Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [62]
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CHORTENS
A chorten is literally a receptacle for offerings, and in Bhutan all chortens contain religious relics. Chortens are often situated in locations considered inauspicious – river junctions, cross roads, mountain passes and bridges – to ward off evil. The classical chorten shape is based on the ancient Indian form of a stupa. Each of the chorten’s five architectural elements has a symbolic meaning. The square or rectangular base symbolises earth. The hemispherical dome symbolises water. The conical or pyramidal spire symbolises fire (the spire has 13 step-like segments that symbolise the 13 steps leading to Buddhahood). On top is a crescent moon and a sun, symbolising air, and a vertical spike symbolising ether or the sacred light of the Buddha. Inside is placed a carved wooden pole called a sokshing, which is the life-spirit of the chorten.
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www.ahf-bhutan.com documents the restoration of Buli Lakhang and the training of Bhutanese in building conservation techniques sponsored by the American Himalayan Foundation.
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Some chortens, such as the National Memorial Chorten in Thimphu, are built in memory of an individual. Others commemorate the visit of a saint or contain sacred books or the bodies of saints or great lamas. Bhutan has three basic styles of chorten, usually characterised as Bhutanese, Tibetan and Nepali.
The Nepali-style chorten is based on the classical stupa. On Nepali chortens the four sides of the tower are painted with a pair of eyes, the all-seeing eyes of Buddha. What appears to be a nose is actually the Sanskrit character for the number one, symbolising the absoluteness of Buddha. The prototypes for the Nepali chortens in Bhutan are Swayambhunath and Bodhnath in Kathmandu. The large Chorten Kora in Trashi Yangtse and Chendebji Chorten near Trongsa are two examples of the Nepali style of chorten.
The Tibetan-style chorten has a shape similar to the stupa, but the rounded part flares outward instead of being a dome shape. Thimphu’s National Memorial Chorten is an excellent example of this style.
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Another structure common in Bhutan is the mani wall. As its name implies, this is a wall with carved mani stones placed in it. Bhutanese mani walls are usually quite short, but long mani walls can be found in Bumthang.
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The Bhutanese design comprises a square stone pillar with a khemar near the top. The exact origin of this style is not known, but is believed to be a reduced form of the classical stupa, with only the pinnacle and square base. Some Bhutanese chortens have a ball and crescent representing the moon and sun on top.
Several other types of chorten are also found in Bhutan. The khonying (two legs) is an archway that forms a gate over a trail. Travellers earn merit by passing through the structure, which is decorated with interior wall paintings and a mandala on the roof. The mani chukor is shaped like a Bhutanese chorten but is hollow and contains a large prayer wheel. It is built over or near a stream so that the water turns a wooden turbine below the structure, which then turns the prayer wheel.
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Environment
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THE LAND
WILDLIFE
NATIONAL PARKS & PROTECTED AREAS
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
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Bhutan occupies a fascinating corner of the globe. Scientists have long considered the eastern Himalaya to be an area critically important in terms of global biological diversity. Add to this the legacy of isolation, the sheer inaccessibility of much of the country, low human population and a traditional reverence for nature, and you have the ingredients for a singular showcase of nature conservation within a region increasingly impacted by overpopulation and indiscriminate development.
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THE LAND
Bhutan is a landlocked country about 300km long and 150km wide, encompassing 46,500 sq km. It is bounded on the northwest and north by Tibet and the rest of the country is surrounded by India: on the east by the state of Arunachal Pradesh; on the