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)
In Bhutan a popular national holiday is the Traditional Day of Offering. Locally known as buelwa phuewi nyim (འབུལ་བ་ཕུལ་བའི་ཉིནམ།) it commemorates the day when, during the medieval era, the three regional governors of Bhutan paid their homage and tributes to the central theocratic government that was headed by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel in Punakha Dzong.
With a day late (I am always late) I paid my homage and tribute to our founding-father in Machhen temple and invoked his blessings for a super successful year for our King, people, and country.
A few months back when I was teaching the courses on Buddhism and iconography to the Dessups who are training to be cultural guides, I urged them to visit the sacred Machen Lhakhang once a year – irrespective of their faith or religion – and simply by the virtue of being a Bhutanese. For, he is the founding father to whom we must express gratitude.
May we be blessed into usefulness for all sentient beings. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
My traditional New Year got off to a nice start with this post from somewhere – helping bring a little less suffering to someone I have never met from a place I have never been.
Actually, I had forgotten about this. It happened a month back. I was into something busy, when a social worker I know texted me to help acquire a wheelchair.
I could call up somebody in our health system and get one for free but that might deprive another person of the free service, and really how much does a wheel chair cost? Somewhere in the region of 10,000 I was told.
“I will send you a little more. Get the best one.” I told her. “And please keep doing what you are doing.”
These people inspire me. They do, because as much as my heart went out to this unknown person who needs a wheel chair (life must be hard), my rational mind told me I should keep supporting people like Goldy who are giving something we all have – time. For, generosity is not just about money. You can share your time, knowledge, skills, wisdom, and many more.
Thank you, Goldy Layo Rai and all the people out there who are giving away your time and energy to make the life of another sentient being better.
All our collective works and thoughts make our own lives worth living. It brings immense joy and fulfillment. In fact there is an old Bhutanese saying – You don’t only do good to others. You do it for yourself.
Back home for Bhutanese Losar (New Year) after dropping a VIP guest and after a couple of business meetings in Bangkok.
Came back home with a heater. It is so cold in Thimphu these days 🥶🥶🥶
Happy Losar to all – especially to the other half of Bhutan from Pele-la and beyond.
Life has moved in the fast lane again for me. Yup! After listening to the National Day address I decided to come out of my early retirement and self-imposed isolation, and do what I can and when I can.
Lots of travels, a couple of new countries, 3 conventions and two academic conferences in the calendar.
Our youth may be the future but we – my generation, are currently the leaders with the power, experience, resources, networks, wisdom, exposure and knowledge. How about we channel them to help fulfill this royal aspiration of the world’s first mindfulness city? How about even if we as private citizens come together?
So, I am on a chartered flight with some potential investors to the Mindfulness City. My second such flight. This time I also took the opportunity to fill up the plane with my teachers, and with few ordinary people who work for me and who have never flown before.😀😀😀
Fortunately the flight was smooth. Otherwise some of my Bhutanese guests would have passed out. This aircraft does not fly enough to avoid the mountain wave gushes. This flight was very ably piloted by the first father-daughter pilot duo of Bhutan – the veteran, Chenda Wangchuk, and his daughter.
A huge gratitude to the newly-appointed Governor Dr. Lotay Tshering (he even humbly drove us around) and the Thrompon and his team for hosting us from the moment we landed to the time we took off again.
Thanks also goes to my old friend from gokha days, Dasho Dubala, for the Riwo Sangchoe rituals which he had organised right on the day we visited. What a beautiful coincidence! It was not planned at all. This type of synchronicity (madribi tendrel in Dzongkha) augurs well. I was told that as we were setting there for a reception tea, a vulture circled over us three times and then flew away.
😎😎😎
(NB – My next article on GMC is titled: What is this “mindfulness” in the mindfulness city?)
Ever wondered what is behind the closed doors of the sacred Goenkang (chamber of the tutelary deities). Well, there are many religious objects, and the most important ones are the tormas that represent the particular protector deity.
Torma (གཏོར་མ་) generally refers to the dough and butter sculptures, which are made during and for religious sermons in Buddhism. The word, torma, comes from two words tor (གཏོར་) which means ‘casting away” of impurities, defilements and negativities or giving away selflessly to all sentient beings with the kind of motherly love, and hence the second word, ma (མ་), which means ‘mother’.
A legend goes that the Torma tradition was started by Ananda – Gautama Buddha’s cousin and attendant. Story goes that he was once meditating in the forest when a ferocious hungry ghost appeared to him and wanted to eat him. Ananda ran to the Buddha and told him what happened. The Buddha advised Ananda to make an effigy of himself and offer it to the hungry ghost with prayers and compassion. Ananda did that and the hungry ghost was appeased. The tradition of Torma was then established.
As Buddhism flourished and took different forms and sects, so did the shape and scope of torma evolve to embrace the local traditions, cultures and beliefs. Today in Vajrayana Buddhism world, there are many types of torma such as lütor (གླུད་གཏོར་) or the torma with effigy, chutor (ཆུ་གཏོར་) or torma with water, lenchag torma (ལན་ཆགས་གཏོར་མ་) or torma for karmic debtors, lutor (ཀླུ་གཏོར་) or torma for nāga serpent spirits, or gektor (གེགས་གཏོར་) or torma for the obstructing evil forces.
A type of tormas is the representations of the devas and the deities. The shape of these tormas vary from one to the other depending on the deity the torma represents. These types of torma includes the yidam torma (ཡི་དམ་གཏོར་མ་) representing enlightened deities, chökyong torma (ཆོས་སྐྱོང་གཏོར་མ་) representing protector deities, and zhidak torma (གཞི་བདག་གཏོར་མ་) representing local territorial deities. Some of these torma, especially when they represent the tutelary protector deities, are kept hidden in the shrine.
The one in the picture is of Aum Palden Lhamo (Sri Devi) – one of the Eight Great Dharmapalas in Tibetan Buddhism and her retinue, and which I commissioned for Athang Rukha (abode of Palden Lhamo).
These tormas are made from incense powder and water collected from holy places around the Himalayas. Today on the post-ngenpa guzom day, coinciding with Tara Day, I offered it to the temple there. May our supreme protector deity guard us, as we embark on an ambitious venture as a nation.
JO RAMO JO, RAMO JO JO, RAMO TUNJO, KALA RACHENMO, RAMO AJA DAJA, TUNJO, RULU RULU, HUNG JO HUNG
It is not every day that a National Medal winner does your hair, but here in this Country, you can, because the medallist is back to his work. Nothing much has changed in him, except he has become more motivated in what he was already doing.
Today I took the opportunity to congratulate a fellow Tashigangpa and an old friend from Tashigang street football days, Mr. Ugyen Deepak, on being honoured by His Majesty the King with the prestigious National Order of Merit on the National Day. His recognition is a testament that you don’t have to hold a high position or status to be recognised, or to serve the nation.
Deepak was born in Trashigang, and spent more time there than me. Our fathers were friends. Now, he knows more of my relatives than I do – all my distant nieces and nephews. He is an institution in Trashigang, but now he is also a national figure – a role model and a teacher to many young Desuups.
He misses being in Trashigang but says, “duty calls”. So, he is taking a short leave soon to go there to report to protector deity Gara Wangchuk, because he has been away for a long time. His wife understands “but the local deity may not. You know that!” he adds. We planned to cost-share the appeasement rituals he would conduct to our common birth deity.
Today, as we were chatting and catching up with our lives and families, and how he felt being bestowed with such an honour by the Highest Office of the land, I remembered an earlier conversation we had.
I once asked him what was one golden piece that his father, Thakurji, gave him. Without a second thought, he replied, “My father told me whether I wanted to become an engineer or a doctor, it was my choice, but as far he was concerned, I should never abandon the scissors and the comb. Because that is what our forefathers did. That is where our yang (fortune) lies.”
He chose to honour his father’s advice despite being a brilliant student.
The story goes that his ancestors were barbers to Gautama Buddha. Maybe that’s why his father insisted. I am sure he must be smiling down on my friend.
Joining everyone in congratulating him and wishing him a long, healthy life of service to our King and youth.
Paid my homage on the Nyilo Day to our founding father, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, at the sacred Machen Lhakhang in Punakha Dzong. Sought his blessings for the new year and what he thought of me coming out of my semi-retirement. He responded with a perfect dice number which means, Awesome! (this is according to the caretaker-monk).
Waking the Talk.
On this day I completed revising the Buddhist iconography, and Foundation of Buddhism, which were two courses I taught this group of 200+ young Bhutanese – in September and October. (To all the Tour agencies maliks, please know that I trained these guys. So take them with blind faith).
I also gave the guys some peptalk where I told them not to only find faults in the stars, the society or the state but to look at themselves in the mirror and challenge themselves first.
I said, “We always think it is someone’s fault when life does not go our way. You know, for me I am my biggest biggest obstacle. For instance, these days I feel too lazy to go for morning walks. I keep rejecting all job offers because I don’t want to work full-time. I struggle to eat healthy, or work as hard as I used to. At your age I used to work 18 hours a day. Can you do that? Can you wake up at 5 in the morning, work like crazy, and go to bed at midnight for 5 years every day?”
I told them to just go out, explore and grab every opportunity, take what comes their way, and they will eventually find their place and purpose in the world. At the very least, they could carry some boulders at GMC. The world may be unfair but you can’t change it if you only look for excuses.
Aum Om’s Homestay
On the eve of the Nyilo I had a free meal (she refused to take the payment) at Aum Om’s Homestay. After running around in foreign land for months I wanted to eat something authentic Bhutanese, and I called her up. Aum Om is the sister of the legendary artist Asha Karma of VAST. The homestay, certified for tourists, is tucked away in the quiet corner overlooking the Punakha valley.
Aum Om is a quintessential Bhutanese lady – super warm, generous, strong, dignified, and a great homemaker. Her place is an oasis of peace and perfection. (If you want to go there, and you must, you can find her place on Google Map too)
The National Day is a day of reflection as a nation. It is a reminder of who we are as people and a day of introspection for individuals of the sense of nationhood we possess. With globalisation, urbanisation and outmigration facing every country – including ours, the National Day has gained more prominence in the life of our country in recent times.
Like many Bhutanese, I watched the 117th National Day online. I was travelling for work. And like many, I shed a tear of joy and hope – especially touched by His Majesty the King’s words that he would make his young children work at the project sites at the upcoming mindfulness city.
The King-People bond
Recently, I watched a movie—Taking Chance. This small-budget film, based on a true story, has a simple but powerful storyline. It shows how Americans honour their people who make the ultimate sacrifice for the country. The respect, tribute, and honour for the fallen hero, as the casket makes its way back to his hometown, is viewed as the soul of America itself.
As a Bhutanese, I have often asked, what is the soul of Bhutan as a nation? What is that one sacrosanct thing we should hold dear?
In my PhD fieldwork, I have found that among many national symbols and beliefs, such the national flag, religion, or a fixed ideology it is the institution of the monarchy that emerges at the top.
Furthermore, every family in Bhutan sees the King as an extension of the family. This is because the King-People bond – as in the love and care that the King has for the subjects and the genuine respect and gratitude that the people have for the monarch goes beyond the simple ruler-ruled dynamics. It is more like a parent-offspring relationship. This is the soul of the Bhutanese nation. A glue that binds the country together in unity and harmony.
During His Majesty’s visit to Australia, some Bhutanese in Perth resigned from their jobs to attend the event to see the King. The tears our people shed there were tears of overwhelming joy of seeing what we in Bhutanese refer to the King as drinchen ghi phama (meaning ‘parents to whom we owe much’). The fact that His Majesty crossed an ocean to go and meet his subject is unheard of in the history of mankind, in general. Likewise, the videos of people lined up for kilometres in freezing temperatures in Thimphu on the eve of the National Day is yet another testament to the above.
Hence, this sacrosanct soul of the nation should never be tainted, compromised, or broken. No individuals or institutions should stand between the King and the people. Otherwise we lose everything.
The Call of Duty – and the Golden Generation
In the life of a nation, every generation gets a call of duty. For Generation Z and Generation Alpha, the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project is the Call. However, my generation is not excused from this call, either, because no generation is better equipped to understand the magnitude of what we are about to create, its benefit for the future generation and its value in our journey towards nation-building and sovereignty.
For my generation, it was to enrol in modern schools. Then, when we passed our high school, the smart ones were sent out on fellowships to study science and engineering and return to serve the King, people and the government. We did that. Some did more, some did less, but every Bhutanese of my generation who went on government scholarship returned home and did the best. We built modern health services, RNR extension centres, public infrastructures and communication systems like radio, TV and Internet.
My generation saw the country evolve from the days of struggling with basic economic necessities to flashing around Prados and smartphones – and everything in between. We come from the school of hard knocks, where we survived the bedbugs and hunger in poorly resourced boarding schools and where we had to fight for the last scoop of broth in the school mess. For the most part, we went barefoot, where even Bata slippers were a luxury.
My generation also learnt the ways of our elders and ancestors, seamlessly embracing both science and spiritualism and believing in both Maxwell’s field theory and Buddha’s four noble truths.
In short, we brought the world to Bhutan and took Bhutan to the world. We made them fall in love with our commitment to happiness. The experiences of living in the best of both worlds make us the Golden Generation, who is now called to perform one last song. As I joked with someone at the Bhutan Innovation Forum, paraphrasing a line from one of my favourite movies (Good, Bad and the Ugly), some people will talk, and some people will have to dig. We must, therefore, fish back our safety helmets, dust off our gumboots and show up one more time with “axes and spades” (tari toktsi) – as a Bhutanese adage goes.
Our generation must not only lead and inspire the next generation. Those of us with a sphere of influence in the government or public life must shed off our selfish and often corrupt and red-taped past. Instead, we need to open our eyes to new immense possibilities of the royal vision and solidly rally behind it. In this way, we would be giving back to the country that gave us so much.
What can you do? A lot
His Majesty’s royal address has moved us, but getting inspired and taking no action gets us nowhere. “To know and not do is the same as not knowing” – so an old Bhutanese proverb goes. However, one must also recognise that as a society, we are schooled to seek permission to even take a toilet break or to wait for instruction for every little thing. It is not that people are always passive or indifferent. So, when it comes to the Mindfulness City project, here are a few of the many actionable things you could do.
Firstly, you can volunteer your time or resources to the Vajrayana centres that are being built or are coming up. This is the easiest way. As we say in Bhutanese, it is time to pave the path for your next existence. Remember that whether you take action or not, you will age, and it is better to grow old by looking back and seeing things you have done rather than look back and say, “I should have done this or that”.
Second, for those who are working outside the country, the GMC’s official bank – The Oro Bank, invites you to make fixed deposits in foreign currency. The capital raised will go towards developing the basic infrastructure like airports and bridges. After ten years, your money will be back to you with interest.
There is, however, something deeper in this Oro Bank initiative for the Bhutanese diaspora. In my view, it is about giving those living abroad a sense of being a part of this ambitious project and a connection to our home called Bhutan. It is more than just about money. It is about restoring the sense of belonging and ownership in the destiny of future Bhutan. One need not respond to the call to duty by relocating back immediately but by supporting the initiatives back in our country – financially and morally.
Third, and most importantly, let’s learn to love each other and support one another beyond our social status and professions, and avoid categorizations and classifications. Let us look up to those who are better than us and look out for those who are less endowed and less resourced. Let’s try not to unsee our accomplished people or undo their achievements. Let’s focus on human power – and not just on hydropower.
For people of my generation, as I was sharing with two instructors of the Desuung Skilling Centres, we need to groom the next generation, nurture them, guide them, scold them and put them on the path to livelihood and righteousness. Otherwise, who will? Consultants will come and go. But this country – someday, we would have to hand it over to our children. They must be prepared to receive it and take it forward by honouring with integrity and pride and with everything that makes up the glorious nation of Pelden Drukpa. The duty to uplift our people and communities and truly care for our country falls squarely on us, the Bhutanese.
Nation-building is a work in progress. And by nation-building, I am referring to the sense of nationhood and that feeling of oneness as people – and not the highways, hydropower dams or hospitals. Unless the citizens have a shared dream and a common purpose, unless there is unity, solidarity, and harmony, a country with a physical territory of humans and animals and nature does not necessarily guarantee peace, prosperity, or progress.
The GMC project provides that common purpose and a collective dream, which is envisioned by our King, who unites us as people and as a nation and whose bond with the people has sustained the test of time.
May the Sun of happiness truly shine on us – as a line from the National Anthem goes.
Dongkala stands at almost 4,000 meters above sea level and commands a view over Thimphu, Paro and Chukha Valleys. It also stands on the mouth of Paro valley (site of Bhutan’s only international airport) and thus, this place is where the airlines also seek blessings for safe operations.
As a frequent flier, I always seek the blessings of this temple for a safe and successful journey. Of late, I have been travelling a lot for work. I took three to-and-fro flights out of Paro in a single month. So, I felt I owe a visit to this marvellous temple overlooking half of the Bhutanese territory. I wanted to pay my homage and gratitude for the awesome trips I just had.
One thing that I like about Dongkala is that it invokes all the protector deities in both the Nyingma and the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. From my mom’s side I have a long list of Nyingma dharmapalas, while from my father’s side I have to invoke the dharmapalas from the Kagyu tradition. Hence, I feel super protected – the maximum protection one can get.
Beyond that Dongkala is home to the sacred Ter statue discovered by Terton Pema Lingpa from Mebar Tsho in Bumthang. And hence, I feel blissful just to be in its presence in the main hall of Dongkala. There is also the Talking Guru statue and the memorial stupa containing the mortal remains of the founder of Dongkala – Terton Tshering Dorji. This stupa and the Ter statue are where you seek blessings for any projects or aspirations you might have.
If one goes on a clear day you can see all the tall mountains of Bhutan from Jumolhari to Gangkhar Puensum, and even the peak of Kanchenjunga (Gangchen Jin-Nga in Bhutanese/Sikkimese/Tibetan, which means Five Treasures Peak).
Dorji Wangchuk 