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Published: April 6th 2007
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Bhutan. Druk Yul in the local language, Dzongkha. Translated, that is the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon. At one time this hidden country, high in the Himalayas, was considered the Shangri-La, the land beyond the blue horizon of so many fables and myths. Now, this isolated Kingdom is being confronted with incredible choices as they and the 21st Century meet.
It is a Kingdom. There is a King. He and his predecessors have been in power for about 100 years. The Kings have been truly benevolent and caring rulers, looking out for what is best for their subjects. Like refusing to let their land be destroyed by mining and instead developing their natural resources so environmentally sensitive travelers like me would come and spend money. Or deciding that no dams would be built on their raging mountain rivers, altering the landscape and destroying habitat. Instead they built In Flow Electric Generators where the flow of the river itself turns the turbines to create electricity. So much electricity that they sell their excess to India and that sale is 60% of the country's economy! And the Kings have been dearly loved by their subjects. Because they do not view themselves
as above their people. Thirty years ago, as the Kingdom prepared for war against a guerilla movement in the southern reaches of their country, the King personally planned out the war and then personally lead his troops into battle. He did not send other people's children to die. He was in the front line, with his subjects, fighting side by side. Somehow I can't picture that happening with our current US King, oh, er, a, I mean, ah, president.
Well, the King recently came to the decision that is time for him to step to the side. To allow his son to take the reins of power. But at the same time, the King has organized an election, beginning the movement to change the Kingdom's form of government to that of a constitutional monarchy. A change that many of his subjects are concerned about. Can the rule of an aspiring politician rise to the inspiring high standards that this benevolent and generous King has established?
Add to that the introduction in 1999 of television broadcasting (yes, they had no television in the country prior to 1999!), and many people in Bhutan seem to have joined the headlong rush
toward western culture, the pursuit of money and social prestige. This in a country that actually used to measure its GNH. Gross National Happiness that is. Yes, the Gross National Product which so many governments based their decisions upon were not the concern here. Instead it was the GNH, Gross National Happiness!
After flying just south of Mount Everest - absolutely incredible as it tore through the clouds so far below it - and over the incredibly deep valleys that seem to have no bottom, the plane banked steeply to the left. Then right. Suddenly we saw nothing but ground out one window and nothing but sky over the other as we maneuvered over Paro Valley. Then the plane straightened out and now we looked out to see tree covered mountains towering above us, and oh so close to the wings! This landing brought on a round of applause as the wheels finally touched down!
We arrive just in time to rush off to the Rinpung Dzong to join in the tshechus (festival). We settle in with the crowd, at the foot of a mountain with a 360 year old temple behind us and marvel at the dance,
costumes, masks. And I marvel also at the gentle smiling faces all around me, enjoying their traditions, their culture. This is not a show for the tourists, this is the real thing!
Bhutan is a Buddhist Kingdom, Mahayana Buddhism to be exact. And the times spent in Buddhist monasteries, temples and Dzongs were amongst the most engaging and intense of my experiences. Be it hiking nearly 3000 feet up the mountainside just north of Paro to the Taktshang Lhakhang (Tiger's Nest Monastery), built in 1646, clinging to the cliff side where Guru Rinpoche landed on the back of his flying tiger in the 8th century. Or sitting in the Kyichu Lhakhang, a Buddhist shrine that dates back to the 7th century and contains the rock which supports the entire world. Three grizzled old men sit by that rock, prayer wheels spinning, prayer beads clicking and prayers flying, to be sure that the stone stays in place. I sit beside the monks as they eat their meager cup of rice for dinner and then begin chanting and playing their instruments before the ornate and colorful alter with the huge Buddha upon it. And I am blessed to get a glimpse
of a dog - perhaps the dog - as the guru who built this shrine so many centuries ago, predicted his reincarnation as a dog! Or the joy of walking through Punakha Dzong and hearing the low pitched buzz of the huge, long brass horn that the monks play - and then a playful young monk sticks his head out of his tiny room and invites you in to listen to him and his buddy play their horns. How joyful, how playful and even a bit rowdy these young monks are! About 25% of the male population signs on to be a monk. And about 10% makes it through the ascetic training and becomes a monk. While the vast majority of the nuns in the country are said to be widows who've chosen the life of a Buddhist nun after the death of their husband.
One day we visit the Arts and Crafts School that the government sponsors, allowing young Bhutanese to continue their traditional crafts of drawing, weaving, sculpting, doll making and wood carving. The aspiring young artists are often a bit shy as we peer over their shoulders in their workshop, admiring their works. Continuing traditional ways
of life is very important to the people here. And essential if they are to continue to mine the tourist trade instead of having to resort to mining their mountains!
And this is a land of incredibly beautiful mountains. At the top of Dochu La (La means pass), I run out into the sleet to take the fresh mountain air, the beautiful Magnolia and Rhododendron trees, and the beautiful Namgyal Khangzang Chortens, 108 monuments clustered on the mountain top to honor the King. They were built by one of his Queens as he marched off to the war mentioned earlier! And yes, I did say one of his Queens. There are four sisters to which he is married, all of them his Queens. And actually, particularly in the isolated hamlets of this country, so isolated from the modern world, polyandry is much more common than polygamy. Polyandry is the practice of a woman taking multiple husbands. Here, its like the Kings polygamous practice, polyandry usually means a marriage to a group of brothers.
We top out a bit above 12000 feet, at a mountain pass that leads into the Haa Valley - last stop before the hike to
Tibet. Someday! I make snowballs to throw at my friends who were too cold to think of getting out at this elevation. I watch little 2 year old India Jane's scared face as the snowball hurtles towards her, then her pleasure as the snow slides smoothly down the car window. I walk off a bit to the south. I hear the clanging of yak bells, as a herd of these tough Himalayan natives move across the face of the mountain. I hear their herder calling to them, keeping them together in this harsh environment. I breath deeply, refreshed beyond word by this gentle and traditional country that faces so many challenges and choices in the coming years.
Then I turn back to the car, knowing I am returning to a city of 20 million people who've already faced those challenges and made those choices. They've chosen to pursue money and a western culture that is anathema to their own rich traditions. I hope that Bhutan will choose differently!
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