BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS AND SHORT TERM RETREATS

source: google

While western people look for meaning and essence of life to the wisdom of eastern culture particularly Buddhism, we are increasingly trying to copy western culture. Look at the food our people eat, the clothes we wear and our desperation to look different with makeup and weird hairdos and with all these we also see violence, drugs, smugglings, thefts, robberies, frauds, corruptions and many other evil offshoots of those cultures taking roots in our society.

Just the other day, I was watching a BBS programme. It was a discussion programme with two monks, one was a Khenpo and another was a doctor-turned monk. Both were insisting on the need for lay people to take a break from their works and take vows of the sangha for a short period to get better perspectives of life. I did not realize such a provision exists and it is indeed a wonderful opportunity for lay people to take monastic vows for any period of time they wish and partake in the daily routines of a monastery or a nunnery like regular monks and nuns.

I couldn’t agree more with the doctor that this could in fact be a potent antidote for the insatiable desires of our mind that leads people to take evil paths ultimately bringing them more sufferings. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for people to get their perspectives on the right track and will contribute tremendously to the ideals of a compassionate and caring society. I don’t see why government and corporations should not allow their workers short leave from their jobs for this kind of retreat. I am sure when they rejoin their work they will become more productive and also become positive influence on their peers.

I was also struck by the truth of their assessment of how our society is increasingly transiting from traditional value based and caring society to a more self centric and artificial one trying to copy alien cultures. One basic example is the way we celebrate our children’s birthday today. It is not just in towns and cities that families  celebrate their children’s birthdays the western way, this culture is even making inroads in rural countryside where people with little education and understandings are trying to imitate birthday celebrations with cakes, candles and balloons like their cousins do in the towns, setting a less then desirable trend in the villages. If we really observe deeply, we are making the auspicious birthday of our children with everything inauspicious. We have birthday cakes with names of our children on them. When we cut the cake, we cut the name of the child which is quite inauspicious in our culture. We blow out candle and that is extremely inauspicious representing something like blowing out life and then poke balloons with needle while others clap.

I share the panelists’ view that we can celebrate birthdays in our own auspicious ways. We can have cakes adorned with Tashi Delek written on them and placing it on the altar as offerings first. It would be a good idea to invite a monk and perform a short cleansing ceremony (Lhabsang Thruesoel) and recite long life prayer (Tshedrup) for the child and do something good and wholesome in your  child’s name  like saving a life of an animal or donating something to a more needy ones around us. This way we instill values in our children right from the young age and they will grow up to be a more compassionate human being.

Like what the monks said we must encourage our children to say Apa to father and Ama or Aie to mother rather than Daddy or Mommy which are not our language in the first place and phonetically inauspicious. Daddy sounds like (Dredre) which means separation and Mommy sounds like (Ma Mey) no mother. These may sound trivial but, for Bhutanese there is nothing as important as Tendrel which is the custom of believing in the importance of auspiciousness in everything we do and it would certainly make sense to care about small things closer at home than trying to emulate things we hardly understand from far away.

Happy  reading.

Gyembo Namgyal

Pemagatshel

August 30, 2015

BREAKING CLUMPS OF SOIL UNDER MOON-LIT NIGHTS

It was a full moon night. Houses in the village nearby can be seen silhouetted against the moon lit background. The village looks to have slept long time back, soon after the night has fallen. There were no electricity and people hardly stayed awake for few hours after the darkness.

But, out in the barren field someway away from the village, a group of young men and women, and few boys and girls are in the middle of a work amidst laughter, whispers and occasional bouts of singing. Bizarre it may sound but, sometimes, some households in my village hired helping hands of young men and women during the full moon nights to break clumps of dry soil in preparation for the oncoming wheat sowing.

I didn’t understand then on why people hired helping hands during nights. Now I understand how people must have had their hands full during the day, so that something less serious like breaking down clumps of soil can be done in the low visibility of the moon-lit nights. However, young men and women and even small boys and girls always looked forward excitedly to be working in barren fields during night time. In fact, all the young people (single) in the village will turn up for the task, each holding a long handled wooden mallet. The reason for excitement is all too obvious.

Winter is cold in place like Bumthang even during the day. Night is even colder with temperatures plummeting below freezing point and the gutsy wind that blows in the valley adds to the misery but, when you are young, you always have the gut to ignore the inclement weather. And the prospect of being able to flirt with the beautiful girls of the village under the cover of hazy moonlight with the opportunity provided by the night errand always makes it exciting for young men and women. It can be possible, that some of the matches must have taken shape while attending such errands.

Younger boys and girls who are too naïve to understand true romance are consigned to one side while more matured engineered their plans to be closer to each other where they can share their feelings and hatch naughty plans under whispers and flirt with each other.

Often, the talks in the night are between a pair in hushed tone and the sounds of bursting clumps under the force of mallets are all that can be heard loud and clear. But sometimes someone in the group starts talking loud so that rests of the members hears him. Even though, someone demands attention from the rest, there would be nothing serious to talk about but, share some raunchy jokes, that triggers bouts of laughter in the group. Sometimes, the young people sing in unison and sometimes, young men and women contest in the rendition of ballad (Tzangmo).

Tzangmo is sung in such a way that, after the first group or individual rendered four lines, the other group responses with another four lines that is basically a reply to what the first group implied through their rendition. On occasion like this, young men on one side will face off with women on the other. These kinds of rendition contest are known to go on till the wee hours of mornings. If the first one sings something sweet, the respondent tries to make it even sweeter and likewise, if one group sings something with unsavory connotation, the other will try to make it even nastier but, this normally ends with reconciliatory note. I admired at the reputation of some people who are known to be a great repository of Tzangmos.

It was funny too that, although blisters may begin forming in their palms, there is no lacking in will to go on hammering the last sizeable clumps.  Perhaps, the excitement of working side by side with the girls and boys of one’s liking may have enabled their hearts to pump lot of adrenalin into their muscles that, holding high, long handled wooden mallet and bringing them strongly on clumps of soil with thuds just comes spontaneously and effortlessly. As nights wear on,excitement among the young ones fade. Their eyes become bleary and they wish to run back home and snuggle under blankets but, the older ones remain oblivious to their plight blinded by their adrenalin rush.

This often goes on into the wee hours of the morning depending on the sizes of fields. In the end, all walk back to the house which hired those hands. The relative darkness offers privacy from prying eyes and most would be walking either hand in hand or side by side nudging each other’s shoulders flirtatiously. But, that is it. After a mug of steaming buttered tea and some snacks, boys will leave for their homes and girls will sleep in the host’s home until the next morning. 

That was how it used to be then. Now, wheat and potato fields are giving way to mushrooming of hotels, resorts and other commercial ventures. I am sure people no longer need to hire helping hands and young men and women also no longer need to go to break clumps for a chance to flirt any more.

Gyembo Namgyal

 May 19, 2015 11:55 PM

WELCOMING SHEEP YEAR WITH LOSAR

picture: Google

It was past midnight when I slept last night on the eve of Losar, the lunar New Year, according to Bhutanese and Buddhist calendar. The importance of keeping and celebrating the New Year, the traditional way was strong in my mind when I finally hit the bed after posting my blog. This meant waking up early and partaking in the preparation of meals that are a part of any Bhutanese holidays and festivals.

I planned to wake up early but sleeping late has had its effect on me. I woke up by the break of daylight after tumultuous dream that neither had beginning nor an end. I brushed my teeth and washed my face and then began preparing porridge, a traditional Bhutanese course to begin with.

A text message wishing me and my family definitely made my day. It was from no ordinary being. At a time when it was always you who have to make the first call, send the first text a message or be the first one to wish online to even closest friends, receiving a message from an illustrious and a distinguished personality like the former Chief Justice Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye was a humbling and an inspiring experience. I considered it as a good omen for a good day and a good year ahead.

And indeed, we had a good day. There were few visitors even when I missed my eldest son, a good friend and his family (a part of my extended family) on medical sojourn at Thimphu and of course the rest of my family scattered around the globe. Despite physical separation, everyone is included in my prayers made at the altar room. This was the least I could do.

I am gratified by those few visitors who came to my place today. In doing so, the feelings grow even fonder and just dropping by on an auspicious day like Losar makes the day even more beautiful.

The sounds of people celebrating a hit in an archery match or may be even Degor ( a game of throwing a circular stone) are obvious. It is a rare sound heard only during festive occasions like Losar today. In the past, winter months are a time when village folks have lot of fun with occasional archery, degor and Khuru matches. Honestly, today was the first day in many months that, a sound of celebration and jubilation was heard in the village. It brought back fond memories.

At the end of the day, I just thought that, despite the fast changes that are taking place, traces of everything that are good in our culture and tradition do exist even today. My only wish is; in spite of all these fast changes, may our timeless values survive for eons to come.

For all those who are inebriated, those wearing beer-goggles, those feeling tipsy or those completely sober, let me wish  you all a Happy Losar and Happy Lunar New Year of the sheep!!!

Gyembo Namgyal

February 19, 2015 10:00 PM