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 😻

Kyichu, Paro

Kicking off the first day of the Lunar New Year – known as Dawa Dangpa, with a lhabsang of a rental in Paro that will serve as my office as well as guesthouse/residence for my local support team.

The “last” New Year.

Interestingly, for Sharchop traditionally this Losar is somewhat a “sad” moment because it is the last celebration before the tough farming season.

The Sharchop people of eastern Bhutan are a happy-go-lucky community that finds every excuse to have a good time.

Starting from the Blessed Rainy Day in September the people in eastern Bhutan engage is a series of celebrations, happy days lasting for six months, such as Ngenpa, Nyilo, Dawa Chunipa, and finally Dawa Dangpa. Coinciding with this celebration the people would go on an overdrive and do merrymaking for a mininum of 3 days.

Time and traditions have changed with urbanization.

👍👍👍

NB: I also visited Kyichu temple (my new neighbour in Paro) to offer gratitude and prayers to Jowo Shakyamuni and to my friend Za Rahula (asked him to take care of my stroke patients).

High society for a day
‘Surrender’ was the word that was popping on my head yesterday as I attended the annual polo match between Thailand and Malaysia. The trophy is known as the Queen’s Cup and all proceeds and donations go to a cancer initiative patronised by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.

Anyway the point is, my new-found friends from Columbia University New York texted saying they were going for this. I had met them only a day earlier but I instantly connected with them after a brief convo that went like, “You are from Bhutan? My best friend is close to your King”, “I know him. I was chatting with him this morning”, ” Oh my God!”, “Let’s take selfie snd send it to him” and so on.

And so I went after another one encouraged me with, “Oh! You must come. They would love to see you there”. In fact the owners of the club, who were organizing this noble event, welcomed me like a VIP and even included me in their official photo of the award ceremony. What an honour!

Yes. The surrender.

Since Covid-19 killed all my plans for my third career in the academia as a tenured professor, I stopped planning my and I just let the universe take me – putting my faith in myself (to adapt to any new situation), in my Gyalwa-goms (whose blessings and generosity I can always count), and the protection of my lama and my dharmapala – to whom I continue to serve to further the Buddha Dharma.

They say everything happens for a reason. Well, I believe one must actually go beyond and uncover that reason and not just leave and resign with ‘there-must-be-a-reason’. You do it by being open, broad-minded and genuine. “What is the universe trying to tell me here?” One must ask. This way you discover the greater meaning of the reason of every encounter and every moment passing by you.

And yes! I found why I was pulled there. I have had a eureka moment there for my works in compassionate leadership research and education – a field that I am currently working in.

The thing about surrender (there is a book by Michael Singer on this) is you MUST show up authentically – with no ego, with no prejudice, without laziness (I drove over 200km yesterday), without being a miser or mean, and without expectations. And then let the things be revealed to you. Amazing things have happened after I adopted this philosophy of life.

I shared some photos to a couple of my friends and one guy texted, “Damn! From building stupas and making pilgrimages to polo clubs that’s a big jump. What a progress!”

Well, it is because I just surrendered.

😁😁😁

(NB – Gyalwa Gom is another local term to refer to enlightened monarchs and fore-bearers)

I read this post by His Eminence Namgay Dawa Rimpoche, one lama I have begun to respect.

I read it again, and again, and again. Thank you, Rimpoche, for sharing this and for the vulnerability. Learning about your health struggles was humbling, and made me grateful for my own health and life, which as you say some people take for granted.

“We all face our own battles, often silently. We don’t always show the world the pain we carry, the struggles we endure.”

This line hit me hard because it is so true. We are all fighting our own battles. And yes! I have been fighting mine too. And finally, I won after 12 years. (check my earlier posts)

Courage. Compassion. Fear.

In my current line of work, I have also dealt with celebrities and hundreds of net-worth individuals – some of whom were billionaires. I must say each one of them is fighting a battle of some sort. Everyone has a demon they are up against – some are unthinkable, some laughable – but suffering is subjective.

To anyone who may be going through, or have gone through, an ordeal of your own, I wish you courage. I wish you courage to come out of it unscathed.

To everyone else I also wish you courage too because fear, I have realised, is the opposite of compassion.

The opposite of compassion is not cruelty. It is fear. We fear being judged, we fear being seen as weak, we fear being labelled for sharing our story – and we fear when we think of practicing compassion on someone. Especially when we are in some position of power where we fear losing the privileges for breaking a rule to save someone.

May the divinities protect Rimpoche’s health, and bestow him the longest a human has ever survived, for the world needs more compassionate beings like him. His humour is a bonus to humanity. His honesty is a national treasure.

This thing called success.

And to the people who feel they are struggling with their career, or life in general, please remember that your “failure” (whatever this means) is not due to someone’s “success” (whatever this means too). Each one of us is running our own race.

You don’t judge them either because one never knows what the other person is going through, have been through, or how much people have endured to get where they got.

More importantly, there is no such thing as success or failure in life. There is just.. life. And you gotta enjoy it while you are alive. Cherish every moment. Laugh while you can, and don’t be mean to anyone- if you cannot do good (my illiterate mother’s advice).

You are already successful if you are alive. For instance, one high-school student whom I have been sponsoring the studies just got diagnosed with leukaemia (blood cancer).

Think how lucky you are that you just completed reading my post in good health. Think again, and then slowly read Rimpoche’s post. Read them three times, at least.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

As a child growing up with a lama-grandfather, whenever we started off our meal, I was told to first offer it to Kencho Sum (Three Jewels; དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ; Skt. Triratna). So, every morning it is customary for us to offer food first to the altar before the family eats. And furthermore, before we take the first bite we place a few grains of food outside the plate for the unseen spirits like the hungry ghosts. Before we drink we pour out a drop and invite the unseen beings to join in. It is others before self. Always.

When I landed my first job, I was reminded incessantly by my father to offer my first salary in entirety to Kencho-sum – through our family lama, Rangshikhar Rimpoche. He believes that the divinities and the universe will root for my success and happiness if I did that. I think he was right. I did have a fair amount of success – whatever that means.

Later, or in the past decades, I changed a couple of jobs and every time I received my first salary, or the first contract money, I offered it to Kencho-sum without spending a ngultrum.

So, in line with this tradition I have offered my first paycheck this time too for a full-time gig that I have started last month. My modest salary was divided and offered to the temples of my birth place in Tashigang, and to my lamas, who represent the Three Jewels. Besides, I invoked the blessings of Semtokha Dzong in my current city of residence, and from my personal yidam, Palden Lhamo, in Rukha, plus from the deities and divinities of Nyechen Dongkala and Tashigang Dzong. I sent offering to all these places from my first salary.

I also shared with the little nuns of Dorje Phagmo dratshang in Zhemgang (No pictures to protect their privacy).

In the process, I have also received the annual blessings from my three Perfect Teachers, and so, I am all set for a successful year of travels and teaching life.

I have often been asked how to teach compassion to children. Honestly, I have not thought about it. However, compassion is about empathising with someone’s suffering and taking an action to alleviate it. Empathy starts with recognising the presence of others in our lives and in everything we do. It is about thinking of others all the time before self.

May all sentient beings find their way towards realisation with this small act of goodness I learnt from my father and my grandfather.

(Most photos are from my lightning trip to Zhemgang, where Dorje Phagmo is preparing for the annual Phurpa Tordok rituals for the wellbeing of the country. You may donate if you wish)