Exploring the majesty of Bhutan's temples

Author: Himali Singh Soin

Himali Singh Soin '08 travelled this past summer to the Bhutan region. This travelogue is the final installment in a series of unique summer stories by students.

Nestled between the mountains of Tibet and India is Bhutan, a tiny, Buddhist kingdom where spiritual happiness is valued above all material development and prosperity. The idea of traveling to this unique land was conceived while looking out upon a high altitude lake in Ladakh, India, where I was immersed in a landscape that incessantly spoke of its people and religion. My interest in Buddhism and its manifestation in the people's performing arts drew me there.

As I landed in the tiny airport, the stunning red, green and gold patterns found in the architecture foreshadowed the brilliance of the rest of the country. It was the beginning of a journey into the Land of the Thunder Dragon, Druk yul, where men and mountains lived in harmony, and the wind chanted "Om mani padme hum" as if in prayer for its people.

The next day, after about a two-hour walk uphill, we reached the "viewpoint" of the trail. From there I could see our destination - the stark, shaded, jagged rock face and perched above it, a beautiful, gold-roofed, ornate monastery. Along our path, the lush green of the land was juxtaposed with the red, blue and yellow of Buddhist Dzongs. The architecture of the country is in harmony with nature and blended with the landscape to enhance its own Buddhist identity. A largely agrarian country, Bhutan's economy thrives on steppe farming, and the architecture reflects this culture. Monastery roofs, for example, are broad at the first level, and make their way upwards in layers. There is always music, for singing is a communal activity, and it often takes the form of praying to the Buddha for successful harvests.

Amidst the darkening skies and the heavy clouds, the fast wind and the passer bys, amidst the transience of nature's beings, the monastery Taktsang stood still, with a majesty that invited sheer awe. Setting foot on the monastery was a magical feeling - the wind was cooler here, the monks quiet and serene. There was something churning inside me. Taktsang means Tiger's Nest; it was the monastery originally built for the Guru Padmasambhav, who came from Tibet on his spiritual consort, the tigress, to crush the evil spirits that pervaded Bhutan.

Inside the monastery, there was a little room that houses this cave, and it can only be seen through a tiny hole in the door. The resident monk explained the paintings on the wall to us - they were all the Buddhist manifestations of man and nature coexisting in symbiosis for the harmony of the universe.

I stayed there for some time, and revelled in my surroundings. As I walked down and neared the viewpoint to look back once again, I realized the power of Taktsang. It was not simply a monastery on a hill that took a long time to get to; rather, this monastery symbolized the eternal harmony and cause of the universe. There was fresh air, abundant sunshine and a nearby waterfall. They had everything they needed - removed from the hustle and bustle of city life - a place where each monk, each plant, each animal and every bug had all they needed, and could coexist peacefully.

The Royal Government of Bhutan has made a national commitment to uphold its obligations to future generations by charting a path of development called the Middle Path, which upholds both environmental and cultural preservation as an integral part of the development process. Traditional and local beliefs sustain the conservation ethic, for according to the ancient Bon religion and the concept of animism, the mountains, the river and the forests are the abodes of the gods, goddesses, protective deities and underworld spirits. Disturbing these sites would lead to death, disease or famine. Bhutan believes that a healthy environment is essential for material and spiritual happiness. In the words of his majesty the king of Bhutan, "Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product."

The Buddhists in Bhutan believe that all of nature is a sentient being and has a right to live. This philosophy has manifested itself keenly in the streets of Thimpu and Paro where there is little garbage and a strong sense of responsibility for the surroundings. Environmental sustainability is one of the main pillars of Gross National Happiness. They understand climate change and environmental degradation as some of the pressing problems of today, and though seemingly isolated from the world, they are active in changing their ways, including shifting to alternative power possibilities. Bhutan has banned plastic bags and tobacco for they make the country 'less happy.' There is very little advertising to discourage consumerism and television was only introduced in 1999.

The next day, we saw the beginnings of the rhododendron forests that were soon going to leave us speechless. We stopped for lunch in a meadow that housed a long Buddhist Chorten; these were the indications of eastern thought in the landscape. Amidst the meadows and cliffs of Bhutan were the brightly coloured prayer flags, stupas unflinching in the high mountain winds and tiny versions of chortens with piles of flat gray stone stacked high in the middle of lakes. Our guide said it was a need to mark their territory and identity in a vast landscape, that the nomads indicated their presence through their religion.

Walking in the mountains was a mystical, fairy tale adventure. Mist covered the forests as we began from the trailhead, and followed us right into our tents that evening. Each plant was veiled in glittering dewdrops - it seemed that many a pixie and goblin inhabited this fertile ground; simply waiting for the onlookers to pass so they could re-emerge from beneath the moss and the mushrooms and cause their usual ruckus. As we gradually gained height day after day, the rhododendrons began to appear. The little spots of white and purple that simply seemed like those retinal spots that the eye creates when seeing into a distance magically became fields of brightly coloured azaleas. The clearing clouds allowed us to see, for the first time, the grand jagged views of the great Himalayan ranges of Bhutan.

Bhutan's eco-system harbors some of the most exotic, endemic species of the eastern Himalayas. It has an estimated 770 species of birds and over 50 species of Rhododendron. The mountains brim with other exotic species like blue poppy and different medicinal herbs. Animals like takins, snow leopards, golden langur, tigers and elephants roam its forests.

After several days in the mountains, we returned to visit the cultural aspects of the country, where the song and dance very much reflected what we had seen of the Buddhist landscape. The performers danced in circles and the music came back to the same words it began with; this seemed to mimic how the nomads would leave their belongings in the winter, go down to the valleys and then return again in the summer.

As I caught my flight back to India, we steered through narrow valleys and empty gorges, across the beautiful Nepalese mountains. So though I left Bhutan that day, I seemed to be in inertia, for the chants of 'Om mani padme hum' still reverberated within me, and the warmth and splendour of the natural and the cultural landscape continues to live on.

Since the journey, I have been able to capture a certain mindfulness, for in Bhutan one stops craving, and for a moment or two one is rid of desires, and can finally see what is, and it is then that one is completely present - truly experiencing one of life's rare moments of being.