Meeting the Rinpoche

Today was the last day of the 3 day festival known as a Tsechu. It is a series of dances that tell stories of the creation of the country. The dances add to the culture of this unique country by reinforcing the beliefs. Well, on the last day, at the Dzong, the monks reveal a Thongka. It is a 3 or 4 story oil painting on cloth that tells the story of Guru Rimpoche, the founder of Bhutan. It also reinforces the teachings of the Buddha. Because the Thongka is extremely sacred, it is unrolled around 4 a.m. and then rolled up before the first light of the day can touch it.

Two friends of mine decided that we would venture out and attempt to catch sight of this sacred painting. We got up at 4 a.m. and were dressed (in formal attire) and leaving at 4:45. By 5:00 we were at the Dzong. We kept thinking aloud how early we must be because there were few people around. We crossed the bridge pictured here. Do you see all the people?
When we reached the entrance to the Dzong, a friendly guard stopped us and asked us where we were going. He told us that the Dzong did not open until 6:00 at which time we would be free to claim our spot to watch the day's activities. We explained to him that we were here to view the Thongka. He told us that we must be mistaken, that there would be no Thongka. We attempted to explain to him in our limited Dzongkha that we had come for the Thongka. He radioed into the Dzong, and we clearly understood that there would be no Thongka. Being disappointed, we decided to roam Thimphu prior to sunrise.

Since the King will be getting married next week, Thimphu is ready to celebrate. This picture is the Dzong at night. It is usually lit but not to this extreme. Every government building and many privately owned buildings are decorated.
My friends Sara and Louis, both from Singapore on one of the hills above Thimphu.


Sunrise sitting on the front porch of Sara's house watching the sun light illuminate the mountains across the valley.


So, life here in Bhutan is interesting to say the least. Strange and unique things just seem to happen here if you learn to go with the flow. The Bhutanese perspective is one that is frustrating and exciting at the same time. Take for instance this long weekend. A friend of mine wanted to have a monk perform a prayer for her. She was hesitant about asking because she is unfamiliar with monks. (Not that I am any genius, but I have taken this opportunity to learn as many things as possible, including things of a religious nature.) So, she asked another friend of mine who said no problem. Well, Friday morning we went to the monk's apartment only to find out that he is not just an ordinary monk but a Kempo and a Rinpoche here in Bhutan having been exiled from Tibet. He is a wonderful person with a great sense of humor. Today, we went back for a very special prayer and then my friend invited Rinpoche to come sometime to perform a blessing of the house. He said, what about now. So, he came, performed the small puja and that is how I spent part of my long weekend. Oh, yea, and I did many other things too, but this was by far the best and most interesting.


Me, Rinpoche and Minashi, who by the way has a Ph.D. in Tibetology. She published her dissertation in book form and the forward was written by the Dalai Lama himself!
Kempo Rinpoche Kencho Yoezer. The term Kempo is an indication of his educational level. Rinpoche means that he is recognized as a reincarnate.

So the trip to Haa yesterday was fun. We had to cross over the highest pass in Bhutan in order to get to Haa. When we arrived, it was cold, raining and starting to snow. Needless to say, we did not stay up there any longer than we had too. It was miserable. For all of you that need to convert meters into feet, it is just over 13,000 ft. Don't feel bad, I had to use the converter on my mobile to figure out how high it was!
This picture gives you some kind of indication of the terrain here. It is a very small country, but if you attempt to travel, it takes days and days. When the guide books say there are very few straight stretches of road, they are not kidding. Now can you see why?

This is looking down into a valley. The terraced areas are rice patties. Subsequently, that is why I eat rice 3 times a day!


The lady in the blue jacket is a friend of mine. She tried to light a fire to keep warm, but it did not work very well. The other woman was just trying to stay warm also.
Cold and freezing!!!!!!!!

Coming down into Paro town as the sun set.
If you have not heard, the King is getting married next week. Therefore, the town of Thimphu is all abuzz getting ready for the event. This is the Thimphu Dzong. Normally it is not lit like this.

Let's try this again!!!

Two Students

This is a picture from school. The campus looks down upon Thimphu Valley. Below is Thimphu town. Can you imagine that this is my commute each day. 30 minutes up and 30 minutes down. It is approximately a 2,000 foot difference and a great deal cooler at school! On clear days, the very high mountains are visible in the distance. But during the rainy season, they rarely show themselves.

Three random boys out playing after lunch. Of course, they wanted their picture taken. You would never know that they begged me to take their picture. It looks more like a mug shot to me!

Okay, for all of you that want to know about my teaching, here are some photos. These jokers are Class V. They are out of uniform today because they have HPE (gym class). There are 45 of them packed into this classroom. They keep all their belongs in their backpacks and change books as the classes change, every 50 minutes. The teachers rotate into the classes. Never again will I ever complain about classrooms in the US not being large enough. Please note how narrow the aisle is. I can barely walk in between the desks. That being said, I love these kids.

This is class VII. There are only 37 of them in this classroom. They are considerably more mature and wiser. I enjoy teaching this class.

Class III students during lunch time. They are standing on the area in between the three main buildings. This space is used for assembly each and every morning.

Lunchtime students. Note the hills in the background. Yes, I am in the Himalayas.

More students after lunch. The building behind these students houses the science lab on the ground floor and the library on the top floor, or at least that is what they call it.

Om Mani Padme Hum carved into a rock at Tango Monastery. Today was a holiday, Lord Buddha's First Sermon, so a friend and I went to Tango. This is the mantra that people chant while walking or sitting and praying. One translation of this is: in dependence on the practice of a path which is an invisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha.

This is Tango. It is not only a monastery but also a Buddhist College. As with most monasteries, they are located away from towns in order to allow for focus on the teachings of Buddha. This monastery is home to a famous reincarnate, however, I have forgotten which one. I was able to see him today while some of the monks were chanting. He is about 17 years old and was recognized as a reincarnate when he was only 4. Hopefully, I will come back here before I leave, and I will be able to be blessed by him.

The true King of the Monastery.

I still can't believe that he doesn't fall from up there!

In this picture there are 2 small buildings. I did not travel down to them, but I believe them to be a meditation hut (the top one) and a small house.

Close up of the two small building. Note that they are built into the existing rock wall.

This picture is very unclear. It was taken from the road after I walked down from Tango. In the far bottom right corner, you can see a few people. The blue tarp is just something to give the reader some perspective on how steep the hill was. It was about an hour walk, basically zig zagging all the way up.

On the rock coming down from Tango. I am guessing that it reads Welcome to Tango Monastery and Buddhist College, but since I cannot read this script, I am only guessing.

Some more pictures from Bhutan

Two students

This is a picture from school. The campus looks down upon Thimphu Valley. Below is Thimphu town. Can you imagine that this is my commute each day. 30 minutes up and 30 minutes down. It is approximately a 2,000 foot difference and a great deal cooler at school! On clear days, the very high mountains are visible in the distance. But during the rainy season, they rarely show themselves.

Three random boys out playing after lunch. Of course, they wanted their picture taken. You would never know that they begged me to take their picture. It looks more like a mug shot to me!

Okay, for all of you that want to know about my teaching, here are some photos. These jokers are Class V. They are out of uniform today because they have HPE (gym class). There are 45 of them packed into this classroom. They keep all their belongs in their backpacks and change books as the classes change, every 50 minutes. The teachers rotate into the classes. Never again will I ever complain about classrooms in the US not being large enough. Please note how narrow the aisle is. I can barely walk in between the desks. That being said, I love these kids.

This is class VII. There are only 37 of them in this classroom. They are considerably more mature and wiser. I enjoy teaching this class.

Class VII trying to look "natural".

Class III students during lunch time. They are standing on the area in between the three main buildings. This space is used for assembly each and every morning.

Lunchtime students. Note the hills in the background. Yes, I am in the Himalayas.

More students after lunch. The building behind these students houses the science lab on the ground floor and the library on the top floor, or at least that is what they call it.

Om Mani Padme Hum carved into a rock at Tango Monastery. Today was a holiday, Lord Buddha's First Sermon, so a friend and I went to Tango. This is the mantra that people chant while walking or sitting and praying. One translation of this is: in dependence on the practice of a path which is an invisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha.

This is Tango. It is not only a monastery but also a Buddhist College. As with most monasteries, they are located away from towns in order to allow for focus on the teachings of Buddha. This monastery is home to a famous reincarnate, however, I have forgotten which one. I was able to see him today while some of the monks were chanting. He is about 17 years old and was recognized as a reincarnate when he was only 4. Hopefully, I will come back here before I leave, and I will be able to be blessed by him.

The true King of the Monastery.

I still can't believe that he doesn't fall from up there!

In this picture there are 2 small buildings. I did not travel down to them, but I believe them to be a meditation hut (the top one) and a small house.

Close up of the two small building. Note that they are built into the existing rock wall.

This picture is very unclear. It was taken from the road after I walked down from Tango. In the far bottom right corner, you can see a few people. The blue tarp is just something to give the reader some perspective on how steep the hill was. It was about an hour walk, basically zig zagging all the way up.

On the rock coming down from Tango. I am guessing that it reads Welcome to Tango Monastery and Buddhist College, but since I cannot read this script, I am only guessing.