brother. He used to defend me fiercely, taught me many things. All my siblings loved him as our elder brother. Our families were thick and close. My mom and his mom were cousins from the Shongphu Chukmo clan.

He was a brilliant student but dropped out of school because classrooms bored him. He lived his life on his own terms – carefree and joyful, till my father found him a wife and married him off one evening and told him to settle down. He did listen, and raised a large family of four children and many grandchildren. His children love him. His grandchildren adore him.

He was a trained agronomist, a carpenter and welder, and self-trained film director (Bhu Tashi), line producer (Chepai Bhu, Nazhoen Chharo, and others), singer (Tshomo Tshomo), film editor, graphic artist, musician (he played saxophone and keyboard), three times award winning sound designer and cameraman. And many more.

In our adult life he cheered me at every success I achieved. He was happier and prouder, and had greater confidence and belief than I had for myself. We ran a successful production studio and the radio for a couple of years, where he trusted me and my judgments, and my decisions with his life. Never once did he challenge me.

But there is one thing that the world can learn from Pema – optimism and strength in the face of adversity. And to never lose one’s sense of humor no matter how bad life goes. In 2018, when he was diagnosed with a terminal disease and the doctors gave him a few months, he told my daughter that he would beat the odds and live much longer. He did and went on to live almost eight years. 

When he was getting the chemo and was recovering in a hospital in India, he kept sending me dirty jokes every day. He said that I was more stressed than him because I was in the middle of completing my PhD. 

He showed immense courage and strength that I had never known before. Even the doctors were inspired. This is something that will stay with me, this is something he has taught me as his final lesson as I will miss his presence, our long conversations, and his encouragements from the stands.

Fare Thee Well, my brother. The earth beneath me already feels weak without you. Although we have been preparing for this day, it still took one full day for me to compose myself and gather strength for this short piece.

And to the world, we are poorer by one good selfless person.

My cousin, childhood friend, schoolmate, business partner, and biggest fan passed away after a long battle with a terminal illness. He was just 64. His demise leaves a hole in my heart that will never be filled. 

The loss will always be felt by his family and the film industry, for Pema was the liveliest person, the most loving father, and one of the most helpful persons that walked on this earth. He lived his life on his own terms. He gave everything and kept nothing for himself.

He took care of me like my elder brother in school, defended me fiercely, and cheered me at every success I achieved. He was happier for me than I was for myself and had greater confidence and belief in me than anyone in the world.

But there is one thing that the world can learn from Pema—optimism in the face of adversity and to never lose one’s sense of humor. In 2018, when he was diagnosed with a terminal disease and the doctors gave him a few months, he told my daughter that he would beat the disease and live much longer. He did and went on to live almost eight years. As he was about to get chemo and was recovering in a hospital in India, he kept sending me dirty jokes every day. 

He showed courage and strength that I had never known before. This is something that will stay with me, as I will miss his presence, our long conversations and ideas, and his encouragements.

Fare Thee Well, my brother. The earth beneath me already feels weak without you.

Of all the things I did and achieved this year, between bringing some big investors to the country, sponsoring three large statues in a temple in Zhemgang, and completing the Eight Manifestations of Guru temple in Rukha, the one thing that makes me feel real good is sending my father and my illiterate sister on the pilgrimage of their dream.

I gifted a trip to China’s Four Holy Mountains. My father talked about these – especially Riwo Tsegna (Wutai Shan), having heard from other great lamas.

It was done as a gratitude for their sacrifices. My father risked his life to feed us. He drove trucks and buses on the narrow freshly cut roads of Bhutan in the 1970s.  My elder sister stayed back to care for our visually-impaired grandmother and let us younger siblings go to school back in those days. 

Yes, I do a lot for others, but as they say, charity begins at home. My younger sister and brother footed half the bill. We are thick like the corleone family.

Although the pilgrimage ended many months back, my father is reportedly still boasting to every relative he meets and showing pictures of high-speed trains and super highways in China.

🤩🤩🤩

As John Lennon sang,

“So, this is Christmas.

And what have you done?

🥳🥳🥳

In Bhutan this is a debate that will last forever – because it quickly delves into religious sentiments, and that’s too deep, and too personal to arrive at a solution that suits all.

To eat or not to eat meat, in my view, is a personal question and not an ethical, or moral issue. Likewise, the government, as a political entity, should be allowed to do its job – as in how best Bhutanese can access meat. Everything beyond it, at best, is hypocritical.

I turned vegetarian over twelves years back. It was purely a personal decision – with no religion or health issues involved. Of course, there were encouragements from different quarters including a rimpoche-friend who advocates against eating meat. But let me share one good reason, perhaps, that made me take the final step.

While attending a Buddhist conference in Kathmandu, a panellist asked the audience, “Do you know what you are eating? Do you know where your food come from?” And the most insidious of the questions: Do you know what the animal there are fed?

Now her question reminded me of some horrendous things I saw in slaughterhouses across the border – decades back. And really, back then it didn’t strike me anything. Maybe I was too naïve or too insensitive. But in recent years, besides becoming more spiritual, I have also heard more horrible stories of animal feeds being used in these farms.

Then, at a more personal level, there was also the fact that I was homing in to 50 and I felt that my body didn’t require meat anymore. I guess I have enough storage of essential vitamins like B12 that come from red meat. It does not leave our body like potassium or magnesium. We don’t run the risk of B12 deficiency easily. So I thought if I don’t need it why have some animals slaughtered, which brings me to the question of what Buddhism says about it.

What buddhist scriptures say.

From the few readings that I made, the confusion seems to have started off with the monks in Gautama Buddha’s sangha itself. They depended on the generosity of lay supporters as they went on their morning rounds for food alms. Obviously, they couldn’t dictate what people offered. In a predominantly Hindu India, people only refrained from eating beef but not other types of meat or fish. So the monks would face a simple choice – eat meat or starve.

This dilemma became worse in the Tibetan highlands where no grass grew, and where green vegetable is in short supply.

Furthermore, Mahayana and Vajarayana Buddhism are less dogmatic than Theravada and leave this critical decision to personal choices that you can make based on your tawa (right view). So if the intention is to survive, it is OK. But if the kill is for greed, anger or jealousy, it is not ok anymore.
Going back to Buddha, what do the scriptures say?

A line from Dhammapada V130 reads,

“All tremble at the rod. All hold their life dear. Drawing the parallel to yourself, Neither kill nor get others to kill.”

So, what should we do (as Buddhist, if I may say)? Be practical. Well, just as people adopted to eating meat for practical reasons to stay alive, if one could do that by staying away from meat, then just do it. And do some readings, talk to doctors, get your vitamin level tested.

If you are not a toddler and if you are getting your protein and B12 from other sources, you are in pretty good shape, and chances are that you don’t require meat at all. And take small steps. I stopped eating pork and then after a month I stopped beef and few months later, chicken. Don’t be over ambitious.

By the way, I am the only one in my family who stopped eating meat. I still eat fish and eggs. As said, I have not been coerced by anyone to stop meat nor would I force anyone to do that either. The choice should be personal and should come from within – from what it feels good. Only then it sustains.

#veganism