TIBETAN BUDDHISM IN BHUTAN
Lamaistic (Tibetan) Buddhism is practiced by about three quarters of the population of Bhutan. Lamaistic Buddhism is the state religion. About half of the Tibetan Buddhists in Bhutan belong to the Nyingmapa Buddhist sect (mainly ethnic Sharchops); and half belong to Drukpa Kagyudpa Buddhist sect (mainly ethnic Ngalop). These sects mix classical Buddhist beliefs with Bon — the native pre-Buddhist religious tradition of Tibet with shamanist and animist elements.
Bhutan is the last surviving Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. The state religion is the Drukpa sect of Kagyupa, a school of Tibetan (Vajrayana-Tantric) Buddhism. In the 11 centuries since it was introduced, Buddhism has shaped the nation's history and plays such a vital role in its daily life today one journalist described Bhutan as "a country drenched in religion." Buddhist shrines are scattered all over the kingdom.
The Buddhist community and government of Bhutan have traditionally been inseparable and intertwined. The central religious body — a group of monks — is overseen by pelons, or masters, who are generally senior lamas. One of its main decision-making bodies is a central monastic assembly set up on the Tibetan model.
While the law provides for religious freedom, law prohibits conversions from the Drukpa sect of the Kagyupa School to other religions. The Drukpa (People of the Dragon) arrived from came from Tibet in the 12th century with Tibetan Buddhism and now dominate Bhutanese religious life through a large religious organization with more than 6,000 lamas (high-level monks) at eight major monasteries and 200 smaller gompas. The main sects of Tibetan Buddhism practiced in Bhutan are different than those practiced in Tibet, at least in part because Bhutan’s founders fled Tibet for religious and political reasons and because of strong desire by the founders to distinguish Bhutan from the expansion-minded Tibetans.
Buddhism is believed to have arrived in Bhutan in the A.D. 7th century. Most ceremonies and holidays are Buddhist. The justice system is based on a 17th century Buddhist morale code. Most art is Buddhist and regarded as sacred. Buddhism is central to Bhutan's identity. "We believe that Bhutan without Buddhism would not be Bhutan," Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, a Bhutanese politician told Smithsonian magazine. For centuries, Bhutanese Buddhism flourished in relative isolation while the modern world was kept at bay (television was not legalized in Bhutan until 1999). Now that the modern world has arrived to some degree many of it influences are viewed as negative."Acts of violence in the movies, which show so much fighting, have not been so good for our youth," Penden Wangchuk, a Bhutanese academic told Smithsonian. "We have had gang fights and youths fighting with each other. This is not a healthy thing. Bhutan stands for peace, tolerance and nonviolence." [Source: Arthur Lubow, Smithsonian Magazine, March 2008]
Tibetan Buddhism
The forms of Buddhism practiced in Bhutan are similar to those practiced in Tibet and elsewhere in the Himalayas. Tibetan Buddhism is a syncretic mix of Mahayana Buddhism, Tantrism and local pantheistic religions, particularly the Bon religion. Its organization, public practices and activities are coordinated mainly by monasteries associated with temples. Religious authority is in the hands of priests called lamas. Tibetan Buddhism is the main religion of Tibet. It is also practiced by Mongolians and tribal groups such as the Qiang and Yugur in Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and other provinces and by Tibetan- and Mongolian-related people in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Russia.
Tibetan Buddhism is also called Lamaistic Buddhism and is known to scholars as Vajrayana or Vajrayana-Tantric Buddhism. Vajrayana along with Mantrayana, Guhyamantrayana, Tantrayana, Tantric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism are names referring to Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in the medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, East Asia, Mongolia and other Himalayan states. [Source: Wikipedia]
Religion is a daily, if not hourly practice for Tibetan Buddhists. They spend much of their time in prayer or doing activities, such as spinning prayer wheels, that earn them merit (Buddhist brownie points that move them closer to nirvana). Like all Buddhists, Tibetan Buddhists practice nonviolence, do good deeds, present gifts to monks and aspire to have gentle thoughts.
Tibetan Buddhism holds that salvation can be achieved through the intercession of compassionate bodhisattvas (enlightened ones) who have delayed their own entry into a state of nibbana, or nirvana, enlightenment and selfless bliss, to save others. Emphasis is put on the doctrine of the cosmic Buddha, of whom the historical Buddha — Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 563-ca. 483 B.C.) — was only one of many manifestations. Bodhisattvas are in practice treated more as deities than as enlightened human beings and occupy the center of a richly polytheistic universe of subordinate deities; opposing, converted, and reformed demons; wandering ghosts; and saintly humans that reflects the shamanistic folk religion of the regions into which Buddhism expanded. Tantrism contributed esoteric techniques of meditation and a repertoire of sacred icons, phrases, gestures, and rituals that easily lent themselves to practical (rather than transcendental) and magical interpretation. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991]
Mahayana Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is regarded as a form of Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism encompasses a wide range of philosophical schools, metaphysical beliefs, and practical meditative disciplines. It is more widespread and has more followers than Theravada Buddhism and includes Zen and Soka-gakkai Buddhism. It is practiced primarily in northern half of the Buddhist world: in China, Tibet, Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan.
Mahayana Buddhism is not a single group but a collection of Buddhist traditions: Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism are all forms of Mahayana Buddhism. The division between Mahayana and Theravada is kind of comparable to the divisions between Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Just as there are many denominations of Protestant Christianity, so too are there many schools of Mahayana Buddhism."
"Mahayana” means "the Great Vehicle." The word vehicle is used because Buddhist doctrine is often compared to a raft or ship that carries one across the world of suffering to better world. Greater is reference to the universality of its doctrines and beliefs as opposed to narrowness of other schools. Theravada Buddhism is sometimes referred to in a somewhat dismissing way as the Hinayana (“Lesser Vehicle”) sect. Mahayana Buddhism is not a single group but a collection of Buddhist traditions: Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism are all forms of Mahayana Buddhism.
Arrival of Tibetan Buddhism in Bhutan
Initially Bonism — the native pre-Buddhist religious tradition of Tibet — was the dominant religion in the region that would come to be known as Bhutan. Buddhism was introduced in the 7th century by the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo and further strengthened by the arrival of Guru Rimpoche, a Buddhist Master that is widely considered to be the Second Buddha. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991 *]
The introduction of Buddhism occurred in the seventh century A.D., when Tibetan king Srongtsen Gampo (reigned A.D. 627-49), a convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two Buddhist temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu in the Paro Valley. Buddhism replaced but did not eliminate the Bon religious practices that had also been prevalent in Tibet until the late sixth century. Instead, Buddhism absorbed Bon and its believers. As the country developed in its many fertile valleys, Buddhism matured and became a unifying element. It was Buddhist literature and chronicles that began the recorded history of Bhutan.*
In A.D. 747, a Buddhist saint, Padmasambhava (known in Bhutan as Guru Rimpoche and sometimes referred to as the Second Buddha), came to Bhutan from India at the invitation of one of the numerous local kings. After reportedly subduing eight classes of demons and converting the king, Guru Rimpoche moved on to Tibet. Upon his return from Tibet, he oversaw the construction of new monasteries in the Paro Valley and set up his headquarters in Bumthang. According to tradition, he founded the Nyingmapa sect — also known as the "old sect" or Red Hat sect — of Mahayana Buddhism, which became for a time the dominant religion of Bhutan. Guru Rimpoche plays a great historical and religious role as the national patron saint who revealed the tantras — manuals describing forms of devotion to natural energy — to Bhutan. Following the guru's sojourn, Indian influence played a temporary role until increasing Tibetan migrations brought new cultural and religious contributions. *
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”:In Bhutan the first phase of the spread of Buddhism occurred between the seventh and seventeenth centuries. Two Buddhist temples, Jampa Lhakhang in Bumthang and Kyerchu Lhakhang in Paro, are believed to have been built by the Tibetan emperor Srongtsen Gampo in the seventh century. The proper advent of Buddhism to Bhutan, however, was the arrival of the Indian master Padmasambhava at the court of a local ruler in Bumthang in the middle of the eighth century. Although there are no historical records of change brought by his mission, oral traditions have it that people took lay Buddhist vows and gave up animal sacrifices. [Source: Karma Phuntsho,“Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
There was no central government during this period. Instead, small independent monarchies began to develop by the early ninth century. Each was ruled by a deb (king), some of whom claimed divine origins. The kingdom of Bumthang was the most prominent among these small entities. At the same time, Tibetan Buddhist monks (lam in Dzongkha, Bhutan's official national language) had firmly rooted their religion and culture in Bhutan, and members of joint Tibetan-Mongol military expeditions settled in fertile valleys. By the eleventh century, all of Bhutan was occupied by Tibetan-Mongol military forces. *
Rivalry Between Tibetan Buddhist Sects in Bhutan
During Bhutan’s early history it was divided into numerous fiefdoms that battled and maneuvered for survival and dominance. Each fiefdom developed its own linguistic, religious, and cultural characteristics, As time went these distinctions — along with geographical barriers such as mountains, rivers and jungles — helped to isolate these fiefdoms from its neighbors and they developed their own identity.
"We in the West tend to project all our fantasies about mystical spiritualism onto Tibetan Buddhism," Erik Curren, author of Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today , told the Los Angeles Times. "It's really like a civil war. There's lots of acrimony."
By the tenth century, Bhutan's political development was heavily influenced by its religious history. Following a period in which Buddhism was in decline in Tibet in the eleventh century, contention among a number of subsects emerged. The Mongol overlords of Tibet and Bhutan patronized a sequence of subsects until their own political decline in the fourteenth century. By that time, the Gelugpa or Yellow Hat school had, after a period of anarchy in Tibet, become a powerful force resulting in the flight to Bhutan of numerous monks of various minor opposing sects. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991 *]
Among these monks was the founder of the Lhapa subsect of the Kargyupa school, to whom is attributed the introduction of strategically built dzong (fortified monasteries). Although the Lhapa subsect had been successfully challenged in the twelfth century by another Kargyupa subsect — the Drukpa — led by Tibetan monk Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, it continued to proselytize until the seventeenth century. The Drukpa subsect, an unreformed Nyingmapa group in Tibet, spread throughout Bhutan and eventually became a dominant form of religious practice. Between the twelfth century and the seventeenth century, the two Kargyupa subsects vied with one another from their respective dzong as the older form of Nyingmapa Buddhism was eclipsed. *
Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and the Drukpa-Kargyu Buddhist Tradition
According to a report submitted to UNESCO: The Drukpa-Kargyu Buddhist tradition was first introduced to Bhutan in the 13th century by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, who travelled to the southern land (Bhutan) from Ralung, Tibet to propagate the teaching, as prophesized by Tsangpa Gyaray Yeshe Dorji, the founder of Drukpa-Kargyu tradition. [Source: Bhutan National Commission for UNESCO, 2012]
“The sites identified and included in this list are the places blessed by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and also centers of the Drukpa-Kargyu School established by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and his descendants in the different regions of the western Bhutan. It was from these centers that the influence of the Drukpa-Kargyu School in the region gradually gained strength by prevailing over groups of other Buddhist traditions. Later in the 17th century, these sites took the significant roles becoming strategic footholds during the consolidation and unification of the country under the one rule by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal who is believed to be the re-birth of Tsangpa Gyaray and also an emanation of Avalokitesvara.
“These sites include the key twelve sites of Phajo Drugom Zhigpo; four Dzongs (fortress), four Drags (cliff) and four Phugs (caves) scattered within Thimphu, Paro, Punakha and Gasa districts. Phajo Drugom Zhigpo meditated at these sites to fulfill his wish to salvage sentient beings from sufferings through teaching of Drukpa Kargyu. The story saying that he visited the twelve sites following the visionary instruction by Guru Rinpoche, the great Buddhist saint in the 8th century who is considered as the second Buddha, gives further spiritual importance to the sites. Dzongs and monasteries were built in and around some of these sacred sites by successors of the Drukpa-Kargyu tradition lineage.
Later History of Tibetan Buddhism in Bhutan
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”:“During the centuries after Padmasambhava's journeys to Bhutan, Buddhist savants from Tibet, including Myos Lhanangpa, Longchenpa, Barawa Gyaltshen Palzang, and Phajo Drukgom Zhigpo, poured into the region. The Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism spread widely in what are now the central and eastern parts of Bhutan and produced such religious figures as Padma Lingpa (1450-1521), perhaps the most famous Bhutanese master in history. Other sects, such as Lhapa, Barawa, Nenying, Sakya, Drukpa, and Karma Kagyud, spread mainly in central and western Bhutan. Thus, during this period Bhutan saw the arrival and propagation of several schools of Tibetan Buddhism and a gradual conversion of the people. Historians also believe that it was at about this time that Bhutan came to be known as Drukyul (Land of the Thunder Dragon), after the Drukpa Kagyu school. [Source: Karma Phuntsho,“Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
“A second phase of Buddhism in Bhutan dates from 1616, the year Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal escaped from Tibet and began his temporal and spiritual unification of Bhutan. Under his supervision the Drukpa Kagyu school of the Tibetan Kagyu tradition was promulgated in the country, and the Zhung Dratshang, or the central ecclesiastical body, was established. All other schools except the Nyingmapa declined after the Drukpa domination of the Bhutanese valleys. During the following centuries the Drukpa Kagyu tradition spread across the entire country through the establishment of numerous branches of the central ecclesiastical body.
“For centuries Buddhism influenced all aspects of Bhutanese life, at both the individual and state level. It became the guiding light for an individual's daily life, as well as for the country's development policies, legal system, social service, and traditional etiquette. From the construction of the earliest temples in the seventh century to the writing of the modern constitution, Buddhism has played a vital role in Bhutanese history and forms an integral part of Bhutanese identity.
“Before the mid-seventeenth century Bhutan was divided into many fiefdoms ruled by local warlords and chieftains. In the seventeenth century the present nation of Bhutan was created through the leadership of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, a Buddhist hierarch who came into exile from southern Tibet. Zhabdrung's plan to establish a hereditary religious line was not realized, and the new nation came to be ruled by a theocratic government of changing regency. Most of the early regents were monks, but as more and more laypersons vying for power held the regency, the country was beset by anarchy. The theocratic-regent system was replaced by a monarchy in 1907, when Sir Ugyen Wangchuk became the first king. His great-grandson Jigme Singye Wangchuk became the fourth king in 1972.
“In the last half of the twentieth century Bhutan stepped out of its historic isolation, establishing diplomatic relations and building roads, schools, hospitals, post offices, and banks. It saw the introduction of television and the Internet, democratization of the political system, and judicial reform — all having immense impact on the simple Buddhist way of living. Gross National Happiness — a concept developed from King Jigme Singye Wangchuk's remark that Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product — today forms the main objective of the country's plans and policies, integrating economic development with spiritual edification. A constitution for the country was being developed at the beginning of the twenty-first century, leaving most Bhutanese wondering what role religion would play in shaping this last Mahayana Buddhist state.
Bhutanese Buddhism
Although originating from Tibetan Buddhism, Bhutanese Buddhism differs significantly in its rituals, liturgy, and monastic organization. The state religion has long been supported financially by the government through annual subsidies to monasteries, shrines, monks, and nuns. In the modern era, support of the state religion during the reign of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck included the manufacture of 10,000 gilded bronze images of the Buddha, publication of elegant calligraphied editions of the 108- volume Kanjur (Collection of the Words of the Buddha) and the 225-volume Tenjur (Collection of Commentaries), and the construction of numerous chorten (stupas) throughout the country. Guaranteed representation in the National Assembly and the Royal Advisory Council, Buddhists constituted the majority of society and were assured an influential voice in public policy. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991 *]
Brook Larmer wrote in National Geographic: “A sense of humor, even mischief, runs through Bhutanese Buddhism, whose earthy exuberance differs sharply from the ethereal calm of the better known Theravada Buddhism. The profusion of deities and demons can leave other Buddhists dazed. Sexual imagery also abounds, reflecting the tantric belief that carnal relations can be the gateway to enlightenment. Nobody embodied this idea more provocatively than the 16th-century lama Drukpa Kunley, better known as the Divine Madman, who remains a beloved saint in much of Bhutan. Carousing across the countryside, Kunley slew demons and granted enlightenment to young maidens with the magical powers of his “flaming thunderbolt.” To this day, many Bhutanese houses are adorned with his sign of protection: an enormous painted phallus, often wrapped in a jaunty bow. [Source: Brook Larmer, National Geographic, March 2008]
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”:It is through taking refuge in the Three Jewels — accepting the Buddha as the teacher, the dharma as the path, and the sangha as the companions on the path — that one truly becomes a Buddhist. Most Bhutanese, however, consider themselves to be Buddhists by birth. People who do not believe in le jumday (karma, or the law of cause and effect) or who subscribe to theism are sometimes viewed as heretics.” [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
Buddhist Leaders in Bhutan
Buddhism was first introduced by the Indian Tantric master Guru Padmasambhava in the 8th century. Until then the people practiced Bon, With the visit of Guru Padmasambhava, Buddhism began to take firm root within the country mainly in the form of the Nyingmapa school of Buddhism.
Phajo Drugom Zhigpo from Ralung in Tibet was instrumental in introducing the Drukpa Kagyu sect. In 1222 he came to Bhutan, an event of great historical significance and a major milestone for Buddhism in Bhutan, and established the Drukpa Kagyu. His sons and descendants were instrumental in spreading the sect to many other regions of western Bhutan. [Source: Tourism Council of Bhutan, tourism.gov.bt]
Zhabdrung Nawang Namgyal (1594-1651?) is considered the founder of Bhutan. He was also a great religious leader too.. His arrival in 1616 from Tibet was another landmark event in the history of the nation. He brought the various Buddhist schools that had developed in western Bhutan under his domain and unified the country, giving it a distinct identity. Zhabdrung established some of the most important religious institutions and traditions in Bhutan such as position of the Je Khenpo (chief abbot of the Drukpa Kagyu school in Bhutan), the Zhabdrung reincarnate (the series of people who are considered his reincarnation and another group of leaders of the Drukpa Kagyu school) [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
“A major saint of Bhutanese origin is Padma Lingpa (1450-1521), who is widely revered in the Himalayan region as a prominent terton, or discoverer of religious treasures buried for posterity by Padmasambhava and his disciples. Like Zhabdrung, Padma Lingpa has had a profound influence on Bhutanese society through his family lineage and through the religious institutions he founded.
The 70th Je Khenpo, Trulku Jigme Choedra (appointed in 1996), is a well-respected and active religious leader. A previous Je Khenpo died upright in the lotus position in 1997. After his death his body was left untouched.. Weeks later bed sores began healing. A year late his body had yet to decompose. Now his body is now regarded as a holy relic. In the late 1990s an esteemed lama who died was reportedly reincarnated in a Dutch boy whose parents were aid workers in Bhutan.
Bhutan produced a number of prominent 20th century historians, religious thinkers and philosophers. The most notable of these was the Je Khenpo Gedun Rinchen, who composed 11 volumes on Buddhist philosophy, mysticism, grammar, and history.. Contemporary Bhutanese religious scholars such as Khenpo Tsewang Sonam and Lopon Thegchog are highly respected even among Tibetan scholars. [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava is credited with introduced Buddhism to Bhutan in the A.D. 8th century. According to legend, this saint and guru flew in from Tibet on a winged tiger in the 8th century and landed on a mountaintop. The guru drove evil spirits from Bhutan and later became the country's king and religious leader. To combat evil spirits, the guru often changed his identity.
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: “The first and fore-most religious figure in Bhutanese Buddhism was Padmasambhava, who surpasses even the Buddha as an object of worship and prayer. The two most important religious sites in Bhutan, and hundreds of others, are dedicated to this master, and devotion, prayers, and offerings to him form the rudiments of Bhutanese Buddhism. [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
Tiger’s Nest Monastery — Bhutan’s most spectacular and famous tourist sight — is built around a cave that Padmasambhava — and later his follower Dubthok Singye — reportedly used for meditating. The Guru is said to have arrived here on a winged tiger in the 8th century, bringing Buddhism to the Himalayas. The monastery is one of the most dramatically situated temples in the world. Nestled on top of a cliffside ledge at an elevation of 2,590 meters (8,500 feet), it is reached by pony or on foot on a series of challenging, hair-raising trails and steps carved into the cliff that rises 915 meters (3,000) feet above the Paro Valley floor.
Padmasambhava (also written Padma Sambhava) means “lotus born.” He is known as Guru Rimpoche (Rinpoche), which means :Precious Teacher” in Tibetan. Born in the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan, he is credited with introducing Buddhism to Tibet, Nepal and Sikkim as well as Bhutan. During festivals he is represented by a tall gold-masked figure whose mouth ears, and eyes are anointed with butter, symbolizing a bath the sage took as a young in which he washed only with butter. The queen mother of Bhutan told the Times of London: “In almost every valley in Bhutan, you will be shown a rock or a cave where Guru Rinpoche has left his footprint, handprint or some other sign...Visitors might view these with bemusement or skepticism but not a Bhutanese.”
Drukpa Kunley
Drukpa Kunley is another revered religious figures in Bhutan. Credited with introducing the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism to Bhutan, he was born in Tibet in 1450 and received a traditional Buddhist education but otherwise his early life was not one of abstemious virtue. He reportedly was a heavy drinker who is rumored to have had sex with his mother and a string tied around his penis as a blessing. He once wrote: “My meditation practice is girls and wine/ I do what ever I feel like, strolling around in the Void.” Kunley traveled everywhere with a small. dog.
The Bhutanese are very fond of Drukpa Kunley. They call him the Divine madness. His hobby, archery, was adopted by Bhutan, as its national sport. His image is everywhere. He is often depicted with a mustache, with a villainous leer and his small dog at his side. His disembodied penis — “flaming thunderbolt” is features in murals and painting all over the country.
A wandering ascetic often depicted with a bow and arrow, he is said to subdued frightening demonesses with his thunderbolt and bawdy poetry. All across Bhutan who will see paintings and wooden carvings of phalluses dedicated to him. Chime Lhakhang, the temple dedicated to him, is sought out by women with fertility problems.
See Sex, Phalluses, Art
Drukpa Subsect of the Kargyupa School of Tibetan Buddhism
A large portion of Bhutan's Buddhists are adherents of the Drukpa subsect of the Kargyupa (literally, oral transmission) school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, which is itself a combination of the Theravada (monastic), Mahayana (messianic), and Tantrayana (apocalyptic) forms of Buddhism. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991 *]
The Kargyupa school of Buddhism has traditionally put a strong emphasis on meditation and bonding between students and teacher. The Drukpa sect is a Bhutanese form of the school that embraces several local saints. Bhutanese Buddhists have many Tantric practices, such as spells and symbolic mysticism. Kagyupa rituals tend to be carefully scripted with monks performing ceremonies in a specific way and the participants given careful instructions about what offerings need to be made, usually in the form of yak butter, incense, locally-made wine and small denominations of cash.
The Kargyupa school was introduced into Tibet from India and into Bhutan from Tibet in the eleventh century. The central teaching of the Kargyupa school is meditation on mahamudra (Sanskrit for great seal), a concept tying the realization of emptiness to freedom from reincarnation. Also central to the Kargyupa school are the dharma (laws of nature, all that exists, real or imaginary), which consist of six Tantric meditative practices teaching bodily self-control so as to achieve nirvana. One of the key aspects of the Kargyupa school is the direct transmission of the tenets of the faith from teacher to disciple. The Drukpa subsect, which grew out of one of the four Kargyupa sects, was the preeminent religious belief in Bhutan by the end of the twelfth century.
Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism
Nyingmapa (Nyingma) Buddhist sect is also practiced by a large number people in Bhutan, mainly ethnic Sharchops. Nyingma is the oldest of the Tibetan Buddhist schools and the second largest school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Nyingma" literally means "ancient." The Nyingma school was founded by Padmasambhava and uses the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Old Tibetan in the eighth century, which also produced the Tibetan alphabet and grammar.
The Nyingma school is based primarily on the teachings of Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche, "Beloved Master," who is revered by the Nyingma school as the "second Buddha." The Nyingma School arose when Bon — the native pre-Buddhist religious tradition of Tibet with shamanist and animist elements — was primary Tibetan religion. Initially, Nyingmapa teachings advanced orally lay practitioners. Later monasteries with monks and nuns with reincarnated spiritual teachers appeared. Samye, the first Buddhist and Nyingma monastery in Tibet, was consecrated in 779. Other Nyingmapa monasteries in Tibet include Mindroling and Dorje Drak.
he Nyingmapa Order was surpassed by the other major orders in the 11th century and remained in villages under shaman-like figures until the rebirth of Buddhism, also in the 11th century, when it experienced a revival after the “discovery” of hidden texts and “power places” visited by Guru Rinpoche revealed in Tantric visions by Nyingmapa masters. The Nyingmapa Order was never centralized and organized to the extent of the others and was considered too extremist. The order was given a lift by the 5th Dalai Lama, who encouraged the expansion of the Mindroling and Dorje Drak monasteries, in U, which became the main Nyingmapa monasteries.
The Nyingmapa Order places great importance on the Dzogchen, or Great Perfection, teachings, which deeply influenced the other schools but is largely sneered at by them today. Dzogchen philosophy argues that there was a state of purity that existed at the beginning of time that pre-dates the duality of enlightenment and earthly living and this offers a Tantric shortcut to nirvana.
Padmascambhava's system of Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism was synthesized by Longchenpa in the 14th century. Along with tantric practices, Nyingma emphasizes revealed teachings attributed to Padmasambhava plus the "great completion" or Dzogchen doctrines, also known as ati-yoga (extraordinary yoga). It also makes wide use of shamanistic practices and local divinities borrowed from the indigenous, pre-Buddhist Bon religion. Nyingma monks are not generally required to be celibate. One of the more recent heads of the Nyingma tradition was Mindrolling Trichen, who died in 2008.
Buddhism and Bhutanese Society
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: “Buddhism adopts an egalitarian approach to social issues. A person's status is determined not by birth, caste, color, or race but by his or her moral and spiritual qualities. Because it is believed that there is no inherent self and that everyone is equal in being an assembly of psychosomatic components, there is no innate difference in people's status. It is the quality of the physical and spiritual components that determines the personality and that differentiates one person from another.
“Bhutanese Buddhists also believe that all sentient beings are endowed with the Buddha nature and that all beings have been a person's mother in the course of the innumerable rebirths he or she has had in this cycle of existence. Both of these beliefs help nurture a sense of equality and equanimity toward all persons. Perhaps because of these religious influences, Bhutan has greater social, racial, and sexual equality than its neighbors.
“The strongest and most vivid impact of Buddhism on Bhutanese society is perhaps seen in the application of the two principles le jumday, the law of cause and effect, and tha damtshig, a popular Bhutanese code of moral rectitude (which has a variety of referents, including honesty, fidelity, integrity, gratitude, and loyalty). These concepts dictate the Bhutanese way of life, and since the 1980s they have also taken on strong political overtones. The government has also worked on incorporating into its judicial system and its plan for decentralization the values of Buddhist vinaya (monastic rules), which uses a democratic style of decision-making through consensus.
Jeffrey R. Timm, “Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics”: “The vision guiding Bhutan's approach has emerged from the core values of Vajrayana Buddhism, specifically the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma lineages that dominate the country's spiritual landscape. The effect of those values on modern technological development is suggested in the frequently quoted maxim of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the king of Bhutan: "Gross national happiness is more important than gross national product." [Source: Jeffrey R. Timm, “Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics”, Thomson Gale, 2005]
“Ideas such as ley jumdrey, the law of karma; tha damtshig, the sacred commitment to interpersonal relationships; and the interdependence of all things are illustrated in the ubiquitous iconography of thuenpa puenshi, "the Four Friends," four animals that achieve a common good through thoughtful cooperation, an image that is painted on the walls of classrooms, government offices, hotels, shops, and homes throughout the country. Hagiographies of successful Buddhist practitioners convey the importance of self-discipline, the efficacy of ritual and contemplative practices, and the perfectibility of human beings, along with universal values such as honesty, compassion, harmony, and nonviolence. Divine madmen such as the antinomian folk hero Drukpa Kunley offer a corrective to pretentious, self-important authority and the soporific effects of habituation to mundane, consensus reality.
Disputes and Issues in Bhutanese Buddhism
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: “The status of the Drukpa Kagyu school as the state religion, and the prerogatives and benefits to which it is entitled, have been issues of persistent questioning and disquiet. The Nyingmapas in central and eastern Bhutan have often accused the state school of a vicious policy of monopolizing the religious domain. They allege that the Drukpa Kagyu school has used coercion to extend its authority and jurisdiction in areas originally dominated by Nyingmapas, and they have even launched antigovernment campaigns in the far eastern districts. [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
“A related issue that has been much debated is the visits of renowned Tibetan lamas from India and elsewhere. Because these lamas often own property given as offerings, and because they compete with local religious figures, some Bhutanese are concerned about the socio-economic effect they have on Bhutanese society.
“Another controversial issue, though one that is more political than religious, concerns the dispute between the ruling family and the line of Zhabdrung reincarnates. The last Zhabdrung candidate went into exile to India and lived in Manali, where thousands of Bhutanese pilgrims visited him until his death in 2003.
Buddhism and Life in Bhutan
Bhutan is a Buddhist country and people often refer to it as the last stronghold of Tibetan Buddhism. The Buddhism practiced in Bhutan vibrant and alive and permeates nearly every facet of the Bhutanese life. Dzongs (fortified monasteries), monasteries, stupas, prayer flags, and prayer wheels punctuate the Bhutanese landscape. The chime of ritual bells and sound of gongs and Tibetan-style horns are commonly heard. Feople circumambulating temples and stupas. Red robed monks chant, study and conduct rituals. [Source: Tourism Council of Bhutan, tourism.gov.bt]
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”:“Most Bhutanese are devout Buddhists and therefore treat all kinds of sentient life as sacred. Killing of animals is a religious violation and is thus viewed as a social taboo in many districts. There are a number of valleys and mountains, particularly those associated with Padmasambhava, that are considered sacred and powerful landscapes and that attract pilgrims. Monasteries and religious objects, including Buddhist scriptures, statues, and prayer flags, are attributed much sanctity and are treated with respect. [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
Life for many in Bhutan life is dominated by religion. Incense filled interiors with Buddhist sculptures. and chanting monks are common sights. Trails have prayer flags on them. The prayer flags at mountain passes are over half a meter tall and there are long strings of them. Temples and chortens (stupas) pop up on hiking trails. A Common chant heard on the trails is: “Om ah hung baza guru pema seday hung” ("please forgive us of we've killed insects on our way").
One of the most important figures in a Bhutanese village is “gomchen,” or lay priest. Monasteries usually sponsor two-day ceremonies to bless each local village in their realm. The ceremony features day-long sessions of chanting and horn blowing. Villagers visiting a monastery first wash their feet then enter the building, bow to the altar and sprinkle water, a symbol of life, on the ground. Many elderly Bhutanese go off on long mediation retreats.
Dzongs, Chorten and Religious Buildings in Bhutan
All Bhutanese districts have dzongs (fortified castle-like monasteries), which house district religious headquarters. Every village has a temple (lhakhang) where people gather for religious ceremonies. Hundreds of gompas (monasteries) and chotens (monuments containing religious relics) dot the Bhutanese landscape. [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
Tongsa Dzong (160 miles from Thimphu, 3½ hour from Phobjika Valley) is one of the most impressive dzongs in Bhutan. Nestled in a saddle of a mountain overlooking several valleys, it is a massive, many-leveled Tibetan-style structure that spills down the slopes of a hill and has buildings with bright yellow roofs and elaborately-adorned courtyards. The road to the dzong is carved into a cliffside with drops of several thousand feet. The magnificent gate in the western wall is pierced only by a hiking trail.
Built by Ngawang Namgyel in 1648 and later enlarged and decorated by successive rulers, Tongsa is the ancestral home of Bhutan's royal family. It was built on the main east-west caravan route, and was key to maintaining control of eastern Bhutan.
The nation's first hereditary monarch, and his successor, King Jigme Wangchuck were crowned here. A painting of the 1926 coronation shows emissaries bringing gifts of elephant tusks, leopard and tiger skins, guns, gems and rare fruit to the king. All four Bhutanese kings have held the position of Tongsa Penlop prior to being officially crown. The present king was appointed Penlop in 1972 shortly before his succession to the throne.
Inside the walls, the dzong resembles a medieval village. Courtyards and cobblestone alleys connect more than 20 temples, administrative offices and boarding facilities for 600 monks. Some of the building are seven stories high and have porches, walkways and window and door frames painted with elaborate red, green, blue, yellow and orange floral and geometric designs.
Some of the shrines have fallen into disrepair, and others have corrugated iron roofs instead of traditional hand-split shingles, but many of the buildings remain impressive. The Temple of Chortens, for example, features 2,500 sitting Buddhas painted on a wall to honor the lama Ngagi Wangchuk. Some of the floorboards have impressions of footprints left behind by the monks who have meditated here everyday for centuries.
Chortens are Tibetan and Bhutanese versions of the Indian stupas. They range from simple rectangular "house" chorten to complex edifices with ornate steps, doors, domes, and spires. Some are decorated with the Buddha's eyes that see in all directions simultaneously. These earth, brick, or stone structures commemorate deceased kings, Buddhist saints, venerable monks, and other notables, and sometimes they serve as reliquaries. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991 *]
Temples and Monasteries in Bhutan
There are over 2,000 lhakhangs (temples) and gompas (monasteries) in Bhutan. Monasteries (gompas) and convents are common throughout Bhutan. A typical gompa monastery is comprised of a one or multiple storey temple building in the center of a simple courtyard flanked by structures used for the living quarters of the monks. King Jigme Dorje Wangchuk established a commission to maintain the country’s monasteries.
Temples are called lhakhang in the Himalayan regions of Bhutan and Nepal. They house sacred objects and host religious activities. Lhakhang means "the house of gods", which is meant to including enlightened beings such as the Buddha. In Bhutan lhakhang can be found on many mountain tops. Although they are not as big and impressive as dzongs, many lhakhang and gompa are older than dzongs, with some dating as far back as the seventh century. [Source: Wikipedia]
Usually, within a village, the lhakhang is the most prominent building. In addition Besides being religious centers, they also play important social and cultural roles. Nearly all village cultural events are held there. Layout-wise, a lhakhang is usually a simple hall with an entrance foyer and a main hall with the main altar, where often there is an image of the Buddha. Some have simple buildings with rooms for the monks.
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”:“The two oldest places of worship in Bhutan are Jampa Lhakhang in Bumthang and Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro, thought to have been built by the Tibetan emperor Srongtsen Gampo in the seventh century. Kurje Lhakhang, where Padmasambhava is believed to have left an imprint of his body on the wall of a cave, is revered. Another sacred place is Taktsang (Tiger's Lair) monastery, which hangs precariously on a cliff in Paro; Padmasambhava is believed to have visited there on a tigress's back.
Jampa Llakhang (near Kurje Monastery) is one of 108 temples reportedly built in the Himalayas in the 7th century by a Tibetan king who shot arrows into the sky and built the temple where the arrow landed. Before the temple was built the area was inhabited only by “ngang” swans. Pilgrims walk on a path around the temple and spin the temples 23 prayer wheels as they go. Kyichu Lhakhang is one of Bhutan's oldest and most sacred temples in Bhutan. It houses an impressive statue of Chag Tong Chen Tong, a goddess with 1,000 hands and 1,000 eyes. Chime Lhakhang (30 miles from Thimphu) is a temple in built in 1499. It is sought by women who want to receive a fertility blessing. It was built on sight blessed by the great Bhutanese saint Drukpa Kunle. Even foreign women who thought they had no chance of getting pregnant did become pregnant after receiving a blessing at the temple.
Monks in Bhutan
There are around 10,000 Buddhist monks in Bhutan. They are involved in both the religious and social activities. Because of the important of religion in Bhutan, monks preside over nearly every important event in the life of a Buddhist, performing rites for births, marriages, illnesses and funerals.
Both monks and nuns in Bhutan have shaved heads and wear burgundy, maroon robes. Their days were spent in study and meditation but also in the performance of rituals honoring various bodhisattvas, praying for the dead, and seeking divine intercession on behalf of the ill. Some of their prayers involved chants and singing accompanied by conch shell trumpets, thighbone trumpets (made from human thighbones), metal horns up to three meters long, large standing drums and cymbals, hand bells, temple bells, gongs, and wooden sticks. Such monastic music and singing, not normally heard by the general public, has been reported to have "great virility" and to be more melodious than its Tibetan monotone counterparts. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991 *]
In 1989 some 1,000 monks (lama, or gelong, novices) belonged to the Central Monastic Body in Thimphu and Punakha, and some 4,000 monks belonged to district monastic bodies. The hierarchy was headed by the Je Khenpo, who was assisted by four lonpon or masters, each in charge of religious tradition, liturgy, lexicography, or logic. The lonpon, one of whom, the Dorji Lonpon, normally succeeded the current Je Khenpo, had under them religious administrators and junior monastic officials in charge of art, music, and other areas. Gelugpa monks were celibate, but Nyingmapa monks were not so restricted and could marry, raise families, and work in secular occupations while performing liturgical functions in temples and homes. In all, there were some 12,000 monks in Bhutan in the late 1980s. There were also active congregations of nuns, but no figures were readily available. *
Some monks are only ten years old. Novice monks study Buddhist scripture, astrology and Tibetan medicine. In recent years English and computer classes have been added to the curriculum. The younger ones chant in classrooms and perform water-fetching and cleaning chores. Some Bhutanese monks spend their time laboriously duplicating sacred books by hand with of intricate hand-carved printing blocks. Buddhist scriptures are printed in meter-foot-long books that are produced in sets consisting of 100 or more volumes. [Source: John Scofield, National Geographic, November 1976]
In one retreat monks take turns mediating for three years, three months, three weeks and three days. Some Bhutanese monks have reportedly mastered a form of mediation known as “lunggom” — meaning "walking on air" — which allows the monks to project themselves and travel around the countryside without leaving the monastery. One monk told National Geographic, "Unfortunately, it takes much time to learn the theoretical aspects of lunggom before one can put it into practice so I'm afraid that we will just have to walk normally." [Source: Bruce W. Bunting, National Geographic, May, 1991]
Brook Larmer wrote in National Geographic: “In a room he shares with six other monks at a monastery in Wangdi Phodrang, Chencho (at lefeet) is honest about his calling. It's hard work memorizing all the texts, but afterward you have a comfortable life, so its worth it, he says. "In the village, work is never ending."” [Source: Brook Larmer, National Geographic, March 2008]
Monks, Rituals and Astrology
Bhutanese monks are of on called to preside over auspicious occasions such as house warming as well as public rites. This often involves preparing an altar with appropriate accessories, chanting Buddhist scriptures and conducting the rituals. An intrinsic elements of all such rites are the torma, figures made of dough and butter, shaped to symbolize deities and spirits and presented to the deities invoked.
Butter lamps are also important. Brook Larmer wrote in National Geographic: “A caretaker lights yak-butter lamps near Taktshang monastery... Expressions of devotion, the lamps are believed to dispel the darkness of ignorance. According to the Buddha, by offering lights "one becomes like the light of the world." [Source: Brook Larmer, National Geographic, March 2008]
Monks act as astrologers and preside over ceremonies in which juniper branches are burned and malevolent spirits are guided into traps made of bamboo and ribbons, which are carried by children out into fields and baited with fruit, bread and money. The traps are often raided by mangy dogs.
Monks are often called upon to throw dice to determines children’s lucky numbers and the fate of people going in long journeys. The number 13 rolled by three dice is regarded as lucky. Monasteries contain petrified dwarf yetis and sacks that believed to contain diseases.
Buddhist Art, Symbols and Objects in Bhutan
To bring Buddhism to the people, numerous symbols and structures are employed. Religious monuments, prayer walls, prayer flags, and sacred mantras carved in stone hillsides were prevalent in the early 1990s. Prayer walls are made of laid or piled stone and inscribed with Tantric prayers. Prayers printed with woodblocks on cloth are made into tall, narrow, colorful prayer flags, which are then mounted on long poles and placed both at holy sites and at dangerous locations to ward off demons and to benefit the spirits of the dead. To help propagate the faith, itinerant monks travel from village to village carrying portable shrines with many small doors, which open to reveal statues and images of the Buddha, bodhisattavas, and notable lamas. [Source: Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1991 *]
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: “In Bhutan Buddhism is almost the only theme in art forms such as painting and sculpture, though much of what can be classified as folk craft, comprising architecture, metalwork, weaving, carving, and bamboo work, has little to do with religion. Folk songs evoke both religious and worldly subjects, while monastic hymns and music are of a purely religious nature. Performing arts are more or less bifurcated into profane folk dances and sacred religious dances. The growing number of new songs, dances, and dramas, which are set in modern Western styles and reflect contemporary Bhutanese life, do not usually touch on spiritual themes. [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
“Most traditional Bhutanese literature focuses on religion or is heavily laden with religious content. Even writings on nonreligious topics such as language, history, biography, and folktales could not escape the influence of religion. Today, however, there is an emerging class of literati who are trained in the West or receive a Western-style education and who write in English, although there are also a large number of traditional virtuosi who write in classical Tibetan and take their inspiration from Buddhism.
Important sacred relics include the Ranjung Kharsapani, the self-created image of Avalokiteshvara from the first vertebra of Tsangpa Gyarey, now kept inside crystal glass; and Guru Throngdel, a gigantic thangkha (embroidered painting) inside the dzong in Paro.
Buddhist Rituals in Bhutan
Every family home also contains an altar or chapel — a choesham — where most of the family rituals and ceremonies take place. Devotions are an important aspect of the kind of Buddhism practiced in Bhutan. The offerings of sacrifices are often accompanied by ritual dances and dramatic representations. See Dance
Karma Phuntsho wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: “Bhutanese Buddhists perform a wide variety of rituals throughout the year. These may be ceremonies known as choga (performances of religious rites with monastic music) or simply the recitation of prayers and scriptures. Ritual services for the sick are common and diverse, and funeral rituals are long (lasting for 21 days or more) and economically cumbersome. A popular family ritual is the lochoe, which is the annual supplication to the family's tutelary deities. There is no formal Buddhist marriage ritual, and Bhutanese generally do not have a wedding ceremony. [Source: Karma Phuntsho, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, Thomson Gale, 2006]
“There are no formal rites of passage in Bhutanese Buddhism or in Buddhism in general. A person first becomes a Buddhist by taking refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the dharma (his teachings), and the sangha (the spiritual community). This is done in early childhood before a lama, who cuts the tip of the person's hair and gives him or her a new name. Bhutanese Buddhists use names received from a lama in this manner and do not share family names. The practice of taking refuge and naming is often repeated several times in a person's lifetime as a ritual of blessing. Many tantric practices in Bhutanese Buddhism require specific preliminary procedures such as wang (empowerment), lung (scriptural authorization), and thri (quintessential instructions). Most of the major religious ceremonies in the country are connected to these preliminary rites.
Brenda Amenson-Hill wrote in the “Encyclopedia of World Cultures”: “The idea of ablution has diffused here from India. The inherent idea is that purification of the body leads to the purification of the mind as well. The Bon practice salutation, circumambulation, and offering of water; devotions are part of the Buddhist mode of worship in Bhutan. Whenever a domestic or public rite of greater importance is to be performed, lamas expert in ritual are called to prepare the altar and appropriate accessories and to conduct the elaborate worship. An indispensable part of all such ritual performances is the torma, figures made of dough and butter, shaped to symbolize deities and spirits and presented to the deities invoked. | [Source: Brenda Amenson-Hill, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 3: South Asia,” edited by Paul Paul Hockings, 1992 |~|]
Bhutanese Doing Buddhist Rituals
Brook Larmer wrote in National Geographic: “A shaft of morning light slants across the ancient temple floor, illuminating an elderly woman kneeling before a pillar of stone and 108 kernels of corn. The pillar is the most sacred relic in Nabji, a village tucked deep into the Black Mountains of central Bhutan, beyond the reach of roads and electricity. Legend holds that a small depression in the stone is the handprint of the Guru Rimpoche, the eighth-century mystic who arrived in Bhutan on the back of a flying tigress to spread a Tibetan form of Tantric Buddhism. And the kernels of corn? They are the calculus of devotion. Each time the gray-haired woman named Tum Tum prostrates herself, she slides one of the 108 kernels (a sacred number) across the floor. In three months she has moved the kernels 95,000 times — 1,000 prostrations a day — and will continue until she reaches 100,000. “Sometimes I get so tired I fall over,” says Tum Tum, whose knees have left grooves in the floorboards. “But I won’t stop. This is our tradition.” [Source: Brook Larmer, National Geographic, March 2008]
At a bigger event, “First come the high clear notes of the ceremonial trumpet. Then the Buddhist pilgrims, gravitating toward the sound. The sun has slid behind the mountains looming over Thimphu, capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and the day’s final ritual is set to begin. Along the edge of the crowd, in pageboy haircuts and tattered robes, stand peasants who have traveled three days from their remote villages on their first visit to the big city, likely the only capital in the world without a traffic light. Near the center of the plaza clusters a group of Buddhist monks, arms linked, their betel-nut-stained teeth matching their burgundy robes. Together the monks and peasants and townspeople press forward to catch a glimpse of the main attraction: a small boy standing in the center of the circle, his bright orange shirt hanging down to his knees.
“As the beat accelerates, the boy — seven-year-old Kinzang Norbu — hurls himself to the ground, spinning on his back so fast that he dissolves into a saffron blur. The crowd, steeped in the ancient mysticism of Bhutan, land of the flying tigress and the divine madman, might wonder if Norbu is the whirling reincarnation of a Buddhist saint. But the boy is channeling another, more mystifying world.Blasting from the speakers is not a Buddhist incantation but the opening riffs of Shakira’s risqué pop anthem, “Hips Don’t Lie,” piped in from a sleek white Macintosh laptop. And when Norbu twirls to a stop in a no-hands headstand, his shirt rides up to reveal his homage to global youth culture: red Nike high-top sneakers, baggy Adidas sweatpants, and a temporary tattoo that spells out, in jagged English letters, the name he and his homeys have adopted — “B-Boyz.”
Funerals in Bhutan
According to the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”: “Birth and marriage in Bhutan are observed with a minimum of ritual, being a social or family event rather than a religious one. Funerals, on the other hand, are elaborate affairs. After a death, a lama is called in to extract the spirit (sem) from the body and speed it on its way. The body is placed in a sitting position before an altar, on which various ritual objects — including torma (figurines made of dough and butter) — are placed. A lama leads the service for the dead, reciting passages from various Buddhist texts. Cremation is the usual form of disposal of the corpse, although bodies may be buried or thrown in a river. Rituals are performed for 49 days after death, and during this period an effigy of the deceased is kept in the house. The end of the mourning period is marked by a feast, as is the first anniversary of the death. [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”, Cengage Learning, 2009]
Death signifies re-birth or a mere passing on to a new life. In keeping with the traditions, elaborate rituals are performed to ensure a safe passage and a good rebirth. The 7th, 14th, 21st and 49th days after a person’s death are considered especially important and are recognized by erecting prayer flags in the name of the deceased and performing specific religious rituals. While the deceased are normally cremated, funerary practices vary among the southern Bhutanese and the nomadic Brokpas of northern Bhutan. Southern Bhutanese typically bury their dead while the Brokpas carry out ‘Sky Burials’, a process in which the deceased are prepared and left atop mountains to be devoured by vultures in a final act of compassion and generosity. Elaborate and ancient rituals are also conducted on the anniversary of the death with the erection of prayer flags. The relatives and people of the locality come with alcohol, rice or other sundry items to attend such rituals. [Source: Tourism Council of Bhutan, tourism.gov.bt]
According to “Countries and Their Cultures”: “Both Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation and the law of karma. The law of karma dictates that an individual's decisions and behaviors in one life can influence his or her transmigration into the next life; for example, if someone lived life in harmony with others, that person would transmigrate to a better existence after death. In contrast, someone who had lived selfishly would inherit a life worse than the previous one after death. [Source:“Countries and Their Cultures”, Gale Group Inc., 2001]
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Tourism Council of Bhutan (tourism.gov.bt), National Portal of Bhutan, the Bhutan government’s main site (gov.bt), The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Wikipedia and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated February 2022