Day 9 – From Nuns to Monks
We start the day with a brisk walk through the rice and wheat fields to the small temple of Chimi Lhakhang, dedicated to the country's most popular saint, the 'divine madman' Drukpa Kunley whose anti-conformist behavior still resonates with the population. The temple is nicknamed the 'Temple of Fertility'. Women who want to conceive come to this temple in the hope that their wish will be granted. We also receive a blessing from the monk present (but we do wish something else 😉.
According to persistent rumors, the desperate wife of the current king has also visited the temple to make her wish to have children come true. The fact remains that four years after their marriage, the royal couple is still childless. Young monks come here turning the prayer wheel, just before their lessons start. By the way, anyone who has seen Reizen Waes will remember the passage of Tom Waes in this town because the images of the male genitalia are indispensable in the street scene. All a reference to the temple.
We drive into the hills to visit a nunnery, the Sangcchen Dorji Lhuendrup Lhakhang. Not only men, but also women can enter into the monastery. The age here varies between 5 and 47 years. Just like the men, women are also allowed to retire at any time, but they must in that case pay for their studies. The monastery is quietly located with a beautiful view of the valley of Punkakha. You would almost want to enter, just for the 'zen' location. In addition to studying and meditating, they also learn skills. A few nuns are studying at the entrance of the temple. They teach us to pronounce the first three letters of the alphabet (with varying degrees of success) and teach us to write the first letter.
But the best is yet to come with a visit to the dzong of Punakhar, which shines like a beacon in the valley due to its strategic location. It was built in 1637 at the confluence of two rivers by Shabrung, who is considered the unifier of the country of Bhutan.
The king and the Je Khenpo (the religious leader) used to hibernate here for six months, as the climate is a bit more pleasant here than in the capital. Now only the Je Khenpo spends the winter here. It is the most beautiful dzong I have seen so far and will probably see. I'm staring at it open-mouthed. The first king was crowned here. He could not have chosen a more beautiful place to take the position of Druk Gyalpo, the dragon king. It is gorgeous in every aspect. From a distance, the defense value of the dzong really stands out. Perfectly located and the long high whitewashed walls forms an ideal defence. Hard to believe it's been ravaged by fire six times and flooded twice already. Today it only shows his splendor.
We take lunch in the town and then drive on towards Thimphu, the capital. On the way we still have to cross one mountain pass : the Dochu-La which is located at about 3,050 m. Unfortunately, it is heavily clouded, too sad because in good weather you have a beautiful view of the eastern high Himalayas with peaks up to 7,000 m. On this pass 108 stupas that were commissioned by the old Queen Mother (grandmother of the current king) were built to commemorate Bhutan's 2003 victory over Indian separatists. These had been hiding in Southern Bhutan and from there launched attacks on India. Bhutan had nothing to do with this conflict and had repeatedly asked these rebels to leave the country. When talking stopped working, the Bhutanese army forcibly evacuated these camps.
We descend towards the capital Thimphu. Along the way we find many prayer flags that are hung everywhere. Again, these prayers are carried further by the wind.
We have bad luck agin on the road if we lose a lot of time with road works. First we have to wait forty minutes before the road is reopened and a little later we are stuck when a controlled explosion has just taken place and the boulders still have to be removed.
We see a big change between east and west Bhutan as we approach Thimphu. The traditional three-storey wooden houses we saw in the east are now turning into concrete structures with many more floors, a kind of apartment block, so to speak.
In those traditional houses animals used to be kept on the ground floor, but according to the law that is no longer allowed and animals must be housed at least 30 m from a house.
Three generations live together on the first floor (grandparents – parents – children). Since there is no social security in Bhutan and therefore no pension, elders must be taken care of within the family, in the first place by their kids.
The third floor is an open attic that serves to dry crops. The clothing here is also remarkably western. Jeans instead of the traditional ghos and kyras.
It doesn't take long before I am homesick for the very traditional Eastern Bhutan.
Comments
Post a Comment