On the third day of our journey in the Peaceful Kingdom, Sangay and our driver Karma took us to the valley of Punakha, further east from where our journey began. We were greeted by one of the most beautiful buildings in the country where where we spent nearly a full day.

Built in 1637 by the Zhabdrung, the ‘Unifier of Bhutan‘, the Punakha Dzong (fortress) is situated at the confluence of the Mo Chu and Pho Chu—Mother and Father Rivers.

“It was the two ravens that flew from Bhutan to Tibet and whispered the prophecy in the ears of the Great Unifier. The ravens said that his destiny lay to the South. and following the prophecy the ravens guided and brought him over the Himalayas safely without a stain of harm to him. Henceforth in the Punakha Dzong where he lived and administered the unification of the country in 16th century. Today it is a special honor for locals to walk into the Dzong and celebrate together the birth place of Bhutan and proudly say how happy we are in his honor and the beloved Dragon Kings.”

Written by Sangay Dendup whose name means Achiever of Enlightenment–the name given to him by the monks at the monastery where his parents brought him after his birth.

Our lodging has been outstanding. This building is the dining hall where we shared our delicious meals. It formerly was one of several buildings that were part of a farm.

The Bhutanese food has been nutritious and delicious with lots of variety of locally grown vegetables and grains. The soil in Bhutan is rich in minerals from the glacial deposits. The soil is fertilized naturally with the dung from livestock wandering freely over the land.

We ate our breakfast in the early morning sun, over looking the valley below.

The mist rising from the valley below gives an even more mystical appearance to this magical land.

The terraces are planted with rice. At the present time, the food in Bhutan is 70% organically grown. The king intends for the crops to be 100% organically-grown in the next decade.

The national dress of Bhutan is called the gho for men and kira for women. It was introduced during the 17th century to give the country a sense of unity. The people are mandated to wear their national dress at work and at school. At home, they are permitted to wear what they want. 

On this morning, we made our way through the golden fields of rice, and began the ascent to the hilltop Monastery (name) that overlooks the lush Punakha Valley. Buddhist monasteries are far more than spiritual gathering places; they are fantastical arrays of multi-sensory artifacts, with large wall paintings depicting the life and teachings of the Buddha and his followers, incense made from local flowers, giant statues of the Buddha, Past, Present and Future intertwined with colorful deities,  compassionate and wrathful, entangled in the various consequences of living daily life.

This one, in particular, was a four-story passion play, starting with vivid tableaus of delusion and suffering on the ground floor, then proceeding up each level with depictions of lives lived more consciously and compassionately. The spiral climb ends with an open rooftop view of the entire valley and a golden Buddha for contemplation at the center. We were surprised to note the ring of light at the top.

Karma, Erica, and Sangay at the entrance of the temple.

Following our descent, we came upon a raucous archery tournament between two groups of young male friends, who had been competing all morning with targets that were well beyond 150 ft away.  Archery is the national sport of Bhutan and the Bhutanese are superb archers. The role of archery in their national defense is legendary.  We were soon to be told striking stories about how they defended their country against Tibet from the North and British India from the South.

Consistent with Bhutan’s extraordinary balance between civil and spiritual approaches to establishing a peaceful kingdom, every Bhutanese dzong or fortress gives equal space to civil and spiritual aspects of life. Monks literally live within the fortress along with the government officials.

Happiness is related to how you look at things and people. We carry that attitude with us every day everywhere in our little pockets with inner peace. So it is the sole responsibility of every one of us to be positive, kind and happy—not just for self but more importantly for others.

Written by Sangay Dendup.

Wheel of life. the painting teaches us that no matter what or who you may be, fortunate or unfortunate, we are meant to be happy in life because life is full of uncertainty, and that should be perceived in a positive light at all times in our lives. By doing so, one can truly plant and inculcate the understandings of the real truth and meaning of life in simple ways. In fact, simple ways are the key to happiness in life. But do not mistake physical and earthly pleasure like fame and wealth with real happiness because wealth and fame are just like the morning dew drops on the tip of the grass that we see in the early morning. The are passing pleasures that do not endure throughout life.

Written by Sangay Dendup

At the entrance of the dzong, we first saw one of the most prevalent archetypes in Bhutan: The Four Friends.  In this allegory, we find the elephant, who carries the others and overcomes obstacles; the monkey who scatters the seed; the rabbit who fertilizes the ground with his poop; and the peacock at the top, who sees far ahead and finds the food, making a perfectly balanced mutual and harmonious interdependence. This is indeed what Bhutan’s beloved past five Kings in succession have aspired to for their people.

These postings about Bhutan have emerged from our collaborative experience of learning together as we travel through this beautiful country.  What you see here is our Four Friends: Our driver Karma, Erica, our Guide Sangay, and Heidi.

The gate leading to the nunnery. Do you think Heidi and I would make good nuns?

Entering into the nunnery. Taking photos inside is not permitted.

Talking with the nuns

We enjoyed our visit with the nuns tremendously. They spoke freely about their lives with us. Some had entered the nunnery when they were very young girls. The all expressed their firm commitment to being a nun for life.

The happiness you see here is the living demonstration of full alignment with one’s dharma, destiny, purpose in life.  When one practices that alignment in service to others, suffering falls away and happiness is our natural state.  Previously, when we were visiting the embroidery students at the crafts school, they were given an opportunity to ask us questions.  One lovely young woman clearly asked “What is YOUR purpose in coming to Bhutan?” Her question allowed us to express our reasons with full satisfaction in our achieving these right here and now.  This is the remarkable happiness we have found everywhere in Bhutan so far.

This blog post was a collaborative effort between “The Four Friends.” The frequency of further posts is unknown due to the unpredictability of internet connections.

We love sharing with you our journey in this wondrous country.