Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [107]
The area near the pass is believed to be inhabited by numerous spirits, including a cannibal demoness. Lama Drukpa Kunley, the ‘Divine Madman’, built Chimi Lhakhang (Click here) in the Punakha valley to subdue these spirits and demons.
Dochu La to Metshina
42km / 1½ hours
The vegetation changes dramatically at the pass from oak, maple and blue pine to a moist mountain forest of rhododendron, alder, cypress, hemlock and fir. There is also a large growth of daphne, a bush that is harvested for making traditional paper. The large white chorten a few kilometres below the pass was built because of the high incidence of accidents on this stretch of road. It’s a long, winding descent past Lumitsawa to Thinleygang, during which the air gets warmer and the vegetation becomes increasingly tropical with the appearance of cactus, oranges and bamboo. About 11km below the pass is a government botanical garden.
As you descend from the pass monasteries start to appear on the surrounding hills. First is the striking hilltop Jakar Goemba, near Baekub village. Further along and high on the hill across the valley is Dalay Goemba, with Talo Goemba just above and to the west. The road passes a chorten that flows with holy water, said to have its source in a lake far above.
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ROYAL PROCESSIONS
Thinleygang (1860m) is an interesting village. Every November (on the first day of the 10th month) the Je Khenpo and dratshang (central monk body) pack up their robes and move from their summer residence in Thimphu to their winter residence in Punakha, taking their holiest relics with them. The procession takes two days and thousands of locals line the road to catch a glimpse of the Je Khenpo. The entourage overnights here en route, on what is the biggest day of the sleepy Thinleygang calendar. The Je Khenpo lodges in the lhakhang just below the village. The monk body returns to Thimphu in May (the 1st day of the 4th month), but this time overnights in Hongtsho.
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THE DIVINE MADMAN
Lama Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529) is one of Bhutan’s favourite saints and a fine example of the Tibetan tradition of ‘crazy wisdom’. He was born in Tibet, trained at Ralung Monastery and was a contemporary and disciple of Pema Lingpa. He travelled throughout Bhutan and Tibet as a neljorpa (yogi) using songs, humour and outrageous behaviour to dramatise his teachings to the common man. He felt that the stiffness of the clergy and social conventions were keeping people from learning the true teachings of Buddha.
His outrageous, often obscene, actions and sexual antics were a deliberate method of provoking people to discard their preconceptions. Tango Goemba is apparently the proud owner of a thangka that Kunley urinated on! He is also credited with having created Bhutan’s strange animal, the takin, by sticking the head of a goat onto the body of a cow.
His sexual exploits are legendary, and the flying phalluses that you see painted on houses and hanging from rooftops are his. Kunley’s numerous sexual conquests often included even the wives of his hosts and sponsors. On one occasion when he received a blessing thread to hang around his neck, he wound it around his penis instead, saying he hoped it would bring him luck with the ladies.
He spoke the following verse on one occasion when he met Pema Lingpa:
I, the madman from Kyishodruk,
Wander around from place to place;
I believe in lamas when it suits me,
I practise the Dharma in my own way.
I choose any qualities, they are all illusions,
Any gods, they are all the Emptiness of the Mind.
I use fair and foul words for Mantras; it’s all the same,
My meditation practice is girls and wine;
I do whatever I feel like, strolling around in the