I made my first visit to The Happiness Farm belonging to my Gewog-mate, Dorji (we come from the same area but we’re not related). He resigned from a high-paying and jet-setting job to start this farm.

The place is conveniently located between Paro and Thimphu and above Chuzom in Issukha village. It offers certified 3-star accommodation with stunning views of Langka Gonpa and Dagala mountains, and the charm and idyllic setting of a Bhutanese farm with full modern amenities.

Above all, it offers organic food (pesticide-free and really organic) and fruits and vegetables, which are good to detox your kidney and liver for a few days – away from all the processed food. The nights are quieter and devoid of the city noise.

For those who are raising children among the malls and malices of Thimphu, the place offers a safe space for them to be reconnected to our roots – farm, chicken, nature, birds, silence, without losing the comfort of a nice bed and bathroom. We are spoilt after all. Let’s admit it.

The place is ideal for those who simply need to be away in solitude to think through a major project (met a guy who was doing that) or life’s transition. The setting will definitely make you have the much-needed breakthrough. If you are not working on any project deadlines, it is fine too. You can simply unwind and decompress from your tough schedules and often stressful time at the workplace. Modern life is convenient but tough on our body and mind.

For me, it is a great place to do my writing, work online (they have good wifi), and catch up with some walk and fresh air. Your lungs and your eyes are the happiest here.

Really inspiring of my village-mate who had the courage to leave a well-paid job to go back to our roots – farming.

At a time when the Bhutanese youth, and even older professionals, are leaving the country in plane-loads because of the perceived lack of opportunity, he is a reminder that if you work hard you can create opportunities you desire – and at home. He has university degrees from some of the world’s best universities. He could have left too.

Our government planners and donor friends might like to check people like him and their places and initiatives.

😍😍😍

(P.S. this is not a paid article but my own way of encouraging fellow Bhutanese who are serving the country and humanity in their own ways)

For bookings and informatiom call +97517909870

Location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Rvs2xBwS1mbTJctV6

In one of the boldest moves by our national airline, Druk Air, a firm order has been placed for five new aircrafts – three Airbus A320neo and two Airbus A321XLR. Bold ambitions call for bold decisions, and I must commend our national carrier for this move. In my view, it is a huge step forward for the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project and also for Bhutan as a nation. The news, while it was covered by the mainstream media agencies, did not make much of a splash across social media, where greater dissemination and education on a topic happens these days. So, let me share my broader understanding on the larger benefits.

Destination Gelephu.

While the A320neo may be a replacement for the ageing A319 fleet, the two A321XLR are obviously for Gelephu. The Airbus A321XLR is the largest aircraft in the A320 family – and also a great choice given that the airline does not have to maintain a separate set of crews to fly them. The A321XLR can accommodate anywhere between 180 to 220 passengers depending on the cabin configuration. It is a single-aisle wide-body airliner with a maximum range of 8700 km (8,400 km, according to latest changes), which makes it possible for the airline to extend its wings for direct flights to distant destinations such as Tokyo, Perth, or Istanbul. XLR stands for “extra-long range”.

The Airbus A321XLR with a longer fuselage wouldn’t be able to operate out of Paro with the current runway length. Therefore, they could be solely destined for Gelephu, where the new international terminal and a longer runway will be built. Gelephu could become the operational base for these aircrafts. If this is so, it is significant because, firstly, in the airline business, a base airport means that the aircrafts will be stationed there permanently for both operations and maintenance. Consequently, a good number of employees such as pilots, maintenance engineers, ground staff, and even cabin crews will have to be based there, thus opening direct opportunities for local businesses in terms of housing, hospitality and other businesses. As the airport itself becomes fully operational, if well planned and strategized, it can then spur a chain of opportunities for other sectors, such as cargo, catering, transportation, tourism, trade, innovation and other sectors. The list is endless.

Second, the aircraft with its longer operational range (distance between two places) could be deployed for direct medium and long-haul flights to destinations such as Australia, Middle East, South East Asia and the Far East. This will be vital because if Gelephu is to attract foreign investments and investors, direct air connectivity to other economic hubs, and direct flights to global hub airports such as Hong Kong, Dubai, and Frankfurt will be the key. Business travellers, especially those higher up in the corporate ladder are super sensitive to travel time.

Third, here are some fun facts. By 2050, which is just 25 years to go, five of the ten biggest economies will be within the operational range of the Airbus A321XLR. Furthermore, by 2035, which is just ten years from now, seven of the ten biggest cities in the world by population will be within the operational range of Airbus A320neo. (See the map)

Paro – the gateway to Bhutan.

As the Gelephu Mindfulness City project gathers steam, one question that crops up in my circle of friends is – what would happen to Paro? In the sense that, would this place see a decline? To answer that simply, it will continue to retain its status, or even get vibrant thanks to the GMC Project. Paro will continue to be the international gateway to Bhutan – especially for leisure travels and cultural tours. In fact, with new routes to the Middle East being launched from October of 2024, it could spur more tourism arrivals. Dubai happens to be just a flight away from any major city on Earth. It will be especially convenient for passengers from Europe and the US. Of course, Bangkok and Delhi are well connected too, but Dubai has become the global hub for air travel.

One issue to be addressed, though, is that unlike business travellers, leisure travellers prefer cheaper fares over travel time. Bhutanese airlines have a long way to go in terms of a more dynamic pricing – preferring instead to maintain a high and flat rate, and fly with unsold seats. This has led to losing business to airlines operating in and out of Bagdogra. Likewise, the Bhutanese diaspora, who are dispersed in over 100 countries, will also factor in the airfare as the major determinant on how frequently they can travel home.

Looking beyond profits.

Over 70 countries would fall within the operational range of the Airbus A321XLR. In one of my earlier articles, I have mentioned the role of national flag carriers as furthering national identity through projecting the country internationally. Countries like Japan, Malaysia and a few middle eastern states have propelled their flag carriers to promote their national identity world-wide, which in many cases did not make business sense. To this end, popular bloggers like Yeshey Dorji have called for Druk Air to be delinked from the business-centric goals of Druk Holdings & Investments, and let it be subsidised to focus on nationhood and connectivity – or find a balance between profit-making and nation-building.

Furthermore, with the call for everyone to come together, work hard and co-create the royal vision for Gelephu, the strategic role that our airlines can play cannot be understated. I can only reiterate that efficient air transport will promote international trade and investments, and more importantly facilitate the movement of people and goods. Besides, as a small landlocked country, a reliable and convenient air connection to Gelephu is not only of key importance, it could also help physically promote the brand Bhutan to the world. This is what Singapore Airlines achieved for Singapore in the 1970s. Bhutanese people are generally hospitable, kind and fun. It won’t take long to build a global airline with the best onboard services and customer care.

And not the least of considerations, is the Bhutanese diaspora that is spread across the planet – especially in Australia, Japan and the Middle East. A direct air connection will make it possible for our people to conveniently travel home and more frequently. This might open up a circular migration and investments, and acquisitions of properties while at the same time allowing children to be kept connected to their roots. Of course, you can always hop on to a Thai Airways or an Air India flight, but there is nothing like getting on board an aircraft that carries your own national flag from end to end. You already feel safe, proud and at home as soon as you are on board, although the aircraft may be still attached to the airport terminal in a foreign land.

(This article appeared on Kuensel newspaper of 17 August 2024)

(Photo credit: Official page of HM the King, Airbus official website)

Drukair, Royal Bhutan Airlines #gelephumindfulnesscity #mindfulnesscity #mindfulness #airbus #airbus319 #airbus320neo #airbus321xlr #airbus #bhutan #perth #bhutaneseabroad #bhutanesediaspora

Following my post, and the talk at Bhutan Echoes, on What it means to be Bhutanese, I have received over 200 requests for the soft copy of my dissertation. I thank you all for reaching out to get my humble work – although it is still in the inhuman academic form. I promise to work on a book for mass distribution. 

Many also shared their secret dreams of pursuing their bachelors, masters and PhD. So this post is mainly for you people and for the lifelong learners, and readers. 

First of all, I would like you all to keep your dreams alive and stay focussed on that path. Someone once told me, you stop learning, you stop living. For our country too, on any day I would prefer to have a good educated population. Ignorance does not bode well for anything. Just look at what’s happening these days beyond our borders.

Second, to start yourself off, treat yourself like an academic. Take time to read academic stuff, and watch and listen to academics on YouTube. Give an academic bent to the place where you currently work by googling on how to innovate your job and your profession. Take the free courses on Coursera.org from some of the best universities to get you in the mood and to speak the right language. Nothing will go to waste even if you don’t go back to school.

Third, in terms of cultivating the right attitude, have a dual feeling – of respect for others’ ideas on one hand, while also motivating yourself into critically thinking and telling yourself that you can add to the idea itself. This will push yourself into really training and exercising your brain positively. But, do not, under any circumstances, underestimate yourself on one hand (this is very Bhutanese), while also shooting down other people’s ideas and works. Such an attitude will get you nowhere in life. This is a very common “third-world mentality”, which the colonial powers used to instil in the colonised people during that period. Sadly, we still see some remnants of such filthy behaviour even in our midst. 

You may probably achieve the goal you aim for:

Yes, setting your mind on a goal can often take you to the goal itself. You must have heard that from every motivational speaker. But here is my own story. 

Many years back when I had just moved into documentary filmmaking from engineering, I stumbled upon a leaflet of the prestigious Japan Prize for International Documentary Contest. I decided to win that prize, and as a reminder (I mentioned that I am absent-minded) I kept that leaflet in my bag and carried it with me everywhere I went. I won the Japan Prize a year later in 2003 – less than one and half year after I started making documentaries. All my life I have been a technician and an engineer but I learnt the art of documentary filmmaking almost instantly. Of course, you should work hard, work smart, and burn many midnight candles, and find a mentor.

Another story – when I was teaching in Sherubtse, and after rubbing shoulders with the academics, I was completely awed by people like Dr. Karma Phuntsho and Dr. Kuenga Wangmo with doctorate degrees – as in how they spoke, the depth of their talks, the humility, and how they carried themselves. So, I decided that I would also pursue doctoral studies, which I was told was necessary if I wanted to be taken seriously in academia. So, look for the right inspirations.

Enjoy the journey. Don’t mind the destination:

An interesting plot twist to my PhD goal occurred when I started off in Macau. Both my supervisor and another professor of sociology advised me to take the opportunity of being there to leave a legacy in the field – meaning to take on some difficult questions that would kickstart a national conversation, while adding to the discipline itself. They told me that I already had an illustrious career and so I should not rush with my course. I followed their advice. I don’t know if my work is of any substance or weight, but I think I have achieved the goal of starting a national conversation. The Bhutan Echoes 2024 gave me the ultimate stage to amplify the question: What does it mean to be Bhutanese? I am grateful to the Royal Patron and the organisers of Bhutan Echoes. I hope every educated Bhutanese everywhere will ask that question, “Who are we?”, “Does this represent us the Bhutanese?”, or “Are we not better than this?” on a continuous basis as we go on with our lives – anywhere on Earth, and as we make public policies, enact laws, and implement the rules and regulations.

Lastly, for those with hundreds of familial and social commitments, just be patient. Children will grow and fly away. As you grow older you can actually go back to school in peace. I started my PhD journey at 49, and had the time of my life.

I wish you all the same – a terrific journey, whenever that happens, of fun and of learning, and of sparking some national conversations, or even an international one. And not stressful years of yearning for that prestigious title.

Of course, as I was sharing with a colleague sometime back, there is no denying the fact that it is nicer to grow old with those flashy titles MPhil and DPhil. If for nothing, your validity period in the society will be extended by many years.

In my earlier post on belonging I mentioned that sense of belonging is, firstly, the connection one makes with the past, the present or the future; second, that it is not a fixed state and that people continuously evaluate their belongingness to a place or a group; and third, that loss of sense of belonging is an emotional breakdown, and not an economic disruption (although one could also argue that the latter could trigger the former).

How does one reclaim one’s sense of belonging?

Between 2013 and 2014, when I taught in Sherubtse College I started every class with the existential quest, “Who am I?” Some found it funny, some loved it and many were very confused. When the students went on break they packed off with a mandatory homework: to retrace their ancestry by meeting and spending time with their grandparents..

Whether or not your life has come to a halt, or you are a young person finding a footing in this world, establishing connections with your family elders and ancestors is a good start. After all, blood is thicker than water. You will feel grounded, loved, or cared for. Just give it a try!

After that find your own community – a place that you are comfortable with, and values you and your beliefs. For instance, I found mine among the Oleps in Athang Rukha in western Bhutan – although I am from the extreme east. You could also create one (VAST Bhutan is a perfect example – created by Azha Karma). Quite often, in such a circle you will find your holy grail – the purpose and meaning to your life.

Let me share my own experience of getting lost, tracing my footsteps, and discovering myself again.

I grew up looking after cattle on school holidays in Trashigang Pam. And because I was absent-minded, or engrossed in reading comic books, by late afternoon I would have lost all the cows in the jungle. My paternal grandfather who would come to my rescue had only one technique: trace the footsteps.

That advice would become my life’s philosophy when I felt lost. Ten years back that’s what I did with my life. I traced my footsteps because I was going through the lowest point of my life.

I asked my father to take me to the exact spot where I was born. I always knew I was born somewhere in the jungles between Radhi and Merak in Trashigang. I had nothing on my mind. I just wanted to spend that downtime to look for that place before life takes over again.

However, standing on the spot where a hut once stood, I had my own unplanned Buddha-moment – a moment of Realisation. My whole life replayed in front of me like an old black-and- white movie.

Because of some power struggles and family feuds in the area, my great-grandparents had lost everything and so I grew up extremely poor. We often depended on food loans, and collecting leftover grains in someone’s field – a practice called kangsong.

Then, schooling came, followed by a prestigious scholarship to the world’s oldest university in Bologna (Italy) to study engineering and eventually returning home in 1995 and pursuing a rich and an extraordinary career of bringing TV to Bhutan and a couple of  international awards in documentary filmmaking. Many would give an arm to achieve what I achieved. From walking barefoot as a child to dining in the Imperial Palace of Japan, indeed I have come a long way. I thought if I had come this far, I could still go a little further.

I also reconnected with my folks and especially with my old illiterate uncle, Lepo, who lives there, and who reminded me of my place in the world.

“We are descendants of lamas and lords, and not of scammers and suckers. Other than that, what can I say,” he told me.

Other uncles, Dondrub and Sangay Wangdi, showed me the temples and retreat centres in the area that our ancestors built, and the place where our manor once stood. They introduced me to all my relatives and to the descendants of the people who once served my great grandparents. They shared stories of my late mother and grandfather and cried. I cried with them too. I had finally come home – both physically and metaphorically. It was a very healing moment. (In 2020, my siblings and I sponsored the whole village on pilgrimage to India and Nepal).

Tracing my footsteps gave me tremendous courage to reset my life and start a new career altogether at 46. And in doing so, I found new communities – the academics and the spiritual groups who welcomed me. I am always indebted to my media studies students and Sherubtse College. I also completed the first of the three temples I would eventually build in Athang Rukha.

I also went back to school and earned my PhD (in social science this time). Along the way, I was conferred four academic awards in the US – including the Dissertation of the Year Award 2022. I was looking forward to a tenured position in academia, but I withdrew my plans as something greater just kept me home, for now.

Covid also reminded us of the impermanence, and my lama was even more brutal. “What more do you want to achieve, and how long do you want to push on? Maybe, it is time for you to pave the way for your next life”.

That’s the magic of retracing your past. It puts you solidly on your true path, and to a future. Today my life intersects between community service and spiritualism, and research, teaching and collaboration with some of the finest minds humanity has to offer, and mentoring current and future global leaders to make the world better.

Leadership and belonging:

One big responsibility that leaders have is to instil a sense of belonging among those who are in his or her charge. And by leader, I mean anyone with a sphere of influence – including parents, teachers, media influencers and celebrities.

For leaders in the business and in the government I suggest a book by Owen Eastwood, Belonging. In it the author recommends that leaders must start by asking the question: What is the optimal environment for this group to perform to their best? And take a proactive and facilitative role to create one. You do that by valuing each and every employee for their strengths and skills. You value the time and life they have put to the organisation.

The book goes on to say that when we experience a sense of belonging our body produces feel good chemicals in the brain, which leads to healthy and a highly productive life (good for the organisation too). Whereas people underperform or leave when they don’t feel the sense of belonging. This, in my view, explains the high attrition rate in civil service.

In conclusion…

May you all find your place in the world – especially the young ones who are seeking it. Keep looking for it! Meet real people in the streets, farms and cafes. Stop wasting money following fake celebrities on TikTok or some billionaires whose lives and backgrounds we don’t identify with.

Be open and be broad-minded. Listen to ordinary folks. If you are humble and respectful, you’ll find wisdom everywhere and in everyone.

Above all, ask for help. There are more good people in the world than mean ones. And you are loved.

At the on-going Bhutan’s literature festival, Bhutan Echoes, where I was invited to share my doctoral dissertation, two concepts – loss of belongingness and loss of innocence, resonated with the young moderator. I guess, he also represents the feelings of our next generation.

I have argued that these two losses are the principal root cause for most of the issues we face with our youth today.

Let me define what sense of belonging is in this article.

Sense of belonging is, firstly, our authentic connection to our shared past, our shared present and our shared future. When people have no connection to their story of their past, when people feel that they have no stake or say in the present circumstances, or when people see no hope for the future, they lose the sense of belonging. They feel worthless, and unrecognised, and pushed away. One can only imagine where people will head for, or resort to because as social animals, we always seek a place and a community where they feel they are accepted, belonged and valued.

How do we come to such conclusions? As communication scholars, we are trained to observe, listen to and analyse social interactions such as verbal and non-verbal cues. This field of study is callled ethnography of communication. It posits the idea that what we communicate reveals a lot of our identity, beliefs systems and socio-cultural dispositions.

To put it simply, statements like “Nga yoena mena ei. Yoe ru toob, mi ru toob” (Whether I am there or not, it is fine) – a common statement these days can index to loss of self-worth and motivation. It is not a good sign for a country of less than quarter a million of productive citizens.

Second, a sense of belonging is not a fixed state. We constantly evaluate our surroundings and people around us – and ask: do I belong here? Am I wanted? Am I useful? Just because you have a job in the government, or you come from a good family, do not guarantee anything. If someone feels useless, they will either go haywire or in the best case scenario, which is especially true for Bhutanese, they will walk away – a phenomenon that has been coined in sociology as quiet-quitting. 

Third, a sense of belonging is not a rational thinking but an emotional feeling. This means from the perspective of neuroscience it emerges from an area in the brain called the limbic system. Humans have three areas of the brain: the frontal neocortex, which is broadly termed as the logical brain; the limbic area, which is the emotional brain; and the oldest layer called the reptilian brain, which mainly controls our survival instinct.

So, because it is an emotion, using facts, figures and logic will not reinstate a sense of belonging to any person. For instance, the government promising to double the per capita income by 2029 or 2034 will not change anyone’s mind from leaving if they have so decided. Loss of sense of belonging is an emotional breakdown, and not an economic disruption.

Fortunately, when it comes to a shared future, we have the ambitious Gelephu Mindfulness City project, which has given us a topic to talk about, and something to look forward to – or simply to gossip on.

As someone who has seen a lot in life, if there is something that we can achieve, it is always what we perceive as something impossible. In recent memory, the 2003 military operation comes to my mind. Earlier to that we have fended off the British – sometimes militarily, sometimes through diplomacy. History and our past achievements are with us, as we embark on the most important project of our generation and the next.

Another initiative that will help address the sense of belonging will be the Gyalsung program, which will connect our youth to the past, and firmly ground them into the present.

Hope is, as they say, on the horizon.

For many years now I have been helping young people who are struggling to pay their tuition fees, get to school, travel to colleges outside Bhutan, go for rehab, etc. I accept 3-4 cases a year. I can’t afford more. Wish I could. In recent years I have been doing a little more.

Back then I used to come across them during my official tours (my former colleagues will remember some). In recent years they are mostly referred to me by my friends and former students, because people facing difficulties come from their age group. They come from all corners of Bhutan – Sharchop, Ngalop, Lhotshampa, Khengpas.

I also don’t meet most of the beneficiaries because there is no need to really meet, take selfies and blast on the social media. Some, of course, I do run into them casually. Few months back I met a pharmacist who told me that I paid his travel expenses to go to Chennai for his scholarship – back in 2007.

There is, of course, one commitment they have to make. They have to practise similar level of kindness to two or three random strangers in a distant future when things are settled in their life. It can be to a struggling student, or a family. By making them commit to something like this the beneficiary receives the help with dignity, and with a promise to pass the favour to someone else in future – and not to receive it with shame, victimism or self-pity.

They must also pass the message of spreading kindness to their beneficiaries in future. This way we multiply the act of loving kindness to as many people in the world. Basically, a pyramid-scheme to spread and multiply goodness and compassion.

Nothing is legally binding. It is just a word of honour that I tell them to remember to uphold. I assure them that problems in life are temporary. They will get themselves firmly on their feet and when they do, they must help others, just as they received help.

I haven’t kept the count but I started somewhere in 2004. So, 20 years multiplied by 3 means I helped around 60 people through this simple pyramid scheme. In turn, if they helped 2 each means there are at least 120 kind people, if not more, in Bhutan.

Yesterday, I helped the third word of honour candidate for the year, through a mentee. The beneficiary is a high-school student, who was otherwise getting dropped-out, because the only source of funding – her grandfather, is hospitalised for over two months now. And her parents cannot afford to let her continue in a private school.

I did not meet the candidate, but I fully trust my mentee/referee. The second candidate, whom I met last month, was for buying him an air ticket to New Zealand. He was going on the Earn&Learn program.

I am sharing this personal initiative, one among many similar things I do, encouraged by someone, to lift the mood in these depressing times.

Loving-kindness (Skt. maitrī; Dz. བྱམས་པ་, jampa) and compassion (Skt. Karuna. Dz. སྙིང་རྗེ་ nyingjey) are the core practices in Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhism. As a country that is founded on these ideals and values, we must never forget to practise them. This is what makes our country (still) a good place to be. We cannot take them for granted, though. We must nurture these values by practising them.

I know it is not easy. Nonetheless, while we maybe limited by our means to help others, we can still cultivate some jampa and nyingjey in our thoughts and prayers.

After all, nyingjey literally means “Supreme Heart”.

🥰😍🥳

On this auspicious Choekor Duechen (aka Drub Tshezhi in Bhutan), I decided to practise giving and compassion by offering the money I had budgeted (10k) for religious activities, to Bhutan Stroke Foundation.

Today is celebrated as the First Day of Teaching by Buddha after he attained enlightenment. It is one of the four holiest days of the year in Buddhism. As a lay practitioner, the day is of reflection and practice. I reflected well this morning in my altar room (decided I was doing OK 😜😜😜).

For the practice part, I chose to practise compassion (core teaching in Vajrayana) to help the 130+ post-stroke patients that are currently served by Foundation. I spent the day with some of them who are currently living in the office complex of BSF.

This gesture was inspired by my recent visit to my family lama, Rangshikhar Rimpoche, who impressed on me the practice of loving-kindness (jampa) and compassion (nyingjey) as the supreme practice. This is of course not to discount the pilgrimages and monument buildings. It is just about finding the middle path.

BSF Sunday Networking Market.

On this Day, we opened the first edition of the Sunday Networking Market – a weekly market of organic food, drinks, flowers and networking. This initiative is to help reintegrate the stroke patients into the mainstream economy. We also opened a cafe, run by recovering stroke patients.

Please show support every Sunday by visiting us at the BSF office, and buying the products. The vegetable and fruits are all sourced from villages in Chukha – spearheaded by Sangay Thinley, who works as Economic Development Officer with Chukha Dzongkhag.

May you all be blessed too with good health and happiness.

🙏🙏🙏

Compassion is the supreme practice, says Rangshikhar Rimpoche.

“Oh! It is my ancient jindhas (patron),” Rimpoche exclaims as soon as he gets closer to me and sees me properly. I prostrate three times as customary.

Rimpoche’s eye sight has been troubling him for a while now. He is 88 too but other than his eyes he looks well and healthy, which I point it out to him.

“Well, I have been around for a while and so, I think it is time that I linger among the clouds now. I have been living off people for far too long and I may get too indebted to you all. Karmically, that’s not good,” he jokes.

In between my life of travels and work – and work and travels, I try to make time to visit my family Lama in Gelephu – two or three times a year.

Popularly known as Rangshikhar Rimpoche (his full name is Togden Jigme Chogyal Rimpoche) he was born in Dremetse-Aja Nye region and comes from a bloodline of some of the greatest yogis and Buddhist masters. He was trained under his father, which included some 21 years of solitary retreats.

My family, from my father’s side, has been servant-supporters of his religious lineage. My great grand father served his grandfather. My grandfather served his father – Dekiling Rimpoche. My father served him to establish the seat in Rangshikhar. And mine is the fourth generation, and serving his son – the current Sey Gabu Rimpoche.

Because of this relation going back to several generations, he is always happy to have us, as much as we feel blessed to see him.

“Where are you coming from today? And take a seat,” he offers me a seat closer to him and at same level.

”Maybe in my next life if I am reborn as a lama I will take that seat,” I tell him.

“For this life, I am fine on the floor. But you know, I am trying my best to be reborn as a trulku”.

We both laugh. Regardless of how learned he is, he loves to crack jokes and laughs when he hears one. So, I always share my lighter side of life with him.

Tea arrives and as I am taking my first sip, Rimpoche continues the topic.

”You know, you don’t have to wait for your next life to do some serious spiritual practice. It is never late either to start getting deeper. For instance, Mipham Rimpoche was a common man till the age of 30. You can start now if you want,” Rimpoche makes a serious proposition.

”However,” he continues, “the most important practice is the practice of compassion and loving kindness. This is the best and quickest way towards attaining realisation. It is the supreme and the final target of all practices.”

🙏🙏🙏

(In the picture Rimpoche is blessing my prayer beads and my gaw, which I carry everywhere.)

Why are our lakes sacred, while lakes in other countries are not? (A question on my Instagram from a young Bhutanese friend)

Basic fact: All the lakes in all the countries on Earth were once deemed as sacred. Every native culture – American, Finnish, Asian, African, Polynesian etc. have viewed every aspect of nature as sacred. Then, science and rationalism took over the popular narrative towards the end of the 18th Century and everything that was not rational or logical were slammed as archaic, obsolete and irrelevant. Still, in many countries, including in some native reservations in the US, many lakes and water bodies are considered sacred. In a recent move, New Zealand just gave human status (with the same rights) to rivers and lakes.

Our belief in Bhutan:

As to why we in Bhutan still hold them as sacred, it has got to do more with Bonism than Buddhism. While Buddhism treats every sentient being – including nature and the super-natural, as sacred, it was the Bon masters who insisted that the Buddhists accept some of their sacred places and their deities within the Buddhist universe.

According to a popular legend, the final truce between the Bonpos and the Buddhists was made following the race to the top of Mt. Kailash between Bon Narochung and Jetsun Milarepa, in which the latter won*. The Buddhist demanded that the Bonpos accept the core Mahayana practice of Loving Kindness and Compassion and refrain from animal and human sacrifice, and the Bonpos required the Buddhists to regard all their sacred spots – mountain peaks, water bodies, creeks, soil, trees, etc. as sacred. Following the famous truce, the reformed Bon came to be known as Bon Kar (white Bon) and some of their belief systems and ritualistic practices were integrated in Vajrayana Buddhism.

There are deeper nuances on this topic and more to the story (and young readers are invited to delve further), but in brief it explains fairly well the Himalayan traditions of nature worship like treating a lake as sacred.

*In Nalanda Monastery in Punakha there is a mural painting depicting this legend. Check it out.

(Photo: Athang Tsho – the sacred lake in Bhutan.)