Bhutan, Nepal & the Mystical Himalayas
October 5-27, 2011
BHUTAN - October 7-13, 2011
Page Five - Wangdue Phodrang town & Chimi Lhakhang Monastery near Punakha, Bhutan
We walked through a small village and farm land to famous Chimi Lhakhang Monastery. We saw a lot of kids along the way.
Here are a couple of them.
Here's a young girl carrying her brother.
A modern educational system was introduced in Bhutan in the 1960s. Prior to that, education
was provided only by monasteries. More than 340 schools and institutions of higher education have now been established,
including over 150 community schools to serve remote rural areas. However, many of these schools have no sanitation facilities,
electricity, or drinking water, and students may have to walk several hours a day to get to them. A growing number of children are attending school,
but over 50% still do not attend.
Efforts have been made to improve the education of women, and girls account
for 45% of primary school enrollment. However, the overall literacy rate for women is still very low and lags far behind that for men.
Bhutan's estimated rate of adult illiteracy for the year 2000 stood at 52.7% (males, 38.9%; females, 66.4%). The official language is Dzongkha.
However, English is widely used. Education is not compulsory. The educational system consists of seven years of primary schooling
followed by four years of secondary school.
The Lhakhang we were walking to is located about 6 miles from Punakha near a village called Sopsokha
from where you take a 20 minute walk along a dusty path through agricultural fields of mustards and rice,
leading to a hill where the monastery and a stupa are situated. Prayer flags are lined along the road
from the tiny village hamlet known as Yowakha.
Rice field and farm homes along the way to Chimi Lhakhang Monastery
Old man and dog
A curious young boy along the path to the monastery. The monastery is on the hill shown behind him.
The Lama Kunley (called the Divine Madman), who prophesied the location
where the monastery exists, felt the hill where the monastery was located looked
like the breast of a woman because of its round shape.
A young boy in training to be a monk sitting on the grounds of the monastery.
Traditionally, Bhutanese families send, if they are able, one son to join a monastery. This is seen as creating merit for the family
and a blessing for the child. While the Government currently provides basic needs, the monks are permitted to keep money received
from lay people for performing rituals.
This is Chimi Lhakhang, a monastery near a small village, with the standard golden spire and golden yellow roof. It has a row of prayer
wheels, and its exterior walls are embedded with slates carved with images of saints. Near the entrance you can see a chorten or stupa that
marks the location where a demon allegedly was subdued by Lama Kunley (the Divine Madman - see below for a very interesting explanation),
who lived in Bhutan in the 1500s.
For a small offering, a monk will pour some yellow water into your hand and bless you with the Divine Madman's
10 inch wooden erect penis.
This is done to promote
fertility. The women in our tour group were each so blessed by a monk while we were there.
We are all expecting that a modern day miracle won't happen, and one or more of us becomes
pregnant. Thus far, we are safe.
In founding the site, it is said that Lama Kunley subdued a demon and trapped it in a rock at the location close to where the chorten now stands.
He was known as the “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching Buddhism by singing, humor, and outrageous behavior.
He traveled a lot in Bhutan criticizing the stiffness of the clergy and carousing with girls and wine.
It is said that women who had sex with him experienced "enlightenment."
He is also the saint who advocated the use of phallus symbols as paintings on walls and as carved wooden phalluses on house tops at four corners of the eaves.
The Chimi Lhakhang Monastery is the repository of the original wooden symbol of phallus that Kunley brought from Tibet. This wooden phallus
is decorated with a silver handle and is used to bless people who visit the monastery on pilgrimage, particularly women seeking blessings to beget children.
As noted above, the tradition at the monastery is to strike pilgrims on the head with a 10 inch wooden erect penis. Traditionally, symbols of an erect penis
in Bhutan have been intended to drive away the evil eye and generate good luck. This monastery is visited by not only Bhutanese women
but also people from the U.S. and Japan. Kunley's organ, as painted, is called the "Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom" as it unnerved demons and
demonesses and subdued them.
It is also said that he is perhaps the only saint in the religions of the world
who is almost exclusively identified with the phallus and its alleged creative power.
Monks practicing with long Swiss-style horns known as dungchen at Chimi Lhakhang. The notes produced by the horns are long, slow,
low and deep
and have been compared to the sound of mooing cows.
Women also come to this monastery for help in naming children.
There are frescoes painted on the walls of the monastery depicting the Mad saint's colorful life.
The prayer hall inside the monastery includes wall hangings, bells, drums, horns. The statue of Kunley, in a monk's robe,
is centrally located at the altar here, in a reclining position with a ceramic statue of his dog Sachi.
A mother with her small child at the monastery, happy to have the child's
photo taken.
Compared to other parts of south Asia, Bhutanese women have greater equality and freedom with men.
Traditionally, women
look after the household, preparing food and weaving textiles for family use and sale.
They also work in the fields. Decisions affecting
the household are jointly made. In the past, marriages were
arranged.
Since the 1970s, most marriages are love matches. Minimum
marriage age for women is 16 and 21
for men.
It's common for the husband, in rural areas, to move into his wife's household.
A young monk in training relaxing at the monastery.
2 of the monk trainees playing darts at Chimi Lhakhang Monastery. In addition to archery, the national sport, dart playing is very
popular.
Woman in the village separating the rice
This woman, whose husband died recently, allowed us to view the inside of her home (which OAT would
have paid her to do).
The people of Bhutan were very friendly and cordial to us everywhere we went.
Inside the bedroom of the home
Many of the kids in Bhutan love to have their picture taken so that you can show them the photo
on your LCD screen. I could capture pictures of them, but I could not capture the smiles and laughter
and delighted expressions when I showed them their photos. These 2 kids saw me walking away from
the home we had just visited and stood in front of me to pose. Obviously, the young boy was quite a character.
The kids liked the first photo so much, they wanted to see another one, leading to another round of laughter
and smiles, a nice
way to interact with the kids.
If you are looking for some fresh ideas as to how to decorate the exterior of your home, here's a few ideas for you, especially the
drawing in the upper right.
Many Bhutanese houses have the Divine Madman’s phallus painted near the entrance,
presumably to drive away the evil spirits, bring good luck, and avoid malicious gossip.
Link to Page Six - Bhutan Continued- Overland to Thimphu
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