Bhutan Diary

There is so much to see and do in Paro (the small town about 1.5 hrs from Thimphu where the airport is) that we had to return. We were hoping The National Museum of Bhutan might have some history books for sale, so that was our first stop. The museum is high up on a hillside overlooking the town and its dzong. In fact, the museum is in an old watchtower of the dzong (fort). It was built in 1656 and extensively renovated in 1968, when it became the museum. It is a circular building with seven stories (ground floor through sixth floor).

You enter on the first floor where there is a small exhibit of stone tools found in Bhutan and dating from 2,000 BCE. Then you’re directed up to the fourth through sixth floors, seeing the rest of the exhibits from the top down, and always circling in a clockwise direction. If done right, the exhibits are in chronological order. The exhibits feature bronze and copper urns and cooking pots; cane, bamboo and wooden containers; arms and armor; Buddhist ritual objects, jewelry, ancient teapots, wine containers, coins, and stamps. The 2.5 meter thick walls are perfect for inserting diplay cases. A large gallery features thangkas (traditional paintings mounted on banners) of all of Bhutan’s important historical and religious figures; some of the thangkas are as much as 800 years old. There are two chapels in the museum. One is to the god of wealth with walls lined with nooks housing different representations of the god through the centuries from all over the country. The other houses a huge clay sculpture assembly, a three dimensional mandala representing the four schools of Mahayana Buddhism, their founders and lineage holders, and major deities facing the four directions.

After the museum and lunch, we drove to the north end of the valley, until the paved road became a donkey track, to see the ruins of the Drukgyel Dzong, constructed in 1649 to commemorate a military victory over the Tibetans, as well as to watch over the road to Tibet (which still gets some use to this day). In the 1950’s, a fire started by butter lamps destroyed it. The ruins are in a grove of tall cedars and have a mysterious air. Without its coat of white paint, it reminds me of a ruined castle. To keep it from completely disintegrating and to make it safe for visitors, roofs were set up over the gate, gate house, and central tower, and parts were propped up with new beams.

From the road, we can see the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, high up on a cliff on the opposite side of the valley. We have to save that for another visit, after the rainy season ends and the rocky path is not slick.

Finally, we make a quick visit to the Paro Dzong, still a monastery and center of the district government (and the setting for parts of the movies “Little Buddha”), before heading home. As usual, we can only take pictures of the outside of the dzong and its courtyards’; cameras are forbidden in the temples.

See my photo gallery for all the pictures from this day: http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/rsherry/

In 1616, the modern founder of Bhutan, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel arrived from Tibet in Bhutan as prophesized by Guru Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche. Zhabdrung unified Bhutan under one governmental system.

Guru Rinpoche foresaw the building of the Punakha Dzong by "a person named Namgyel (who) will arrive at a hill that looks like an elephant." Before the building of the Punakha Dzong, a Small Dzong or Dzong Chu was built.

According to history, Zhabdrung ordered his architect, Zowe Palep, to sleep in front of a statue of the Buddha at Dzong Chu. From the architect's dream and vision the design for the new and much larger Punakha Dzong came forth. In 1637, the important Punakha Dzong (fort) was built.

Zhabdrung ruled Bhutan for about 35 years. During his rule he established a dual system of government known as Chhosi Nyidhen that was created during his important cloistering and retreat in 1651 at the Punakha Dzong. The dual government system included joint rule by a temporal leader and a Manyahana Buddhist religious leader. Punakha Dzong, due to being in a warmer climate, is still used as the winter resort of the Zhung Dratshang or Central Monk Body and the Je Khenpo or chief monk. Zhabdrung's body is still preserved at the Punakha Dzong.

One important element of Zhabdrung's legacy is the creation and establishment of Bhutan's first legal code. This first legal code, also known as "The Golden Yoke of Legal Edicts" was crafted to prescribe proper conduct by state authorities. No known paper copy (is yet) available of this legal code. However, between Dzong Chu and Punakha Dzongs stands a small house of worship. Etched in large black slates is the only known copy of Zhabdrung's original legal code.

A subsequent update of Bhutan's original legal code known as "The Pure Mirror of the Two-Fold System" referring to religious and temporal law is mentioned in a 1720 text but so far no known copy has been found. A third version and expanded legal code created by the 10th Druk Desi (Regent)--Mipham Wangpo is preserved in an appendix to a 1759 text on the history of Bhutan by the 10th Desi Tenzin Chogyal.

Thimphu’s Memorial Chorten is both a chorten and a temple in one. It occupies a prominent place in the center of the main road near the south entrance of the city proper; traffic splits to go around it. It was built in 1974 to honor the 3rd King, who wanted to construct a chorten to represent the mind of the Buddha,but passed away before starting that project.

On the day I visited, the grounds were filled with people, some next to the large prayer wheels in the garden, some circling the temple (clockwise only) reciting prayers, but most seated, waiting for monks to distribute a rice and vegetable lunch before an address and blessing by the Je Khenpo (the religious head of Bhutan). It was a "Moelam Chenmo," or Great Prayer Festival.

I circled, looking for good photo shots. I had gone up the steps of the temple itself to get a better view, when a young monk, perhaps 12 years old, beckoned me inside. I slipped off my shoes and followed. The ground level contains four shrines, one in each of the four cardinal directions, each with different photographs of the 3rd King. The eastern shrine included a large statue of the historical Buddha. Fruit, food stuffs, and money had been left in offering. Up steep narrow stairs, there are two more levels, each with four more shrines. A huge wooden carving occupies the center of the building, reaching up through all three levels, behind the shrines. The carving displays hundreds of protective deities, some looking pretty wrathful, and scenes from the bardo, the short stage in which the spirit is judged and awaits reincarnation. We circled the second story three times, then stepped out on to the roof over the first level, where we overlooked the crowd. A majority of the people were older, often elderly, and dressed in red or purple, indicating that they were lay clergy or just very devout.

Two tents were set up to cover some of the crowd. The smaller one had chairs for dignitaries.

Back outside, I made sure to complete three circuits of the temple. Shortly after I finish, a few groups of monks hurry around the left side of the building. The Je Khenpo was about to speak. I found a spot in the back and stayed to listen. His speech was all in Dzongka, and he made few gestures, so I didn’t stay long.