Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [61]
On all religious buildings in Bhutan, and on dzongs too, a painted red band called a khemar runs just below the roof. One or more circular brass plates or mirrors representing the nima (sun) are often placed on the khemar. The golden deer sometimes seen above the entrance of a goemba, particularly Nyingma goembas, are symbols of the deer park at Varanasi where the Buddha did his earliest teachings.
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One way that lhakhangs in Bhutan differ from those in Tibet is that they feature a pair of elephant tusks alongside the altar to symbolise good. Buddhists revere the elephant because when the Buddha was born, his mother had a vision of a white elephant.
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The term lhakhang is a bit confusing because it may be used to refer to both the building itself and to the room inside the building that is the primary chapel. Furthermore, some goembas have several lhakhangs within the central building.
A typical lhakhang has a cupola and a gilded ball-shaped ornament, called a serto, on the roof. Most have a paved path around the circumference of the building. On the outside wall are racks of prayer wheels, which monks and devotees spin as they circumambulate the building.
The entrance to the lhakhang is through the gorikha, which is covered with murals, usually depicting the guardians of the four directions or a wheel of life. Entry is via a large painted wooden door that is often protected by a heavy cloth or yak-hair curtain. The door opens to a tshokhang (assembly hall), also called a dukhang or kunre. The hall is usually so large that it has rows of pillars to hold up the roof, and on its walls are paintings that describe the life of Buddha.
At the far end of the tshokhang is an elaborately decorated altar (choesham) that can be part of the main room or else be housed in a separate room or lhakhang. The two-tiered choesham, with its large gilded statue, is a focal point of the lhakhang, and depending on when and why the lhakhang was built, the statue may be of Sakyamuni, Guru Rinpoche or another figure. Jampa is the central figure in many lhakhangs built before Guru Rinpoche’s visits to Bhutan, particularly those attributed to Songtsen Gampo. The central statue is usually flanked by two smaller figures, sometimes the consorts of Guru Rinpoche, and other deities related to the central image. (Click here for the description of key deities.)
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Because dzongs were usually placed on ridges, a tunnel was often constructed to the nearest water supply so that those in the dzong could survive a long siege.
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On the upper level of the choesham are torma (colourful sugar-and-butter ornaments) and various objects used in worship, such as a dorji, conch shells, trumpets made of thighbone, small drums and bells. On the lower tier are butter lamps and offerings of rice, flowers, water and money. Frequently, a silk parasol hangs over the altar. Often just a single butter lamp burns on the altar, unlike temples in Tibet where there may be hundreds of lamps burning. On auspicious occasions in Bhutan, however, 108 or even 1000 butter lamps are lit.
In most lhakhangs, often on the upper floor, is a room called a goenkhang, which is devoted to the protective and terrifying deities (Click here). The statues in these rooms are usually covered except when rituals are performed. Weapons are stored in this room and may include old muskets, armour, and round shields made from rhinoceros hide. Teams of archers sometimes sleep in a goenkhang (chapel housing deities) before a major match, but women are never allowed to enter and the monks are reluctant to allow entry to any visitors.
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When approaching a chorten or mani wall always walk to the left.
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If the lhakhang is in a monastery, then opposite the altar, facing the central image, is a throne upon which the abbot, or khenpo, sits during ceremonies. Between the khenpo’s throne and the altar are rows of cushions on which monks sit during prayers and ceremonies.