This picture story came on my social media feed today. It is an incident that apparently occurred in 2019 in Mizoram (India). The little boy of 6, Derek Lalchhanhima, had accidentally run over a chicken with his bicycle. Overwhelmed by guilt and compassion, he turned up at a hospital offering all the money he had to the doctors to save the chicken. (Story was covered by mainstream Indian media).

This story reminded me of an incident involving my younger daughter when she was five or six. She had gone to a local store to buy some candies and the salesman had mistakenly given her an extra change of Nu. 1.

She found out later during dinner and she was so disturbed that she woke up early the next morning and waited for the store to reopen and hand over the money. The shop owner was moved by her honesty that he gave her some candies for free.

Another time, she was calling out to our neighbor to inform that their pumpkin had grown in our garden. Their pumpkin plant had crossed the fence.

Parental Education:

We live in an age where we are obsessed with education – to the point we drive the education system and ourselves crazy. But is classroom education everything that is there is to teach or learn? What about values like honesty, hardwork, humility, compassion, etc.

Truth be told, my wife and I have never checked on our children’s school work. A few times maybe she did but for me my dictum was, “I just want them to grow up as good human beings”. This aloofness in me, I know, used to put off my children’s teachers too. I understand.

Instead, I insisted on the Bhutanese values of compassion, loving kindness and community, and service to King and country. My wife, who is Japanese, taught discipline, diligence, duty and honesty. As for their school education, we were just content that our children were getting by at school.

Being Human. The Real Skill:

These days, whenever I have conversations on education whether it is in Bhutan or elsewhere, another in-thing is this so-called twenty first century skills. Although I teach at university level, and mentor executives and entrepreneurs from some of the world’s biggest tech companies, I have no idea what skills or knowledge will serve us as humanity moves deep into this century.

This is not to deride those who think they do, and are doing something about it. As far as I am concerned, as the world increasingly becomes technologically driven, as AIs take over jobs like immigration counters and salespersons at shopping malls, one thing will increasingly be missed and felt – human connection.

My proposition, therefore, to survive and even thrive in this hyper-connected world is to learn to be human again – and to instill the values of humility, honesty and hardwork. Our age-old values of compassion and loving kindness that are the core practices in Mahayana Buddhism will gain more currency and win you more credibility than the credits from the world’s best universities.

Actionable Solution:

Coming back to the opening story of the Mizo boy, according to the news reports, the school honoured him draped in a shawl, which is a traditional way of honouring someone among Mizos.

Every year in Bhutan, we honour students who have excelled in tests and exams and sports. Can we start recognizing exemplary acts of kindness, compassion and community service too? In a country guided by the words of Buddha, I would say, why not?

Formal education, yes! Don’t forget values.

Machiphu, Taktshang, Paro
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
One of the nine major caves that encompass the sacred mountains of Taktshang is called Machiphu. It is named after Tibet’s greatest yogini, Machig Labdron (1055-1154). And it is located above the more iconic Pelphu complex (popularly referred to as Paro Taktsang).

Machik Labdrön is believed to be a reincarnation of Yeshey Tshogyel, and together with her teacher, the Indian mahasiddha Pha Dampa Sangye, is considered as the founder of the Chod practice. She is both a dakini and a deity – believed to be an emanation of Prajnaparamita (Yum Chenmo in Bhutanese).

Historically, she was a contemporary of Milarepa. She was an adept and outstanding teacher, and a mother, who defied social norms that only men can practice higher tantra with the required seriousness, strength and vigour.

The Machiphu Temple.

The ground floor takes us to a small doorway with a cave which fits just three people. Here Machig Labdron is supposed to have received the nectar of longevity from Buddha Amitayus. This is where you seek long life. Buddhists believe you can extend your life through seeking one.

On the upper follow there is a temple with the statue of Machig Labdron in the middle, Phadampa Sangye on her left, and Buddha Amitayus on her right.

The pilgrimage for childless couple.

Behind the temple there is a rock face with the footprints of Machig Labdron and Phadampa Sangye. Since time immemorial Machiphu and Machig Labdron are sought after by childless couples. If one seeks a son, one makes the wish to Phadampa Sangye. If one wants a girl, one makes the wishes to Machig Labdron. On the day of my visit, three women had come to seek the blessings.

What do I learn?

I didn’t seek another son or a daughter for myself but I made a moelam that my descendants flourish in numbers and in deeds – and take the Buddha Dharma further – just as my father did his tiny bit and I did a little more. We are after all the descendants of several masters of the past.

I don’t know much about the teachings of Machig Labdron, and I don’t practice the Chod either, but personally these famous five lines of hers, which I came across, were so liberating for me in the past.

Confess your hidden faults.

Approach what you find repulsive.

Help those you think you cannot help.

Anything you are attached to, give that.

Go to the places that scare you.

Of the five, the last one, ‘Go to the places that scare you’, speaks to me so deeply. This is because behind my calm demeanour I have always been a little devil – always daring to move beyond the norm, beyond what I am told is possible – or sometimes what is socially acceptable.

At the age of 8, I went to a Catholic boarding school. Not because of anything other than to stay away from going hungry at home. We were very poor.

Later when I turned 19, I left for Italy to study engineering at the University of Bologna. I didn’t speak the language nor have I stepped out of the country until then.

To give some context, it was during the time when Bhutan was completely isolated. There was no air link nor telephone. My parents only knew I had reached safely in Perugia, only after three months. That’s how long letters took to reach Bhutan.

In 2002, after successfully bringing radio and TV into Bhutan, I stepped down from a successful post of chief engineer to become a TV presenter/producer – which was bit crazy for someone who always struggled with communication. (I suffered from speech delay and probably ADHD and spoke full sentences only when I was four).

In 2013, after leaving my position as a senior palace official, I dared to become a simple teacher (gloriously termed as professor) in the remote Sherubtse College, where my office was a cold corner with a broken wooden desk, dingy toilets, and stained floors. I repaired my wooden chair too, and used my own equipment to teach media, journalism and documentary filmmaking.

My pilgrimage to Machiphu is to seek the blessings of the divine feminine to keep granting me the courage to go to such places. And by that I don’t mean physically scary places, but to keep going – to keep moving out of my comfort zone.

As we grow older sometimes we just feel like hanging our gloves and retreating to the comfort of our home and family – to say, I am done! However, if you look around there are things to do, places to go, people who need you, and some people who want you.

And there are also people who want you to disappear so that (they think) they can have a field day – in which case then you would be handing the victory to them. To them, I say,

“HELLLLLOOO! I am still here”

May the spirit of Machig Lhabdron guide you, help you with courage, to confront your inner demons, fight the outer monsters, and push you out of your comfort zone. To greater meaningful moments in your life. Or whatever remains of it.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Core lessons from Machig Labdrön by Lama Tsulthrim Allione

• Embrace and offer: Instead of running from fear, pain, and desire, one should “cut through” them by offering them as food to the demons and deities. This practice intensifies experiences to reveal their empty nature and sever attachment to a solid self.
• Rest in your nature: Stop the relentless search for an end goal, because the mind is already empty and clear, like space. True peace comes from resting in this natural, unfabricated state, rather than chasing transient goals.
• Take responsibility: “Carry the load” of all phenomena. This means taking responsibility for your own life and experiences, and not avoiding what you might consider unpleasant or insignificant. It is an invocation to keep your heart and mind open.
• Challenge dualistic thinking: Recognize that the mind creates the labels of “good” (gods) and “bad” (demons) for phenomena. This dualism, called ladre, keeps us trapped in grasping and aversion. What you call a “demon” is simply an experience you are afraid of, and a “god” is an experience you desire; both can be used to cut through fixation.
• Fearlessness through wisdom: Through the practice of Chöd, you can achieve a fearlessness that transcends both hope and fear. By cutting through the illusion of a separate, solid self, you can achieve a state of boundless compassion and liberated wisdom. 

Reaching there.
From the famous viewpoint at Taktshang, after a few stairs down, instead of going down towards Taktshang Pelphug, you take the trail to the left and climb and hike up for around 15-20 minutes. You get a beautiful top view of the iconic Taktshang. The temple of Machiphu can be seen as soon as you turn behind the bend.

👨🏻‍🦯‍➡️👨🏻‍🦯‍➡️👨🏻‍🦯‍➡️

I spent my Sunday listening to the Empowerment of Tengyur – one of the two holy canons of Buddhism. It was conferred to over 500 lamas and monks by His Eminence Samten Dorji – the former Tshugla Lopen (minister of monastic education) at the main hall of Tango Buddhist university.

While I didn’t understand a word, the readings were very soothing to my ears and mind. As our belief goes, I am sure my consciousness understood the teaching, because it is supposed to be beyond language or words. There is a religious legend that when Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon at the Deer Park in Sarnath, all the sentient beings of the Six Realms attended the teaching and understood every word he spoke.

As a lay person, I also took the opportunity to offer cakes (18 boxes) and cash – known as chhagyeb, to the Lama and to all the monks, so that the blessings of their prayers and practices rub on me and to all sentient beings.

May Buddha Dharma flourish for aeons to come.

Background info: What is the Tengyur?
Tengyur means “the translated treatises” and is comprised of the Tibetan translations of works written by Indian Buddhist masters, explaining and elaborating on the words of the Buddha.

In simple words, Tengyur provides interpretations, explanations, and elaborations on the teachings found in the Kangyur. They were made by various teachers such as Nagarjuna, Asanga, Shantideva, etc. It comprises of 208 volumes of scriptures and some 165,000 lines.

(The Tengyur Empowerment started almost a month ago and will go on for few more days. It is held at Tango Buddhist university hall in Thimphu. There are only few masters who can confer this empowerment)

Ngelung Drechaling in Gangtey (there is another claimant of this place in Phobjikha) is considered as one of eight legendary Lings* that were established by the Fourteenth Century Buddhist master,

Longchen Rabjam Drime Oser (1308-1363). Longchenpa, in short, is considered by far the most important Nyingma master for it was he who compiled and codified the foundational texts for study and practices for Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Ngelung Drechaling takes its name from a stone boulder that is preserved in front of the temple, and is the oldest temple in the valley – even older than the famous Gangtey Gompa.

This temple is located below Gangtey Shedra (towards the right) as you drive down from Lawala. It is also known as the residence of Second Gangtey Trulku – Tenzin Lekpai Dondrub – a large statue of whom is on the main altar to the left of the statue of Guru Padmasambhava.

As for the relics, there are the tooth relic of the horse of Longchen Rabjam, and a beautiful and an old Guru thangka with hand prints of the Great Longchenpa.

More importantly, a metal plate that was smithed by Terton Pema Lingpa (1450-1521). Rubbing a food item on it and consuming it is believed to be both healing and a liberation from the Lower Realm. 

“Even our monarchs have come and done that,” says Lam Kunzang Dorji – the super jolly lama of the temple.

The Holy Waters of Za Rahula:

Of the many legends and beliefs surrounding this place, most significantly, is the fact that it is one of the places with a magical water called Za-chhu (holy water of Za Rahula), which have miraculous healing properties for neurological disorders like stroke, muscle dystrophy, palsy, speech delay or disorder, etc.

“Thanks to such miraculous powers of the Za-Chhu, I have received a couple of offerings from the devotees who recovered, with which I have managed to give a fresh murals, and 115 prayer wheels around the temple.” Says lam Kunzang.

Za Rahula – the unforgiving deity:

Ngelung Drechaling has a sacred chamber dedicated to Za Rahula. Za Dong Rahula – or simply Za Rahula, is the nine-headed deity who, together with Mamo Ekajati and Damchen Dorje Legpa form the Three Protector Deities of Nyingma School of Buddhism. These three deities in short form are known as Ma-Za-Dam Suum. 

The nine staked heads of Za Rahula are believed to be the nine planets that Rahula has swallowed – togther with the Sun and the Moon. Thus, he is known as the conqueror of the planets. 

Why should stroke patients appease Za Rahula?

One common Bhutanese belief is that when a person suffers from stroke or neurological disorders such as paralysis and palsy it is believed that he or she has been hit by Za (planets). This “Za” refers to the deity Rahula, because Za Rahula doesn’t forgive. Such malice or misfortune are also considered as karmic retribution or balance known as len-chha (literally meaning balance karma). Appeasing Za Rahula helps one recover from stroke – or provides protection from getting stroke. 

🙏🙏🙏

*The Eight Lings established by Longchen Rabjam:

In Bhutan, Künkhyen Longchen is known for establishing the eight lings (locations where he meditated on, taught, and wrote the Dzogchen):

– Babron Tharpaling (thar pa gling);

– Shingkhar Dechenling, Bumthang (shing mkhar bde chen gling);

– Tang Ugyencholing in Bumthang (stang au rgyan chos gling);

– Kunzangling in Lhuntse (skur stod kung bzang gling);

– Khothang Pemaling/Rinchenling (mkho thang rin chen gling);

– Menlok Kunzangling in Wangle (kun bzang gling);

– Nyenlong Drechagling (sngan lung ‘bras bchags gling); and

– Paro Samtenling (spa ro bsam gtan gling).

Paro Tshechu is a 7-day event. It was originally organised in Dzongdrakha. The first and last day are still conducted there, while the five-day event is what is now known as Paro Tshechu. Furthermore, one of the masks in Raksha Langu Dance is used/borrowed from Dzongdrakha for Paro Tshechu, and a whole ceremony has to be conducted for receiving and returning this mask. The mask can be seen in Tsheringma temple in Dzongdrakha.

Likewise there are lots of other rich stories of which house in Paro sends this or that performer for which dance. For instance, all the dancers in the picture have to be from Lungyi Gewog, where Dzongdrakha is located. They only get this honour to offer the Zhey (devotional praise).

And in the Shawa-Shachi (The Dance-Drama of the Stag and Hounds) the guy who plays Sharop Gyem Dorji has to spend the night before the dance in the house of Hungrel Drung Drung (14the century lana) that is located above the venue. (The land on which Paro Dzong stands was offered by this family).

If you attend Paro Tshechu again, try getting the blessing from the cymbal that is used during the Black Hat dance. It is the one that is believed to have been retrieved from Nub Tshona Patra lake by Terton Sherub Mebar (1267-1326).

The mask of the head jester (Atsara Gom) belongs to Hungrel Dra temple and special permission ritual has to be conducted there before taking, and a gift has to be offered when returning the mask.

These stories and triviality are all dying as our focus on culture is completely on things like “not allowed to take pictures in temples” or “you can’t wear half kira” and so on.

Meanwhile, Paro Tshechu itself is promoted only by the tourism companies (I get the dates from tourism websites). Instead it is a big community kurim (obstacles-clearing rituals) and people’s festival. I hope someday it becomes a national festival.

Until then, keep going, Paro!

😍😍😍

Thongdrel means “liberation upon seeing” and it refers to the giant holy scroll that devotees believe that the mere sight of it would liberate a sentient being from the three lower realms.

The Great Thongdrel of Paro is the most precious treasure of Paro Dzong. Its fame grew after it remained intact despite the whole Dzong (fortress) being destroyed by fire in 1906.

The Great Thongdrel of Paro was commissioned by the Second Paro Penlop, Ngawang Choeda, and was embroidered by master artist Lam Ngawang Rabgay around 1650. His portrait is depicted on the lower left to Guru – although some sources assume that as Desi Tenzin Rabgye. This is quite unlikely because there is a thirty-year gap between Penlop Ngawang Choeda and Desi Tenzin Rabgye.

Many legends surround this great scroll depicting Guru Padmasambhava and his eight manifestations. There are countless stories of how Lam Ngawang Rabgay made this masterpiece. The white silk brocade to make the face of Guru is believed to have been offered by two dakinis.

It always feels nice to receive its blessing when it is unfurled once a year on the last day of the Paro Festival. I try to put in my calendar to attend it as far as possible. As a great bonus His Majesty the King also graced the moment making it even more special.

It takes lots of commitment to receive its blessing, although it is believed that the more you struggle to receive a blessing the greater is the blessing. You have to wake up early, or not go to sleep. The scroll is displayed right after midnight and rolled back before the Sun hits it.

This time we had to queue up for three hours, only for the queue to be run over. The usual stuff – people rushing and squeezing without much civility – and “fighting” to get a blessing. I was just hoping to see Desuups manage the crowd but they were too few and no channels were planned.

Anyway, everything is a blessing.

🤩🤩🤩

(Thank you, the people of Paro for keeping this great festival alive. Hope it is recognised as an Intangible Heritage by UNESCO)

The proliferation of the Internet has opened doors to concepts like tech-boom, online jobs, eCommerce, dotcom billionaires, etc. Together with it also, the scams and frauds have flourished, where simple ordinary people all over the world are siphoned off their savings after being promised of untold riches.

How do you differentiate the bad actors from the good? There is one simple concept from economics.

What is eCommerce?

eCommerce like a traditional commercial activity has to have either (or both) of these two things – goods and services. Goods means physical products to sell, and services means providing skills, expertise or knowledge for a fee.

For example, if you make, or trade in, furnitures and household items, these are called goods. If you sell it online it becomes eCommerce. If you are a consultant or tour guide, you are selling your expertise or skills. This is service.

A combination of two exists and the examples are online retail platforms such as Alibaba and Amazon, which are selling physical goods that others produce, and take a cut from every transaction. Basically they are like giant shopping mall with many shops and outlets operating from their buildings. There are a few local Bhutanese online retailers such as Azha Pasa and Druksell.

Simply put, if a business does not fall under any of the above three, then something is off. It could also be something illegal or dangerous too. As a cliche goes, if there is no product in terms of goods or services, you could be the product that they are selling.

Scams are getting sophisticated.

Some of these companies have exploited the legal loopholes in some countries and have registered the “business” with offices and websites. Be extra careful. Always ask this simple question: what is the product And then the follow-up question. Is it legal in my country? Is it legal everywhere?

Scammers are also getting better and making it look more legal and ethical that it is difficult to not be lured into it. Some make it look like a proper job offer. Here the red flag to watch out for is if they ask you to deposit money to them. No proper job offers require you to put a deposit. Period.

So, without generalising, there could be very few exceptions, I have a simple piece of advice – stay away from it.

Start your own shop.

If you want financial independence, start your own shop or business – or provide a service. For example, Thimphu needs some cleaning, gardening, house-keeping services that can come for a couple of hours every week. And soon with all the children away, we may also need old-age care givers. We still need more contractors who can build some smooth roads. There is lots of space for good services.

Start small. Put your heads down and work. Keep going for 10,000 hours (Malcom Gladwell’s Theory) to see the first good outcome. Amazon started by selling books. Wipro sold vegetable oil in the beginning.

The road to prosperity takes time.

✌️✌️✌️

This sacred pilgrimage to Taktshang was enhanced by reconnecting to this little monk, whom my friends and I are trying to help with his physical challenges. He studies at Taktshang Zimchu Saap.

This time he introduced me another monk who also has the same health challenges. I happily agreed to help him too, as I silently repeated this line from one of the greatest Buddhist scholar:

For as long as space endures,
For as long as sentient beings exist,
Until then, may I, too abide,
To dispel the misery of the world.
(Shantideva in Bodhicaryāvatāra) 😻😻😻

Coming to the hike to legendary Taktshang, it is actually not easy. I know not everyone can make it up there but it is something we all take for granted. Many do not make it beyond the Cafeteria. Some don’t dare start at all from the base

Therefore, as long as you can – as long as your legs and lungs can carry you up, keep going. At some point in life you won’t be able to. This year I plan to do every second month.

And for my favourite temple up there, it is the Tshela Namsum – the last one from the main entrance. There are Green Tara, Amitayus and Unisha Vijjaya to bless you with peace, longevity and prosperity respectively.

What else do you need?

As a cliché goes, these days I am bringing the world to Bhutan, and Bhutan to the world. I am doing within my personal capacity, and drumming up among my network of friends and acquaintances that I have accumulated over the decades of my professional career.

It is not without challenges though. Systemic complexities and contradictions appear like before – to the point one is even gaslighted to rethink one’s motive. It is not as smooth as Instagram shows you. But then what is easy these days? As someone said, we have become champions in complicating even the simplest of things. And so, I guess I will keep going as long as I can.

Fact remains that as our country embarks on the most ambitious idea of the mindfulness city(which is ambitious even by global standards) and of high-income country and GNH 2.0 and so on, we do what we can within our means and with a sense of selfless service – for the greater vision to materialise and for the collective dream to be fulfilled.

It is not something that is achievable by one person or an organisation. I believe that the cumulative outcome of all our tiny individual efforts will make the difference between success and failure. And, by the way, in this Project, unless someone has some hidden tricks inside their large gho pocket, there is no room for failure – and no such thing as Plan B. We need to succeed as a nation. And it will be hard work and sacrifices for some time.

The 20,000 MW Dream.

Currently in the energy sector, our country faces a power deficit in winter months. This is a paradox because for years we have been told of a bright future. The deficit may even get worse because of the drying up of our rivers. From the month of October till the month of May, the water from our rivers that drive the turbines can barely push 25 percent of the installed capacity of our power plants. This amounts to around 400 megawatts (MW).

On the other hand, the demand for power peaks in winter to around 1000 MW, resulting in a shortfall of around 600MW. This deficit is covered through importing electricity from India during the winter month – and that too at a higher tariff from the Indian energy market.

To address this, from what I learnt, the government has opened the power sector to private investments from both local and international companies. It has set an ambitious target to harness 20,000 MW within 2040. A couple of large companies from India have signed MoU with the government, but it is still a long way from achieving the target. The push for energy is not just in hydropower but also in solar and wind technology. And for foreign investments in solar, there is the option of 100% equity ownership.

From End to Means.

Another shift from previous thinking on energy we produce is to see it as an enabler for other sectors, and not just as a cash cow. In other words, there is a push to use the excess power we produce to drive other sectors such as mining and manufacturing – instead of just exporting it for state revenue. In other words to see power as a ‘means’ and not just as an ‘end’. This is a much-needed policy shift, because the earlier model produced economic growth without generating employment.

As this perspective takes root, we may see more opportunities for power-incentive plants and products if this policy remains stable over a long-run.

Hopefully this time we will get it right and the Sun of Happiness will really shine on us 😻