Voyager

2 voyager

P.O. BOx No. : 1478, Changlam, Thimphu, Bhutan Tel. : +975 -2 - 336494/95 Fax : +975 - 2 - 336395 E-mail : [email protected] Website : www.hotel kisa.com

A Luxury Boutique Hotel awaits you in the heart of

the city

Hotel

P.O. BOx No. : 1478, Changlam, Thimphu, Bhutan Tel. : +975 -2 - 336494/95 Fax : +975 - 2 - 336395 E-mail : [email protected] Website : www.hotel kisa.com

A Luxury Boutique Hotel awaits you in the heart of

the city

Hotel

KICH

U Kichu resorts is a sprawling expanse of prime property on six acres of land by the Paro Chu. It is equidistant from the airport and Takshang Monastery. Kichu Resorts, Paro has 51 luxury rooms with the best spa facilities like steam, sauna, massage and electro-magnetic theraphy. A similar sister resort is located by the Wangdi Chhu at Chuzomsa, at Wangduephodrang. Further into the center of the nation, Kichu Resorts also boasts an equally unique resort at Bumthang, the religious heartland of the nation. All the resorts are run by the same management, one of the oldest in the country and offer services that come with years of experience in the service sector. Enjoy a stay in places where hospitality is unrivalled in the nation.

Lamgong, Paro: Bhutan

Tel: +975 77190147/48/8 271468

Fax: +975 8 271466

E-mail: [email protected]

Paro,Wangduephodrang & Bumthang

RESORTS

Kichu RESORTS

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co

ver

sto

ry

Business is booming in Bodhgaya as it has each winter.

The heat and dust of the Indian plains

has given way to the soft caress of the final season of the year, and Buddhist monks and nuns pass languidly, as if in a dream, a swirl of saffron, maroon, ochre and white robes.

Swarms of pilgrims from all corners of the Buddhist world mill about. A never-ending river of peo-ple enter and leave the Mahabodhi Temple grounds, site of the Bud-dha’s enlightenment and the monu-ment that has made this otherwise poverty stricken corner of India a world centre of pilgrimage and tourism. And, of course, delighting in the deluge are the local entrepre-

neurs: shopkeepers, hote-liers, vendors and all

manner of transient workers and speculators.

BodhgayaEnduring Symbol

of our SublimE

PotEntial

by KArMA SIngye DorjI

first edition, vol i 5

Bodhgaya “Yeh to uparwala ki kirpa hai, it must be divine intervention,” says Tahir Husain, a rickshaw driver. “How else would I feed my wife and three children?” With some pride, Tahir explains that he is really a kisan, a self-respecting farmer, who supplements his income by pulling rickshaws in the winter, when tourism is at its peak and his services needed most.

“What you see here is noth-ing,” says Jagat Jitendra, owner of the curiously named Sweety and Beauty General Store and Fax Centre. “The Dalai Lama held a big Kalachakra prayer here some years ago, and all you could see for a radius of two kilometers from here were the red robes of Tibetan lamas, monks and nuns. There must have been at least a few hundred thou-sand people. It was beautiful.”

“Who needs the politicians?” says Jagat’s brother, Indra. “They only make empty promises.” Then, pointing across the street at the ragged line of beggars and street urchins, he adds. “Let the Dalai Lama come here a few more times, and all this poverty, all this suf-fering, will be gone… Overnight. Vanished.”

“Arre yaar, I take Visa Cards, I take Bank Cards, Express Cards and all other credit cards,” says the glib manager of an upscale hotel catering to western tourists, before reeling off a litany of his establish-ment’s superior services. “We have attached baths, air conditioning, post, fax, and medical services, 24 hours water and electricity. Arre Bhai, these are scarce commodities in Bihar.”

The Mahabodhi Temple mean-while, stands unmoved as it has for centuries, a stark counterpoint to the hustle and bustle of Bodh-gaya’s commercial heart. everything seems to swirl around this massive, 52-meter edifice. In the soft fog of morning’s breath, in the harsh brightness of any given noon, or the orange glow of each daily evening, and the uninterrupted flow of people perform devout circum-ambulation, as if anchored by the ancient monument.

The central monolithic mass of the Mahabodhi is broad and rectangular at its base but tapers off in clean geometric lines on all four corners until, high up, it becomes a virtual needle-point piercing the sky.

The steep rise of the temple is bro-ken near the top by a thick flat disc known as the Amalaka, a stylistic form common to many temples of ancient India. Four smaller, though

identical, towers rise halfway up the structure from all four sides near the base, completing an exquisite visual composition.

“The view, when one drives up and sees everything suddenly from the edge of the embankment is, as the books say, not easily forgot-ten,” noted celebrated writer E.M. Forster in his journal after visiting the temple at the turn of the century. “There can’t be anything like it in the world.”

A narrow concrete walk girds the perimeter of the temple, giving the central structure a wide berth. Here, people of at least a dozen different nationalities perform the kora, or holy circumambulation, common to Buddhists of all denominations.

In a large vaulted chamber in the inner sanctums of the temple is the shrine believed to be the very spot where the Buddha sat as he expe-rienced nirvana, the blissful state of enlightenment. This is a site so sacred that ancient pilgrims called it Pathavinabhi, Navel of the World.

Prince Siddhartha came to Bodhgaya around 528 B.C. having studied under some of the most rig-orous yogis of his time, after practic-ing austerities testing the furthest limits of physical and mental endur-ance. It is said that he meditated on a quiet spot under the shade of the Bodhi tree—an offshoot of this tree which stands today in front of the temple is the object of the highest reverence—finally achieving the cessation of what he saw as human suffering.

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The Buddha’s inner battle to realize the truth of enlightenment is described allegorically in the scrip-tures as the “Battle against Mara, Lord of Illusion.”

Mara, it is said, first sent his three daughters to tempt the Buddha with their sensual beauty. But he saw through their disguise and they withered and became old hags. Next, Mara conjured terrify-ing armies that whirled around the Buddha “as in a storm,” shouting curses and hurling weapons that turned to praises and flowers at the Buddha’s feet.

“By what right do you dare to occupy this seat which belongs to me?” Mara asked in exaspera-tion. To which the Buddha replied serenely, “I have earned this sacred seat through having accumulated merit and wisdom for three bound-less kalpas (aeons).” Mara told the Buddha he would need a witness to confirm this claim and the Bud-dha gently touched the ground in a gesture that was immortalized later in Buddhist paintings as Bhu-miparsamudra, “the Earth Touching Pose”. At this point, the goddess of the earth herself rose up from the

ground to affirm what the Buddha had said. Mara was destroyed. And the prince Sakhyamuni became known as Buddha, “the Enlight-ened One”.

Today, no demonic hordes assail the site of Buddha’s enlightenment. Instead, on most evenings, the air is filled with the deep chants from holy texts, floating into the air from megaphones strapped high up on some corner of the temple. Monks, nuns and lay pilgrims mingle with young Indian waifs and hustlers selling all manner of trinkets, an echo, perhaps, of Mara’s tempta-tions.

Scruffy and insistent youths thrust into people’s faces, as if from some dark corner of the conscience, clear plastic bags full of water and small, desperate fish. “Only 50 rupees! Save fish! Buddha will bless!” they urge passersby. “Ngya tshethar tang! ngya tshethar tang!” they cry to Bhutanese and Tibetan pilgrims, shouting the phrases they

Today, no demonic

hordes assail

the site of Buddha’s

enlightenment. Instead,

on most evenings, the

air is filled with the

deep chants from holy

texts, floating into

the air from

megaphones strapped

high up on some

corner of the temple


have quickly learned for profit. each day they return with fresh

stocks of the fish in a never ending array of plastic bags, reminders that a single act of mercy is never enough.

But there is also serenity.People sit cross-legged at various

meridians of the temple, variously absorbed in meditation or soothed and carried by the deep, comforting chants. Bhutanese and Tibetans per-form slow rhythmic prostrations: joined palms overhead, touched to the throat, lowered to the chest, and pushed flat out in a full body stretch on wooden planks worn smooth by the repeated acts of devotion.

“It’s the logic that appeals to me,” says an elegant silver-haired Dutch woman sitting in the lotus position near one corner of the Mahabodhi Temple “even the deepest western psychology is but a baby compared to Buddhism.”

A young Israeli Jew, his head capped by the yarmulke of his faith,

is circling the temple with the focus of a Buddhist monk. “I will not wear robes and carry prayer beads,” he says when asked about his inter-est in Buddhism. “But I do try to use some of the Buddha’s lessons of peace and simplicity in my life.”

In one of the noisy and crowded teahouses outside the temple Suresh “Karma” Bhatia— publisher of the local Bodhi Tree News—says he grew up Catholic but later chose Buddhism, and moved to Bodh-gaya.

“There is so much you can learn from Bodhgaya that is directly con-nected to the Buddha’s teaching of Dukkha, or suffering,” he says. “Out here on these streets you see the poverty and the grasping, and just across from here is that great temple reminding us that if we continue to be on the path we can end up better than we are.”

Watching Suresh and his slow, lyrical expressions, it’s clear Bod-hgaya still remains an undeniably

poignant and powerful attraction to those who seek to unravel the chains of attachment, suffering and death, the same questions that led the Buddha here.

Indeed, remembering Bodhgaya later amid the complexities of my own involved life, I cannot help reflecting on why Suresh finds Bodhgaya so appealing.

“It’s the juxtaposition of the sad-ness and the pain with this symbol of something higher that draws me here,” he said. “I cannot bear to live anywhere else. This is my one true home.” n

Karma Singye Dorji is the author of Dreaming of Prayer Flags, Stories and Images from Bhutan, and leads select journeys for Skykingdom Adventures (www.skykingdomad-ventures.com). He is also Editor-at-Large for Tashi Delek, Druk Air’s Inflight Magazine.

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The FiFTh Dragon King TaKes a Bhutan Royal Wedding

(October 13, 2011)

King jigme Khesar Namgyal Wang-chuck, left, greets the media and guests as Queen jetsun Pema

looks on after they were married at the Punakha Dzong in Punakha, Bhutan, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. The 31-year-old reformist monarch of the small Himalayan Kingdom wed his commoner bride in a series ceremonies Thursday. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

PUNAKHA, Bhutan (AP) — The fifth Dragon King came down from his golden throne to place a silk crown upon the head of his bride.

Bride


Monks chanted in celebration and she took her seat beside him Thurs-day morning, the new queen of the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan.

The wedding of King jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck to his commoner bride, Jetsun Pema, has captivated a nation that had grown impatient with their 31-year-old bachelor king’s lack of urgency to take a wife and start a family since his father retired and handed power to him five years ago.

Thousands of Bhutanese from the surrounding villages joined the king and queen at their wedding reception at a fairground outside the country’s most sacred monas-tery fortress, where a slate of danc-ers performed traditional routines for the new couple.

“I have longed for this celebra-tion, and here it is,” said Pema Gyeltshen, a nearby villager, as he watched the dancing.

When the king, who has a reputa-tion as a down-to-earth and acces-sible leader, was asked how it felt to

be married, he asked his questioner if she was married. When she said no, he responded: “It’s great; you should try it yourself.”

The celebrations began at 8:20 a.m. — a time set by royal astrolo-gers — when the king, wearing the royal yellow sash over a golden robe with red flowers and multicol-ored boots, walked into the court-yard of the 17th century monastery in the old capital of Punakha and proceeded up the high staircase inside.

A few minutes later, his 21-year-old bride, the daughter of an airline pilot, arrived at the end of a proces-sion of red-robed monks and flag bearers across a wooden footbridge over the wide, blue river beside the fort and followed him inside.

Singers chanted songs of celebra-tion amid the clanging of drums and the drone of long dhung trumpets. She wore a traditional wraparound skirt with a gold jacket with deep red cuffs.

Inside, the nation’s top cleric, who

presided over the wedding, per-formed a purification ceremony for the couple in front of a massive 100-foot (30-meter) Thongdal tapestry of Bhutan’s 17th century founder, the monk-king Zhabdrung.

The pair then proceeded to the temple for a ceremony broadcast live on national television, save for a few minutes when the king, his father and the cleric, known as the Je Khenpo, entered the sacred tomb of Zhabdrung, where only they are allowed.

The king’s father then gave the bride an array of five colored scarves representing blessings from the tomb. Hesitantly, she then approached the king’s throne with a golden chalice filled with the ambrosia of eternal life. They held it together for several seconds and then he drank.

The king, wearing his red crown, with an image of the protector raven rising from the top, came down from the throne in front of a giant golden Buddha statue and

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Terma Linca G.P.O. Box 2009 Babesa,Thimphu BHUTANPhone : +975 - 2 - 351490 / 351491 / 351623 Fax : +975 - 2 - 351629

Email: [email protected] www.termalinca.com

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T erma Linca or “Treasure Cottages” is a concept resort that specializes in natural healing. Terma Linca, an aesthetic blend of traditional ethos and high-end hospitality, is nestled in the bucolic settings of an idyllic countryside flanked by the meandering Wangchu river. The holistic concept is crowned by the Spa building that offers a

world of well-being for body and mind.

Welcome to a world of natural goodness.

placed a smaller crown on her head. After she took her place as queen, the newly married couple was feted by monks playing deep tones on traditional trumpets and pounding drums.

The je Khenpo presented them a series of gifts — a mirror, curd, grass, a conch — representing bless-

ings for longevity, wisdom, purity and other well wishes.

There were no foreign princes, no visiting heads of state, no global celebrities. just the royal family and government officials at ceremony, thousands of villagers at the recep-tion and much of the rest of the country’s 700,000 people watching live on TV.

The Oxford-educated king is adored for pushing development and ushering in democratic reforms that established a constitutional monarchy and legislature in 2008. His teen-idol looks — slicked back hair and long sideburns — his penchant for evening bike rides through the streets and his reputa-tion as a laid-back, accessible leader, also make him the rare monarch whose picture adorns the bedroom walls of teenage girls.

The remote nation began slowly opening up to the rest of the world in the 1960s. Foreigners and the international media were first admitted in 1974. Television finally arrived in 1999.

The country has not had a royal wedding since the fourth king held a mass ceremony in 1988 with his four wives — four sisters whom he had informally married years earlier. The current king says he will take only one wife, so the country is unlikely to see another such celebra-tion for a long time.

The country has not had

a royal wedding since the

fourth king held a mass

ceremony in 1988 with

his four wives — four

sisters whom he had

informally married years

earlier.


Terma Linca G.P.O. Box 2009 Babesa,Thimphu BHUTANPhone : +975 - 2 - 351490 / 351491 / 351623 Fax : +975 - 2 - 351629

Email: [email protected] www.termalinca.com

TERMALINCAResort & Spa

T erma Linca or “Treasure Cottages” is a concept resort that specializes in natural healing. Terma Linca, an aesthetic blend of traditional ethos and high-end hospitality, is nestled in the bucolic settings of an idyllic countryside flanked by the meandering Wangchu river. The holistic concept is crowned by the Spa building that offers a

world of well-being for body and mind.

Welcome to a world of natural goodness.

12 voyager

Tsechu Planting the Seeds of Enlightenment

As the last of the sum-mer clouds dissolve and the azure skies of autumn appear, people’s minds turn

to outdoor activities. It is a time when Bhutanese relax and enjoy a picnic or perhaps engage in a game of archery or outdoor darts (kuru). For many Thimphu residents, however, it is not just a time to have fun, but also an occasion to put on their best attire and head off to the majestic Tashichho Dzong and enjoy the age-old tradition of watch-ing sacred masked dances (cham) at the annual tsechu ceremony.

With their origins in tantric Bud-dhism, many of the dances com-memorate historical events when great Buddhist masters subdued disturbing and harmful forces.

other dances illustrate a spiri-tual or moral lesson. The dance of the Stag and the Hounds, for

example, tells the tale of a hunter and his dogs pursuing a stag. After a long chase, the fleeing stag takes refuge near the yogi


Milerapa, who the hunter attempts, but fails, to kill with an arrow. The drama finally concludes with the stag being saved and the hunter vowing to quit hunting. In this way, the tale promotes the universal Buddhist values of compassion and forgiveness.

other dances depict episodes from the state that appears between death and rebirth (bardo). In these episodes, audiences are offered an opportunity to familiarize them-selves with the specific deities and events that they will encounter after their mind-stream departs from the body.

Although the outer themes of the dances are subjugation, victory and moral, on an esoteric level they all represent the inner transformation of ignorance into wisdom.

Another feature of the Thimphu Tsechu is a large appliqué thangka of guru rinpoche that is displayed before sunrise on the final day of the three day event.

While many locals consider the

annual tsechu to be an important event in their social calendar, perhaps few realize that the dance performances are not just a musi-cal rendition of historical events or moral tales and that the thanka painting is not merely an artistic portrayal of the great master, but that they also contain the seeds of our future awakening to real-ity – that is, our awakening from ignorance to enlightenment.

Now, you may be wondering how watching a dance or view-ing a painting could have so much power. To truly understand this, we should remember that noth-ing – no event, no thought, and not even a dance! – comes about ran-domly. On the contrary, everything develops due to a combination of certain factors. And when the cause originates from enlightened beings, as it does with the cham dances, then we receive something that has the potential to awaken our own, inborn potential for enlightenment. This might sound complicated, but

it is actually quite simple if we think about it.

Consider a tree as an example. It doesn’t just suddenly appear out of thin air. Like all phenomena, it arises from a number of causes and conditions. The primary cause is a particular seed: a pine tree grows from a pine seed, an apple tree grows from an apple seed, and so forth. As for the seed itself, it remains dormant until it rains and receives sunlight - two conditions that help seeds develop into trees.

It is the same with enlighten-ment. In Buddhist philosophy, it is believed that every sentient being has the capacity for enlightenment. Although uncreated and beyond time and space, we attain this state by placing the right combination of causes and conditions in place. Perhaps we could think of enlight-enment as a clear blue sky. even if it were covered by thick, dark clouds it cannot be affected by them; once the clouds disperse, the unblem-ished sky appears. The aim of Bud-

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dhist practice is to clear away the clouds, and for this to happen we need the right causes and conditions.

To clear away ignorance that obscures our natural awakened mind, there are many pos-sible causes – a powerful one being the kar-mic seeds planted in our stream of conscious-ness when we listen to Dharma teachings, see a painting of an enlightened being like the Buddha or guru rinpoche or watch sacred dances.

Awakening through seeing, hearing, smell-ing, touching and tasting is called “liberation through the senses”. It is a unique and pow-erful method that plants seeds of enlighten-ment in the mind stream. Later, when these seeds encounter conducive conditions, such as meeting with an authentic teacher or receiving instructions for practice, they acti-vate and dispel the clouds of ignorance that have been obstructing our enlightened mind.

If we think about it, this is not such a sur-prising truth. Even an ordinary event, such as listening to music or reading an inspir-ing book has the potential to totally change our mood – to make us happy when sad, excited when bored and even totally change the direction of our lives. Imagine, then, how much more powerful the effect is of a sacred dance or painting. Unlike an ordinary choreography or a mundane piece of art, these dances or paintings have been blessed by great Buddhist masters and are imbued with symbolism that is specifically designed to wake us up to reality. In this way, they could be compared to the dynamic seeds of a hurricane that have the potential to fully blow away the clouds that cover the blue sky.

So, as we watch the mesmerizing shad-ows dance on the walls of ancient buildings, perhaps we can reflect on the deeper aspects of the tsechu ceremony. Later, when we return to home and mix with our friends and colleagues, we will not only have memories of colourful and exotic dances but on a pro-found level will be adifferent person, for we will have the seeds of enlightenment! n

By SHenPHen ZAngPo

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Wild about

Rhododendrons


each spring when the rhododendrons arrived, setting off mute explo-sions of color across the dark green hills and the

shimmering peaks in the distance, my father took the family for a drive in the mountains above the capital.

Wearing our best ghos and kiras we would walk the short distance up the trail near the pass at Doch-ula. Turning a corner we would find a blaze of rhododendrons in full bloom, moss hanging wetly from the trunks and boughs of the primal trees—many naturalists believe they have been around for 50 million years—giving the air an organic, elemental, loamy feel one could almost taste in the back of the mouth.

My father herded my mother, my three sisters and me under the sheltering arches of some great tree until the frame of his old Kodak camera was filled by the brilliance of our best brocades and silks clash-ing with the trumpets and blooms of this wildly sensuous tree. eventu-ally, he would set the timer on the camera and dash over to join us in the camera frame, hand on hips, hat set jauntily, an inexplicable polka dot scarf around his neck.

For a time I thought it was only my family that suffered from this temporary insanity resulting from the annual return of the rhododen-drons. However, the considerable body of lyrical literature waxing poetic on the subject of these amaz-ing trees suggests that, in fact, many people have been wild about rhodo-dendrons for a very long time!

Nearly 1,200 years ago, in China, the flower was so prized it caused the poet Po-Chu-I to complain:

There happened to be an old farm labourer who came by chance that way

He bowed and sighed a deep sigh; but this sigh no one understood

He was thinking ‘a cluster of deep red flowers would pay the taxes of 10 poor homes.’Another Chinese poet, Cheng

Yanxlong, put a more exquisite point on it:

Perhaps the bleeding mouths of cuckoos have dropped blood onto the rhododendron branches and turned it into red flowers. And more recently the 19th

century russian poet Afanásy Fet wrote:

Rhododendron! Rhododendron!The splendid flower of the orangery, How beautiful and how elegant

Thou art in the hands of the flighty fairy!

Rhododendron! Rhododendron!In the early part of the 20th cen-

tury the naturalist Frank Kingdon Ward, using romantic names to describe the different varieties of rhododendrons he saw, wrote in his Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorge:

…And everywhere the rocks swamped under a tidal wave of tense colours which gleam and glow in leagues of breaking light. ‘Pimper-nel’ whose fiery curtains hang from every rock; ‘Carmelita’ forming pools of incandescent lava. ‘Yellow Peril’ heaving up against the floor of the cliff in choppy sulphur seas breaking from a long low surf of pink lacteum, whose bronzed leaves glimmer faintly like sea-tarnished metal.years later the anthropologist

Charles Stonor, who was searching for the Yeti, recounted camping in a grove of wild rhododendrons “so smothered in blossoms that one wondered why it does not flower itself to death each year.”

Perhaps the single most influen-tial work in spreading the popular-ity of rhododendrons worldwide was joseph Hooker’s Rhododendrons of the Sikkim-Himalaya (published 1849), which was hailed as ‘one of

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the marvels of our time’. This work was largely credited with having launched the 19th century rhodo-dendron craze among gardeners, artists, botanists and high society aesthetes in england and the United States. It also caused a flurry of artists to paint the flowers in the superlatively florid and gushing style it had already caused in print. Among these was the Victorian adventurer and painter, Marianne North (1830-1890), who arrived in Darjeeling and got up at sunrise every morning to paint the magnifi-cent Rhododendron arboreum framed by mighty snowcapped Mount Kanchenjunga.

To derive the name for this most gorgeous species of trees the Swed-ish naturalist Carl von Linné took the Greek words for Rose, Rhodon, and Tree, or Dendron. And although he was later criticized for having mistakenly believed that the “trum-pets of a rhododendron” could look like the “proffering petals of a rose”, the name stuck. The author himself died in penury, overtaken by ill health and domestic troubles, which likely stemmed from his financial woes, but the rhododendron itself went on to a wonderfully glamor-ous future, celebrated in the great gardens of the western world and once cultivated by no less a person-age than George Washington, who

named it Pinxterbloom. Perhaps coming full circle, garden

owners Michael and Sue Thornley at Glenarn in Argyll, Scotland, speak of their rhododendron falco-neri (grown from a seed collected in the Himalayas by the famous joseph Hooker) as sitting “like a huge Buddha, a reincarnation from another continent and time, whose vast flesh coloured limbs have grown into an oriental pattern against the grey Scottish sky.”

“I have heard the cry of the cuckoos…and now I have seen the rhododendron flowers,” the poet Li Bai said. “The cry and the flowers make me homesick, in such late spring.”

I could not have found a better expression of what rhododendrons mean to a Bhutanese man living overseas.

Indeed, if truth be told, even to those of us who were subjected to embarrassing rounds of picture taking amid the luscious profusion of these most incandescent of trees, nothing says welcome home better than a wild tumble of gorgeous rhododendron blooms.

rhodendron readings:

The Flower Market by Po-chu-I in Chinese Poems, translated by Arthur Waley

Rhododendrons of China, Edited by Feng guomeiTha Book of Rhododendrons, Mari-anna KnellerFrank Kingdon Ward’s Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges, edited by Kenneth CoxThe Rhododendron Story: 200 years of Plant Hunting and Garden Cultiva-tion, edited by Cynthia PostanTales of the Rose Tree: Ravishing Rho-dodendrons and Their Travels Around the World by jane Brown

Perhaps to articulate the intense exuberance of the rhododendrons’ arrival in the spring, a Bhutanese archer criesethometho sha rendongi da kari pho rendoorrhododendrons are about to bloomAnd my arrows about to find their Mark!

Indeed, in Bhutan, if cupid had a flower tucked behind his ear, it would be the rhododendron bloom. Lovers give them to each other, songs celebrate their loveliness, and tour companies cash in on their allure by naming themselves after them, or adding their springtime blooms as highlights in their tour offerings.

“I have heard the cry

of the cuckoos…and

now I have seen the

rhododendron flowers,”


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20 voyager

Sacred FragrancesDiscovering The arT oF BhuTanese incense maKing


For most Bhutanese, the act of lighting incense is an inseparable part of daily life.

The ritual acts both as an obeisance to the gods and as aromatic aids to relax and purify the mind. on any given morning wisps from such votive offerings curl heavenward from the tents of yak herders in the high mountains, village farmhouses in the mid Himalayan range and from mod-ern city apartments in the capital and regional towns. At each of the thousands of holy sites that dot the Bhutanese landscape, from the grandest temple to the most humble farmhouse, sticks of fragrant incense rise into the air to infuse the landscape with the deepest spiritual aspirations of the people who light them.

During my fourteen trips to Bhutan as a curious onlooker raised outside the tradition of incense or Buddhism, I often wondered what the significance was of all this smoke. I asked my guides and drivers but the information gleaned from them only made me want to find out more.

The Buddha himself extols the spirit of inquiry so I decided to learn more about this ancient Bhutanese tradition. The intellectual heft and weight of no less than two well-known Bhutanese scholars and a duo of Bhutanese incense manufac-turers significantly aided my quest.

The first of my resources, Dr. Kar-ma Phuntsho, was born in the small village of Ura in Bumthang valley. He trained as a monk first in Bhutan and then in India. Afterward, he received a Master of Studies degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in oriental Studies at Balliol Col-lege, Oxford. Dr. Karma is currently a researcher at the Department of Social Anthropology in Cambridge, a position that requires him to divide his time between Bhutan and the United Kingdom.

“Incense-smoke is not merely an offering of fragrances but it forms

a medium for the visualisation of a much greater and multifarious offering,” explained Dr. Karma, somewhat academically. “The incense and other substances to be burned are first purified through a deep meditative dissolution into the state of Emptiness. Then, the billows of smoke, which illusorily arise from the expanse of Empti-ness, are transformed into immea-surable clouds of wonderful items of offering through a meditative projection.”

The next scholar I consulted, Khaling Karma, has studied Bud-dhism since he was a boy and con-sults on the ancient art of Bhutanese healing. Most recently the author of The Buddha’s Recipe, written in english and published under the royal patronage of Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, Khaling Karma is as formidable a source as one might find on the matter. In fact, his book is a primer on Buddhism intended for students and admirers of Bud-dhism alike.

“Before the inception of Bud-dhism in Bhutan,” Khaling Karma said. “each community worshiped their own territorial deity, both male and female. The deity could be in the form of a stone, tree, cave, marsh, mountain, cliff, rock, lake or even a small stream. Whenever disease or natural calamity struck these communities they offered incense and several forms of edible essences, including animal sacrifice, to appease local animistic spirits.

“However, following the advent of Guru Rinpoche, all these malevo-lent deities were subdued, reformed and indoctrinated. Their devotees were no longer required to kill animals as part of the ritual offer-ings. Instead, to appease the local deities (known as Yul Lha Shibda or Kachong Choechong Sungma), the guru encouraged local worshippers to continue the tradition of incense offerings, a practice that remains current to this day.”

22 voyager

Continuing on the incense trail I met the two incense makers at their facilities, the first located in the capital, Thimphu, the other further east in Chumey Valley, Central Bhu-tan. Graciously, the owners of both poizokhangs (Houses of Incense) showed me around and explained the process. I witnessed firsthand the use of centuries-old techniques to grind, mix, press and dry the incense sticks. First, all ingredients were ground and mixed into a pow-der, then stirred with water, sugar and honey. juniper powder was the base ingredient and I learned that the quality of the incense was deter-mined by the amount of juniper used in the mix (less juniper means more fragrant incense sticks as it necessitates the use of other more aromatic ingredients).

After it was blended to perfec-tion, the incense mix was stored in a large container in a warm dry environment, usually a sun-struck storeroom or shed. I learned that the beginnings of the fragrances that distinguish each batch of incense are detected after about a week, at which time gum resin is added to hold the mix together. The enhanced mixture is then mashed again before being extrud-ed through a mechanical press into long thin coils that resemble cooked spaghetti; only these are crimson in colour. The coils are then straight-ened, cut to size, bundled into rolls of about thirty sticks, placed on wooden boards, and then stacked in the shade to dry for four or five more days before they are packaged and priced according to quality and ingredients.

“My main market is in central Bhutan,” Lhendup, the incense master in central Bhutan said. “I sell to local businesses and monasteries [in the region], and rarely to Thim-phu or outside the country. The government recently built a feeder road to my village and now it is much more successful because local people and businesses can drive right up to my factory.”

Like nado Poizokhang in the cap-ital, Lhendup’s Urok Poizokhang contributes to the local economy by employing several villagers, paying wages to those who have tradition-ally provided for their families mainly by sustenance farming.

Both incense makers say that they adhere to age-old practices and standards in producing their incense and that, except for the grinding machine, every part of the process is done by hand.

Both establishments contribute to Bhutan’s policy of gross national Happiness by providing employ-ment in a trade that promotes and honours the kingdom’s centuries-old Buddhist traditions. every new-comer to Bhutan should buy at least a few packages (just ask your guide to direct you to these two factories or look for the them in markets and

gift shops). By doing this not only will you be

spreading the word of Buddhism and gross national Happiness wherever the incense may waft in the air but you may also find your-self in a more relaxed and purified state of mind.

Robin Smillie is a travel writer and photographer based in Tampa, Florida. He is the owner of www.rainbowphototours.com and can be reached at [email protected].

BUMTHANG : BHUTANPhone : +975 3 631242

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BUMTHANG : BHUTANPhone : +975 3 631242

Fax : +975 3 631377Cell : 17636477/ 17675637

E-mail : [email protected] : [email protected]

JAKAR VILLAGE LODGEJ

AKAR J

AKAR AKAR

AKAR AKAR

AKAR JAKAR J

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24 voyager

The adventure

of being a gNh appinessTraveller

Have you ever wondered what the highly philosophical concept of ‘Gross national Happi-

ness’ actually means? In Bhutan you will hear people affectionately refer to the country’s extraordinary development philosophy as gnH. If you have heard of it before, have you ever asked yourself how gnH values and principles could actually be implemented in daily life? And are you hoping to see the gnH experiment in action while you are visiting Bhutan? If you’ve answered yes to any of the above questions, fasten your seat belt, read on and prepare yourself for a new perspec-

tive on the world - as you

approach Paro airport this

statement will make sense in more ways than one.Speaking from my own expe-

rience of travelling, living and working in Bhutan over the past five years, I am making some generalizations and assumptions in this article. The very fact that you are comfortably settled on a Drukair flight on your way to Bhutan for a magical holiday in the Land of the Thunder Dragon, most likely means that you are from a well-educated background, with a comfortable income that allows you enough spare cash to foot the bill for the minimum US


appiness

$ 200 spent per person each day, with enough cultural interest and awareness to be visiting a Buddhist Kingdom and with a reasonable level of health and fitness to make your way into the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. All of these assumptions would lead one to believe that you would be a happy person - healthy, wealthy and wise. If you had to honestly rate your level of happiness right now on a scale of one to 10 (one being the least happy and 10 being the most happy) where would you place yourself - honestly?

Happiness and HappinessThroughout 2010 the Centre for Bhutan Studies asked some 7,000 Bhutanese citizens from all across Bhutan, using an enormous survey of 250 questions. How they feel about their life including the educa-tion system, their health, the quality and access to health services. Their psychological well-being, how stressed they feel, how much time they spend at work and at home, their trust in their neighbors and in their government. Their knowledge and awareness of environmental issues, their level of confidence with cultural traditions and rituals and how happy they feel. The results will be analyzed and compared to the 2007 survey and conclusions will be drawn about whether Bhu-tanese people are feeling more or less happy than three years ago.

Incredible! Has anyone in your life, let alone your government ever taken that much interest in the way you feel about your life and how happy you are? Welcome to Bhutan, where the happiness and well-being of the people is considered by His Majesty the King as the ultimate measure of Bhutan’s progress. This is a different type of happiness though than the happiness that depends on our frame of reference, on how we compare ourselves to others and to earlier times when

we felt happy. Usually happiness is affected by external influences and inner thought processes and reflections. It seems though that the happiness that Bhutan is aspiring to is the happiness that emerges with an increasing awareness and under-standing of the interdependence of all life-processes and beings. There-fore, linking the ultimate belief of interdependence of life, originating from Buddhist philosophy, to the secular interpretation of gnH val-ues and beliefs in a modern society.

The tip of the “GNH- iceberg”So now you are a visitor to this country where small numbers of tourists travel every year (between 20,000 to 40,000 over the last five years) with a population that stands at a mere 700,000. Be prepared to be immersed in Bhutanese life and culture. This is definitely a destina-tion for people who like to experi-ence something different and learn

something new compared to what they already know. But don’t be misled into thinking that you will find a Utopian society where human beings live in perfect harmony with each other and the world around them. People in Bhutan are like people all over the world; they face challenges and conflict every day like everyone else in the world. How these challenges and conflicts are dealt with is where gnH values put in action may produce an unexpected outcome to a situation.

one of the best ways to observe gnH in action is to visit an archery field anywhere in Bhutan and watch the dedication and joy of the participants and spectators at any time of the week and any time of day. This is the Bhutanese version of golf, where a lot of business is discussed, problems are solved and the enjoyment of a competi-tive sport culminates in the archers dancing and singing for joy when they hit the target.

But seriously you are asking, what are some of the values that the concept of gnH is trying

to instill in Bhutanese

26 voyager

society? gnH as the development philosophy of Bhutan is manifest-ing in a number of ways. Among the general population there seems to be an increasing level of environ-mental concern, particularly in rela-tion to waste. There are now school recycling programs and some hotels and tour operators are also getting on board with improved waste management systems and recycling programs. The govern-ment has a dedicated gnH Com-mission, which is the equivalent to a Planning Commission in other countries. The Centre for Bhutan Studies works tirelessly and strate-gically to keep a finger on the pulse of national happiness levels and is spearheading the development of screening tools for decision-makers within the government, based on gnH values and beliefs.

However, what we see today as evidence of gnH is just the tip of the iceberg that gnH stands for. So far, the GNH activities resemble sustainable development initiatives across the world. However, the “GNH iceberg” that lies below the surface, with its potentially mas-sive impact, relates to the values and beliefs that we as individuals demonstrate through our actions, decisions, emotions and behaviors in our every day life.

Travelling in an aspiring GNH societySo how could you practice gnH while being in Bhutan? Apart from all the things you know about being a responsible traveller such as practicing cultural sensitivity, envi-ronmental consciousness, choosing tour operators and hotels that fol-low a sustainability program, and supporting local communities by purchasing locally made souve-nirs – what else is there to do as a gnH traveller? It seems to me that the most important task as a gnH traveller in Bhutan is to seize the opportunity to explore the concept of happiness and gain some insight into what happiness means for us. I try to observe and become aware of things that are different from what I am used to. I try to notice what puts me in a good mood and what puts me in a bad mood. I try to observe the states of my mind. Asking questions of the guides and people I meet, about how Buddhist philosophy explains the states of mind - which we seem to be constantly caught up in - always delivers some fascinating answers. Or just finding a serene place, of which there are many in Bhutan, to sit quietly for a moment to contem-plate, reflect and just let the mind

wander. A journey in Bhutan is like no other journey - here you have the opportunity to transform and get to know your mind like nowhere else in the world.

growing up in an economically developed western culture, I was brought up with the underly-ing view that individualism, our own happiness and that of our loved-ones are the most important pursuits in life. The social condi-tioning I learned was to practice a commitment to economic progress, a job, my professional development along with wealth creation being advocated as the ultimate goal.

Compare this to the gnH values where a commitment to altruism, generosity, compassion, community consciousness and social respon-sibility are the central factors that hold a society together. From what I understand, the fundamental prem-ise in a gnH society is that an indi-vidual’s personal happiness cannot be achieved by him or herself alone, but only through having a com-mitment to the common welfare and by taking social responsibility. The fundamental premise of gnH happiness is therefore based on the idea that everything and everyone depends on each other.

The GNH journey of a modern societyThe manifestation of the fundamen-tal premise of gnH can be seen in the core values that a gnH society is based on such as trust, compas-sion, generosity, serenity, bonding, creativity, insightfulness, patience, integrity, interdependence, eco-consciousness, altruism, fairness, unity, cooperation, cultural diversity and dignity and many others. only if these behaviors and principles are present in a society, can there be happiness for the society and for the individual. Traditionally, these values were instilled in Bhutanese society through the practice of sending one son from each family to lead a monastic life. When visit-


ing their families the monk-sons bring back the Buddhist values into their families thereby instilling and reinforcing these values throughout the society.

But how will Bhutan ensure that these values are transferred into the younger generation in a demo-cratic way while giving freedom of choice? This is where Buddhist values have been translated into GNH values, taking them out of a religious context and putting them into a secular context. For example, there are plans to introduce gnH value education into the education system in schools that provide the gnH values as one possible world-view.

Up to now, the most inspiring initiative on the horizon of bringing GNH values alive, is the visionary government project of developing a ‘Centre for Gross National Hap-piness’ which is currently under development in the Bumthang region in Central Bhutan. The proj-ect aims to be operational by 2013 “to manifest GNH in living practice, embodying and modelling gnH principles in its design, functioning, activity and human interaction and practicing simple and sustainable living in harmony with nature and other beings. The Centre intends to attract Bhutanese from all walks

of life to learn and experience how to bring gnH values and practices fully into their daily work and lives and thereby serving their families, neighbors and country at large with genuine purpose, compassion, joy and effectiveness.

Courageous choicesSo if you are like me, a curious traveller on a journey in an aspir-ing GNH society, we could find inspiration in what this nation is trying to achieve - being part of the experience of viewing happiness as an interdependent occurrence and acting for the good of all rather than just the one. I find myself constantly challenged and surprised that being a gnH traveller in this country takes courage when trying to bal-ance my cultural conditioning of the pursuit of personal happiness with the happiness of the wider society and greater good. It is at this balanc-ing point that every little decision can reflect GNH values or not.

Finally, if you are on your way home, sitting on the plane looking out the window at the white peaks of the Himalayan mountains as they disappear in the distance, give yourself a moment to recall your journey and memories in the Land of the Thunder Dragon. remind yourself if you had any experi-ences in Bhutan that gave you a feeling of happiness, trust, compas-sion, generosity, serenity, bonding, creativity, insightfulness, patience, integrity, interdependence, eco-consciousness, altruism, fairness, unity, cooperation, cultural diversity and dignity. Being a living example of behaviors, emotions and actions that will encourage these types of feelings and experiences with as many people as we can, seems to me what makes a gnH traveller and practitioner. Someone who has a commitment to the welfare of all and the greater good.

In the end, when scoring our happiness levels again on a scale of one to 10 we might compare the end score with the one from the

beginning of our journey. only to find, that in the end the score may not really matter that much - but the way we see happiness might have changed.

Ultimately really, the only GNH experiment in action for you to experience here in Bhutan was to witness your own transformation. Hopefully you enjoyed the journey and are leaving the country with a smile on your face - and some insights into the nature of happi-ness.

Tashi Delek.

By ISABeL SeBASTIAn

Isabel has been travelling, living and working in Bhutan for the past five years. She is currently engaged with the implementation of a 3-year program of bringing GNH and sustainability into every aspect of day-to-day business activities and interactions at Hotel Zhiwa Ling and Yangphel Adventure Travel.

If you would like to share your stories of any GNH experiences in Bhutan, please email them to Isabel at [email protected], who will compile the best stories with your permission into her next article.

I find myself constantly

challenged and

surprised that being a

GNH traveller in this

country takes courage

when trying to balance

my cultural conditioning

of the pursuit of personal

happiness with the

happiness of the wider

society and greater good

28 voyager

Cookery

Ema DatseChilli (ema) and Cheese (dachi) Soup such as hot cream stew. you can put any vegitable by your favorite. now dry chilli was used becuase it was out of season of chiili. In the season of chilli, we can make very wonderful ema dachi with fresh chill.

It is said that Bhutanese dishes is the hotest of foods in the world. In Bhutan, chilli(ema) is used not as one of spice but as one of vegitable. Cheese (dachi) and chilli (ema) are necessary for Bhutanese dishes. They live on red rice and buckwheat in the place where rice can not be grewed.

Bhutanese dishes is very hot for a man who eat Bhutanese dishes at first. It is said that we can enjoy three parts for one meal; one is mouth, another part is stomach, and the last part is at toilet in the next morning.

Phaksha PaaStew of radish and pork with skin, especally the best with thick fat under skin. Seasonning is, of cource, by chilli. by well boiling, the sky change to jelly and the fat is sweet, which are harmonious with hot of chilli. The radish which contains all taste, hot, sweet, etc. is beyound description. In the season of radish, poeple buy a lot of radish in a market.

RecipeMaterials:

• Pork (with thick fat and skin) • radish • Chilli • Butter • Solt

How To Cook: • Boil pork with pressure cooker. • Wash the boild pork. • Boil radish. • When radish soften, put the boild pork, some but-

ter, and a little salt.

you can enjoy Tibetan dishes and Indian dishes other than traditional Bhutanese dishes. you can eat breads.

Recipe• Materials : • o Chilli (Fresher one is better) • o Cheese • o Butter • o Salt • o Any vegitable

Voyager

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