BHUTAN STUDIES 'Gomchen'(lay female monk), we picked up on way to Kurjey Festival

My Cheri Monastery Guide up to the abbot/Lama's Chambers, Thimphu Valley,
fortress-style stairs

google:
Brief History of Cheri Vajra Monastery
Cheri Monastery, Top-end of Thimpu Valley

"Every morning, every evening, I will come for the salvation of all sentient beings. I will come as a rider mounted on the crown of rays of the rising sun" -Guru Rinpoche

Thimphu, gentleman has a nice look at me, and vice versa , he is wearing the national dress, a "gho", which is the legal required attire, perhaps, in part, because of the southern troubles not too many years before I visited

"grandpa near traffic circle"

Thimphu, Atsara /Jester, yangchangphu high school girls, dance contest

Thimphu, Yangchenphu High School, National Arbor Day, 6/04

@ the Subji/Vegetable, 'Lower' Market, tibet-bhutan style jewerly

Thimphu, anim-nuns, doing health puja in sick neighbors house

Tibetan Kid at Hongsho Checkpoint

Wangdue Phodrang (1300m)
Wangdue Phodrang, means ‘the palace where the four directions are gathered under the power of the Shabdrung’. However the popular story has it that the Shabdrung arrived at the river and happened to see a boy building a sand castle. He asked for the boy's name, which was Wangdue, and thereupon decided to name the Dzong Wangdue Phodrang or 'Wangdue's Palace.' Wangdue Phodrang Dzong is perched on a spur at the confluence of two rivers. Its position is remarkable as it completely covers the spur and commands an impressive view over both the north-south and east-west roads. The main road climbs the length of the spur and on the left, across the river, comes the first glimpse of the picturesque village of Rinchengang whose inhabitants are celebrated stonemasons.

gantey goenpa, black mountains pass

Trongsa (2300m)
Trongsa means 'the new village' and the founding of Trongsa first dates from the 16th century, which is indeed relatively recent for Bhutan. It was the Drukpa lama, Ngagi Wangchuk (1517-54), the great grandfather of Shabdrung Nawang Namgyel, who founded the first temple at Trongsa in 1543. The landscape around Trongsa is spectacular, and for miles on the end the Dzong seems to tease you so that you wonder if you will ever arrive. The view extends for many kilometers and in the former times, nothing could escape the vigilance of its watchmen.

The Black Hat Dance(Sha na)

Either a Replication of the dance done before the killing of Lang Dharma(the evil Tibetan King, enemy of buddhism), A Bon Dance, and/or a symbolic depiction of the power of meditation to slay mental affliction

Important Nyingmapa(akin to Theravada-original) Sect site ( much of Bhutan is Drukpa, Kagyu Sect, esp in the West, like Thimphu)

UNWHS The monastery continued to be looked after by the descendants of Pema Lingpa, and from 1960s onwards some of the monks from Lhalung in Tibet, who followed the Peling tradition, established their learning center at Tamzhing. Even to this day, Tamzhing monastery continues to be the main seat of Pema Lingpa and the monks residing in this monastery continue to perform religious services for the well being of the local communities and the country.

Tamzhing is the original home of unique sacred dances that are celebrated during traditional Tshechu (festivals) throughout Bhutan. Religious dances are the living tradition by which Pema Lingpa sought to teach Buddhism in Bhutan. Furthermore, these dances continue to remain as his legacy among the monks and local communities residing at Tamzhing monastery.

THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN HERE



NYIMALUNG MONASTERY IN GOOGLE EARTH

Queen Mother's New Temple next to Kurjey, Choskhor Valley, Bumthang

Meditation Cave, with 'body impression' aka Kur jey of Guru Rinpoche aka Padma sham bhava (iirc I view 'the cave') in the Sanctorum after the end of the monk dances edit.2020

Kurjey Lhakhang Thoedrel

Jamming

Some of the 8 manifestations of padma sambhava, Kurjey.

Padmasambhava (One of 8 Manifestations)

The 8 forms of Padmasambhava, CLICK ME

on the way back down from Kunzangdrak with ?Tashi my guide then

link to LOCATION IN GOOGLE EARTH

built by dakinis?

another section of Kunzangdrak Lhakhang

Bumthang Bhutanese, No Chilips @ the new Lhodrak Karchu temple , Jakar Valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAvhfcQ3_lc

https://www.tshokeydorji.org/nuben-namkhai-nyingpo-2/

start of Lhodrak Karchu, only once every 4 years, exile lhakhang from the Chinese nearby border, where it was once in Tibet, in Lhodrak

Elevated

atsara(jesters) not


APSARA(Khmer nymphs)

Cham, sacred dance, is always performed inside a mandala, which is itself a symbolic depiction of the Mount Meru(generally Mt.Kailas), the center of the world, and the the radiation outward from it of the world

I suppose this is the while outlines on the ground.

The Original Black Hat Dancer(slayer of LangDharma) was apparently the reincarnation of Pelgyi Senge/Atsara Sale(a 14 year old boy who was a special holder of the Vajrakilaya initiation), and the 'special consort' Yeshe Tsogyel who was wanting to receive the latter intiation. In case you were curious.

Dance of the Cremation Grounds, an important thread in Tibetan Buddhist Wisdom, teaching impermanence in all aspects of life, including the mind, 5 skulls on top of the mask, rainbow colored fans on their ears. The actors are also called citti patti or tur tu tak ba.

?Ridding the year of 'negative forces' by cutting up the torma....

Torma, (roasted barley cake painted red), is offered, likely a substitute for animal sacrifices of earlier(Bon Religion?) traditions, to get rid of 'negativities'

The Amazing Stag then picks up the head, wildly spinning around flings the head into the crowd, the next dancer each put a piece of the body in their skull cap holders and dance with it.

Kurjey

GOOGLE EARTH LOCATION OF THIS TEMPLE CLICK ME

A skull cap it often tied to a scarf, the scarf spreads the action quality of compassion, while the skull(banda) represents impermanence.

in Tibetan Buddhism, a tutelary, or guardian, deity with whom a lama (monk) has a special, secret relationship. The lama first prepares himself by meditation, then selects from among the guardian deities the one that reveals itself as offering the right guidance for a specific or lifelong goal. The lama will thereafter begin each day by worshiping his yi-dam. Any of the principal deities in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon can be selected as a yi-dam, who is generally worshiped in union with his female consort (yab-yum). Their appearance can be either mild, in which case they are represented as “crowned” Buddhas, wearing the ornaments of a bodhisattva (“Buddha-to-be”), or wrathful, in which case they wear crowns of skulls and garlands of severed heads and carry such implements as the chopper and the skull cup.

Trongsa Dzong , home of Trongsa Penlop, stage before becoming Druk King

Centre for Bhutan Studies, 'On Tibetan vs.Bhutanese Dzongs'

Zango Pelri Caretaker with Dechen-Phodrang Novice

IR Paro Dzong and River

Early AM Archery Practice 140Meters, across river from cremation ground

uncle at changlimetang stadium @ yangphel tourney, i missed

up above bbs tower

Thimpu, prayer flags, bbs tower

8/1/04; dochu la pass 108 chortens/stupas, with tshomo

above yangchenphu

above yangchenphu

Who is this Guy? well it gets COMPLICATED , 'Guru'
up thimphu valley towards cheri

Long hike up I did this alone one day, after looking at it for months above my house.

TIGER'S NEST INFO

Kuensel Newspaper - The last of the master sculptors
http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11305

Some of Karma’s masterpieces include the images of the Guru Droley, Guru Rinpoche, Guru Tshengye, Gongdue, Phurpa and Tshepamey at the reconstructed Taktshang monastery in Paro

"Happy Simtokha Monastery Monks at Chorten", @national memorial chorten during thimphu drubchen

Fun with a Flash Digital Camera

near Babesa, just outside Thimphu, towards Paro, some visting surgeons, wanted to try out some fishing equipment at this river I believe

Paro Dzong, Paro

Downtown Paro, 'Girl with 'Ema'

Desi Tenzin Rabgye (1638 - 96) founded
the sacred cave of Taktsang Pelphug during the Tshechu
season of 1692, and temple devoted
to Padma Sambhava known as Gu-ru mTshan-brgyad Lhakhang
– ‘The Temple of the Guru with Eight Names.’ It is this
elegant structure, situated high on the cliffs above the upper
Paro valley, that has become the most universally recognized
cultural icon of Bhutan. May its restoration be swift and
successful! it burnt to the ground few years ago, this is the restored version hence the unpainted statues and allowing us to photograph them(usually totally forbidden)

TIGERS NEST ARTICLE @KUENSEL

"Seed Syllable of The Kalachakra" ,

Kalachakra_Tantra
Seed Syllable explained I was fascinated by seeing this 'occult knowlege' symbol in many places throughout my stay, it was very mysterious to me, i even had my friend's bhutanese painter husband include it in the thangka painting he made for me, which i then bartered for with my hoyt ultratec compound bow. :)
kalachakra blackened at thadra goenpa/lhakhang above yangchenphu

google images


or

the indian GARGOYLE
etchings and Image of Kirtimukha (tibetan=tsepatra)/Gargoyle at thadra shelter for outdoor chorten

telephoto view from Soi Thangthangkha, Camp 2, Day 3

https://www.himalaya-info.org/Map%20bhutan_west.htm

one of 2 or 3 'terminal morraine' the end of previous glacier debris fields, we climbed up this one on the 1st days partial day hike up to the mountain from jangotang campground. the british dr.tom and his wife alex

https://www.himalaya-info.org/Map%20bhutan_west.htm

last scree slope up to nyile la, looking back towards jomolhari

NYILE LA, 16000ft+ HIGH PASS IN GOOGLE EARTH LINK, CLICK ME
After Ngile La, I started to notice that my eyes were getting better, the pain and swelling lessening. For the first time I found myself dawdling, the beauty of Bhutan confronting me at every turn. Gaping beauty that only seemed to get more transcendent the farther I went. I'd think I'd seen it all, couldn't possibly take in any more, only to climb the next hilltop, turn round the next bend, and see something even more spectacular, more dizzying to the senses. My mind wanted to capture it all somehow. And so my futile attempts to take pictures, to preserve it and take it home. But I just ended up cursing my camera. A one-dimensional photo could do no justice to the country, couldn't make any of it last.

Economy of Yak Herders, Bhutan Studies

Then I saw the tiny fortress, Lingshi Dzong, sitting on a hilltop before the great audience of the Himalaya. I stopped. For some reason I never quite understood, I sat down and wept. Maybe it had something to do with the starkness of the distances, with the dramatic vying of sunlight and storm. Or perhaps it was subtler, harder to explain. As if, in that ancient dzong—that speck of human proclamation sitting before the indifferent valleys and rise of the Himalaya—it was my own voice calling out into the void. I found myself making an appeal of grief about my brother, who'd had his own history, his stories. What would happen to them now? Where do they—where do any of our stories—go?

Lingshi Dzong—for centuries a way station for weary travelers and Buddhist pilgrims, a defense against Tibetan and Mongol hordes—just sat there fearlessly proclaiming its own story to the vast, empty indifference before us. A rainbow erupted from it, arching over the valley and reaching toward the mountains opposite. Such indescribable beauty. But no way to keep it.

A few days later, near Lingshi Dzong, the Snowman (trek) would take its first casualty of the year: A 42-year-old American woman, trekking in the group just behind ours, succumbed to altitude sickness. Our guide would later say someone should have seen the signs, known how to save her.

pumola pass between gida and thimphu valley, 1100 meters up from the youth center starting point, though we cheated a bit taxi

my friend i met at thadra goenpa, way up on the valley wall of thimphu, then again at chorten thimpu drubchen festival, later he was in the circumambulation procession in large kahuna hat blowing the snake charmer horn

punakha wheel of life

PUNAKHA: Punakha Dzong build between two rivers in the 17th century by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgel served as capital of Bhutan until 1955 and is still the winter residence of the central monk body. In spite of four eatstophic firs and an earthquake that destroyed many historic documents, Punakha Dzong house sacred artifacts and embalmed body of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel. Punakha's climate and warmer temperatures make its valley one of the most fertile in Bhutan. Chime Lhakhang located on a hillock among the rice fields is picturesque ad is a pilgrimage site for childless couples. The temple is associated with the famous saint Drukpa Kuenlay " The Divine Madman" who has built a chorten on the site during the 14th century.

from dochu la during midday , table mountain on right

@ Dochula pass, Massangang peak on Tibet border

The high peak of Masangang , my favorite, from the road pass, "Do chu La" between Thimphu and Punakha Valleys

gangkar puensum, highest unclimbed mtn in world(read steve berry's book) 7000 meter +

lateral road, only connection east-west in country

ONLY 250 MORE KILOMETERS TO BUMTHANG ON THIS ROAD FROM HERE !

bhutanese looking 'carrier' note 30 km/hour on bumper to remind someone?

the ubiquitous TaTa Truck, "good luck" not even vishwakarma day

Thimphu. One of the biggest contest of year, @Changlimethang, this one on non-"pulley" (non-compound) bows, bamboo: much harder.

dignified gent of an archer face

TASHICHHO DZONG: Tashichho dzong was initially built in the 17th century, was rebuilt in early 1960's by the third king Jigme Dorji wangchuk. Tashichho Dzong houses the main secretariat building and the central monk body. It is open to visitors during Thimphu festival and when the monk body moves to their winter home in Punakha.

at dochula for sunrise, soon before leaving country, didn't stop at checkpoint hontsho , shhhh

Publishers of Tashi Delek, inflight magazine for Druk Air(Bhutan's ONLY airlink), have been using my photographs for their covers, CLICK

Dochula At Dawn.

Dawn At Dochu La ( mountain pass between Thimphu and Punahka Valleys)

bhutan chalet from dochula looking towards gasa

gasa dzong, wow, compare to size of masangang

in thimphu town, the fall is chili drying time, then one has winter chilis too!just past 2nd traffic circle going down to bridge/dzong on right, thimphu

Jamba lhakahng , Bumthang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambay_Lhakhang
Jambay Lhakhang, also spelled Jampey Lhakhang or Jampa, is located in Bumthang (Jakar) in Bhutan, and is said to be one of the 108 temples built by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo in 659 AD on a single day, to pin down an ogress to earth forever.[1]

It was divined that the supine demoness was causing obstruction to the spread of Buddhism, and temples were constructed on her body parts that spread across Tibet, Bhutan and the borderlands.[1] The best known of these temples are Jokhang in Lhasa, Kichu in Paro and Jambay Lhakhang in Bumthang. Other lesser known temples in Bhutan have been destroyed, but it is believed that among others, Kongchogsum in Bumthang, Khaine in Lhuentse and two temples in Haa may have part of these 108 temples. The temple of Jambay Lhakhang was later visited by Guru Rinpoche and later restored by Sindhu Raja after Guru restored his life force. It has been repaired and rebuilt several times over time

I also visited the other notable in Paro Valley , holding down another part of the Ogress, Kyichu