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Monks
Ordained monks are called geltmg. They live in dzongs and monasteries and wear a characteristic dark red robe. They are usually sent to a monastery at the age of five or six, an act that brings great prestige and religious merit to their families. They follow monastic academic courses which in earlier times used to be the only form of education available. Alter a few years of study and depending on their aptitude, the monks are then directed into purely scholastic studies or into more artistic religious pursuits (dancers, musicians, painters, tailors). At present there are about 6,000 subsidized monks in Bhutan under the authority of the je Khenpo, the head of all religious affairs, who presides over the monastic organization, the Dratshang Lhentshog. His principal assistant at the national level is the Dorje Lopen, who is in charge of religious teachings. The Dorje Lopen is one of four high Lopens or masters, the others being the Drape Lopen, ‘master of grammar`, who is in charge of literary studies, the Yangpe Lopen, ‘master of songs and liturgy’, and the Tsenyi Lopen, ‘master of philosophy`, To these four masters, who have the rank of minister, are added a Khilkor Lopen who is the ‘master of arts" and a Tsipe Lopen who is the ‘master of astrology’. Moreover, in each monastery there is the Umdze or ‘choirmaster’ and the Kudun or ‘master of discipline’ who carries a rosary of large ivory beads and a whip. The state takes care of basic needs, but any money the monks earn by performing rituals remains their own property The monks carry out daily rituals and perform special ones at fixed times in the dzongs and monasteries. They also respond to the needs of people outside and perform the types of ceremonies that are called for either in the monastery or in the homes of the faithful. Monks progressively take different categories of vows, from novice to fully ordained monk. They are celibate and must abstain from smoking and drinking, but they are not vegetarian and even eat in the evening, unlike the monks in Southeast Asia. A few monks join monastic orders when they ure teenagers, but they are rare. Monks can renounce their vows at any time in order to start a family but they have to pay a fine. They are then called grin', ‘retired monk’, and there is no social stigma attached to this condition. The great majority of ordained monks belong to the Drukpa clergy, hut ordained monks of the Nyingmapa school also exist. About 3,000 other monks, not supported by the state, live from private patronage. A tnflcn on rinpoche is the reincarnation of a great master whose different incai·n;t1iou·. form a line of descendants. All the successive incarnations bear the same name and are thus given a name to the lineage. Such a person is called a tullzu, which means ‘Body of E1nanation’, but the term by which he is addressed is Rinpoche, ‘Great Precious One’. Certain tulletts are fully ordained monks and therefore celibate, while others marry and are in no way held in less respect because of their family life. Moreover, once a person has been declared a tullzu, he remains so all his life even if his activities appear to be incompatible with a religious existence. Being a tullzu is an inherent quality almost a genetic trait, like being tall or having brown eyes. Nowadays, there are about 1,000 tullzus in all the countries that practice Tibetan Buddhism. Bhutan has some highly prestigious tulleus. The Bhutanese throng to receive teachings or blessings from important tullzus who have been granted an intense religious education and have, since childhood, occupied a high position in the religious hierarchy Gomchens are a very special category They are lay—priests most of whom (15,000) belong to the Nyinginapa school. They differ from ordained monks in that they live at home and have a faintly. They earn their living in secular occupations, as farmers or civil servants, but they have received religious teachings that permit them to perform ceremonies for the faithful. They dress in a lzlto that is slightly longer than that of the other laymen. In addition, they sometimes have long hair knotted in a ponytail and have a very wide, dark red ceremonial scarf that closely resembles a monks cloak. Gomclaens play an extremely important role in isolated villages where they stand in for monks in all the rituals that villagers need to have performed. A lama is not another name for a monk, as is often believed in the West. Lama means ‘religious master`, a translation of the Sanskrit word guru. A lama may be an ordained monk or he may be a married lay religious person. He may be a gelong or a gomchen or a tulleu, either married or not (except in the first case). The term “lama’ implies a religious status and is an honorary title given to a man by virtue of his knowledge and wisdom about religious rather than social questions. Frequently the title is transmitted along with religious teachings from father to son. A Westerner should not be too surprised to find a lama serving as the principal of a village primaiy school deep in eastern Bhutan, wearing ordinary clothes and surrounded by his own offspring. But there are also lamas to be found who conform more closely to the Western image of a venerable religious master. Nuns, or cmims, are less numerous than monks in a culture where monastic life is essentially male. There are about 250 nuns, state and privately supported, but their communities are always under the supervision of a monastery of monks. There are a few isolated women’s monasteries where young nuns learn rituals and the basic texts. They attend ceremonies when a high lama comes into the region to give teachings or blessings. The state supports about 100 of them.
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The Important Stages of Life
Birth The birth of a child, whether boy or girl, is always welcome. The mother receives no visitors except for family during the first three days after the birth. A lhasang, or purification ceremony is then performed in the house, after which visitors may present themselves. The customary gifts in a village are eggs, rice or maize in diverse forms, while in a town they are childrens clothes and nappies (diapers). A little money is always given to the newborn to bring good luck. The mother is given a rich diet and encouraged particularly to drink a hot alcoholic beverage made with ara, butter and eggs that will help her breast feed. This beverage is also served to visitors and the atmosphere is very jolly.
Naming the Child The child is not named immediately, if possible, it is named by an eminent religious personage or the lama—astrologer whom the parents visit. The Childs horoscope, hyetsi, is then established. lt gives the date of birth by the Bhutanese lunar calendar and the list of rituals to be performed each year, or in the event of problems. The birth also has now to be registered with the government.
Marriage No special ceremony takes place at puberty and the next important stage is marriage. The marriage can be a completely informal affair or it can be a complicated ceremony depending on the status of the families and the way the young people came to know one another. lt can be a marriage of love or an arranged marriage; in the latter case, both the young people are consulted by their families about the choice of a partner, who usually belongs to the family of friends so they are already acquainted with each other. This kind of arranged marriage is unlike those in some parts of Asia where the future spouses are total strangers. Moreover, there is always the possibility of refusing. Even in a marriage of love, the partners want their parents to approve of their choice. lf the families disapprove, the young couple either comply with their parents wishes, or they run away together, presenting their parents with a fait accompli. A marriage between two people of affluent families is a social occasion. At an auspicious hour prescribed by the astrologer, the bridegroom and his friends go to fetch the bride at her home and bring her and her friends back to his house. Two members of the family stand in front of the door holding a bowl of milk and a bowl of water, symbolizing prosperity for the new couples life. ~ The marchang ceremony is performed next and then the couple sits down near the monks who intone the marriage ritual. The religious ceremony does not carry the same weight as the sacrament of Christian weddings. The couple then exchange cups of alcohol and are declared man and wife. The families, followed by friends, cover them with white scarves and the gifts pile up, especially fabrics that are always presented in quantities of three, five or seven. A copious meal (with plenty to drink) and dancing end the day Among members of the population who are less well—off, young people simply start living together, thus declaring themselves married in the eyes of society Very often the marriage is not even announced verbally; it is just a fact. Nowadays, the legal registration of a marriage is encouraged by the government but it is not always done outside the towns. Divorce is frequent; if it was the woman who seeks the divorce, her new companion had to pay a fine to the former husband. The new laws gives 25% of the income or salary to the partner.
Promotions A promotion up
the social ladder is blessed in much the same way as a marriage by monks
who perform a ritual in the home of the person being promoted. He sits
on a raised seat and receives the traditional gifts of cloth or money
accompanied by a white scarf from visitors.
Funerals A funeral is by far the most spiritually important and costly ceremony because of all the expenses it entails. Death does not mean the end but simply the passing into another life, so everything must be done to make it happen in the most favourable manner. As rapidly as possible after death has occurred, monks, lamas or gomcfiens must be called to perform the ritual to help the conscious principle to exit from its carnal envelope, and to read the Book of the Dead. This reading guides the dead person through all the stages that his conscious principle must pass through, and it explains the visions that he will see. This intermediate state between death and the conscious principles reincarnation in another body is called the bctrdo. The rituals are complex and can last up to 49 days without interruption if a family is very well off. Most often the rituals last for seven days with more on the 14th, 2lst and 49th days. Those that take place between the 2lst and the 49th days have to be performed in a temple and not in the house. After the 49th day, a ceremony intended to purify the atmosphere and bring prosperity to the living takes place in the house of the deceased. From the moment of death, the deceased is placed in a curled-up position on a catafalque covered with a multicoloured cloth, which, for most of the time, is placed outside the house. Visitors who come to offer condolences to the family place a gift of money and a white scarf on the catafalque. Meals are served to the deceased throughout the period following death and until all rituals are finished. The cremation of the body takes place on a day decided by the astrologer but at least three days after the death. lf the deceased comes from an affluent background or is a monk or lama, the body is placed in a special clay construction which acts as a funeral pyre. Otherwise it is wrapped in a white shroud and simply placed on the funeral pyre. When the fire is lit, relatives and friends throw white scarves and money into the blaze while praying for a good reincarnation for the deceased. During the next three years, an important ritual should take place on the anniversary of the death, the most extensive being the one performed after the third year, marking the true end of funeral observances. After the cremation, the ashes are usually scattered in the river or mixed with clay to become votive tablets. Then, depending on the piety and affluence of the family prayer flags and chortens are raised to bring merit to the deceased. Small children are not cremated but are exposed to vultures or thrown into the river.
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One of the ancient names for Bhutan was ‘the Land of Medicinal Herbs", for Bhutan exported many herbs to Tibet. Bhutanese medicine has been influenced by traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine from which it borrowed the theory of Three Humours (bile, phlegm and wind), and by Chinese medicine which taught the reading of pulses. Like both of these, it has a rich pharmacopoeia with preparations based on vegetable, animal and mineral substances. Bhutanese medicine is similar to the traditional medicine formerly practised in Tibet, where Bhutanese doctors used to receive their training. The origin of this medicine goes back to the seventh, and particularly the eighth, century when the first Indian and Chinese works were translated into Tibetan. The first great Tibetan doctor, Yuthog the Elder, lived during that period and one of his descendants, Yuthog the Younger, was equally famous in the 11th century There are about 300 medical treatises in Tibetan, of which the most important are the Quadruple Treatise: Gyuzhi and the Vaidarya Ngonpo. All teachings in the ‘science of treatment’ (Sorig) go back, according to Buddhist tradition, to the Medicine Buddha (Menlha). Medical science went through a remarkable development in the 17th century when the first medical school was founded in Lhasa and the Quadmple Treatise was revised by the Regent, Sangye Gyatso, into the form that we know today Diagnosis begins with an examination of the 12 pulses, the tongue and urine, and questions to the patient, Illnesses develop with the increase, decrease or destabilization ol the humours caused by bad food, the weather, evil spirits, the weight of previous actions, karma, or way ol lite. Remedies, in general, consist of a diet that varies with the nature of the illness, and medicines, which may be aided by acupuncture and moxibustion. Physical treatment is accompanied by religious treatments aimed at subjugating evil spirits and ameliorating bad karma. Traditional medicine has always been regarded as important in Bhutan, and a dispensary which doubles as a training centre was opened at Dechenchoeling in 1967. In 1979, a traditional medical hospital with a laboratory for making medicines was opened in Thimphu, subsidized by the World Health Organization. This hospital can be visited. Four dispensaries were also set up in the rest off the country In 1988, a project for cataloguing plants and establishing a training centre or doctors was begun with the help of an Italian non- governmental organization. This project today is being continued by European Community.
Books
Most historical writing in Bhutan has been religious. A religious book is sacred because it represents the speech of Buddha, and must be treated with respect. Blessings are coming from it. It is considered extremely beneficial to own religious books at home. The great importance given to books is reflected in the care that goes into writing and making them. Paper is made from the inner bark of two shrubs, Daphne and Edgewortlaia, that grow in abundance in Bhutan. The bark is reduced to pulp and mixed with ashes while it goes through a long cooking process. The pulp is then beaten and two methods are used for obtaining the finished sheets. One method, widely used throughout the Himalayas, produces paper called resho, ‘cotton paper’. The process begins with the pouring of the pulp on to a cotton screen; it is then spread over the cotton surface while it is floating in water. This manoeuvre requires dexterity and practice. The screen and the pulp are then left to dry which takes half a day before the sheet of paper can be taken off. The second method is only used in Bhutan and produces a kind of paper called tsctsho, ‘bamboo paper’. A screen made from slim bamboo sticks is lowered into a vat of pulp; the paper—maker then lifts it out and deftly spreads the pulp over the surface of the screen while it is out of the water. The screen is subsequently turned over, and the sheet that has formed on it drops off and is put on a growing pile of freshly made paper. At the end of the day a stone is placed on the pile to help the water drain out of it during the night. The next day the paper—maker peels the sheets off one by one and sticks them directly on to the earthen walls of a hut built for this purpose. By the end oi the day the sheets are dry and fall off the wall. Bhutanese paper is of excellent quality and impervious to insects. Unfortunately insects love the ink, which is made [rom soot, herbs, yak—blood and ani1nal—based glue. The sheets of paper are cut to the size of book pages and the text is then either written by a calligrapher or printed by xylography Xylography or woodbloek printing, entails carving the text in reverse on a wooden board, coating the plank with ink and then pressing a sheet ol paper on to it with a roller; the printed text appears on the page the right way around. Certain texts are written in calligraphy with ink made from gold dust and illuminated like medieval manuscripts in Europe. When the printing or calligraphy ol a whole text is completed, the pages are not bound but simply pressed between two wooden boards. The upper board, which makes the cover, may be a work ol art in itsell because it is olten carved with religious subjects and perhaps covered with a sheet ol wrought, gilded copper. lt is possible to see some ol these books, printing boards and paper at the National Library in Thimphu. Established in 1969, the library was moved in 1984 to a new building constructed in traditional style. lt contains about 6,100 Tibetan and Bhutanese books, both manuscripts and xylographs, and a collection of 9,000 printing blocks. For a more in—depth look at books in Bhutan, read Pupermulzing in Bhutan, by Yoshiro lmaeda (Kasama, 1988). _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Some Bhutanese Customs and Etiquette
A whole book could be written about Bhutanese customs, but here there is only room to pick out those that may be problematic to you.
Showing Respect As in most other Asian countries, a sense of hierarchy and respect for superiors or older people plays an important part and conditions people’s attitudes. This respect is mixed with awe when it comes to religious personages. lt shows itself in various ways in daily life: the body inclined slightly forward if one is standing up; legs held straight against the chair, knees covered with the ceremonial scarf when sitting down; right hand placed in front of the mouth to avoid defiling the air with one’s breath when speaking; no smoking. Using the word ‘lct’ at the end of a sentence (even in English!) is another sign of respect. Important religious figures are greeted in the same way as gods, with three prostrations. It is good to leave small offerings of money in temples and monasteries, just as it is advisable not to speak too loudly and to take off one’s shoes as a sign of respect for the holiness of these places. Umbrellas and hats are not allowed in monasteries or dzongs. The head is considered the most sacred part of the body and the feet are the most impure, which means in practice that you must never touch another person’s head, nor extend your feet out in front of you. Thus, when sitting on the ground, you should sit cross-legged, or with legs folded to one side if the first position is too uncomfortable, and avoid crossing your legs when sitting on a chair.
Face The rules of politeness and honour are complex and some of their manifestations may cause you bewilderment. For instance, it is impolite to say ‘no’, so a Bhutanese will answer any question in the affirmative, or he may evade it altogether if he sees that he is going to have to say ‘no’ and thus lose face in front of his questioner, or make the questioner lose face. It is also bad manners to appear too sure of oneself or too firm in ones opinions since that leaves no honourable way out in case of disagreement or failure. The word ‘perhaps’ and conditional clauses are therefore widely used. A suggestion is more congenial to the Bhutanese way of thinking than a statement.
Exchanging Presents Exchanging presents is much more important here than in the West. There are three ways of designating a gift according to social status: from an inferior to a superior, from a superior to an inferior, or between people of the same rank. A present should always be reciprocated after a certain length of time unless it came from a superior. When food is given in a receptacle, the latter must be returned with some sweets (candy) in it because an empty container infers an absence of prosperity Gifts should never be opened in front of the donors, so do not expect your gift to be opened and appreciated in your presence. It is not the custom to send a thank-you HOKE. When the great events of life take place (marriage, promotion, death) it is the traditional custom to present three or five, seven or nine depending on the status of the donor—pieces of cloth called zon accompanied by a white scarf, a kata. Today the white scarf is still obligatory but some people prefer to give money in an envelope instead of the pieces of fabric, which entail a very good knowledge of the proper ceremonial practices. It is also the custom to give presents when somebody is leaving on a trip. This can be anything from a bottle of local alcohol to a fine piece of cloth or a little pocket money for the children.
Host and Guest To receive a guest without offering a cup of tea or a glass of alcoholic drink is the height of rudeness. In a private home, a guest should take at least two cups or glasses (sips can suffice) of whatever beverage is offered. You should not accept what is offered too quickly lf you are playing host, don’t take a guests initial refusal at face value, but go on insisting. When you are invited to a meal with a family at home, different drinks with appetizers will be served before the meal (see Food and Drink, page 34) and this ‘cocktail hour’ may last for more than an hour. Very often, if you are visiting a humble family that you do not know very well, the hosts will not stay with their guests but will disappear until it is time to serve the meal. Much to their surprise, guests are left alone in the ‘parlour’, which is most likely to be the private chapel. The master of the house may then be present at the meal but not eat with the guests and there is no necessity to make conversation during the meal as there is in the West. Eating is a serious business which does not allow for distractions, so conversation is supposed to take place before it starts. When the meal is over, guests do not sit around and chat as they do in the West, but get up and go almost as soon as they have swallowed their last mouthful. This rule holds for official banquets as well, and the guest of honour should always be the one to give a signal when it is time to leave or nobody else will dare to move. Since many foreigners do not know about this custom of leaving as soon as the meal is finished, the situation can become a little awkward as an air of impatience subtly overtakes the Bhutanese guests.
One of the most important official customs, obligatory for both Bhutanese men and women, is the wearing of ceremonial scarves to visit dzongs or monasteries or to attend official ceremonies. The most common official ceremonies are of two kinds. The first is a ceremony of blessing and prosperity called Shugdrel, performed by monks. The second, conducted by a layman or a monk, is a ceremony of propitiation to the protective deity Mahakala, the Marchang. A vessel filled with local beer (chang), and decorated with four horns made of butter on its rim, is placed on a tripod. A local official or monk then takes a little of the alcoholic liquid in a ladle and after raising it towards the sky and saying a prayer he pours a small amount of it on the ground. Then a prayer flag is blessed.
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Religious symbols / objects I n Bhutan you will see three sequences of objects that might be called,for want of a better term, a ‘religious series’.
The Eight Auspicious Signs (Tashi Tagye)
The Seven Treasures of the Universal Buddhist Monarch (Gyelsi Nadun)
The Eight Kinds of Chortens (Chorten Degye)
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The male members of the royal family are called Daslio and the female members are called Aslti. A Minister is called Lyonpo (pronounced ‘Lonpo’); a vice- minister and all high ranking officials including judges are called Dasho. A common man with a certain amount of education and all teachers are called Lopen, but current convention styles the director of a department as Daslw out of respect, even if he has not received the red scarf; however, it would be incorrect to address him as Dasho in any official correspondence. A monk is called Gelon, Lopen or Lam according to this rank. Wives of officials and married women are called Aum (pronounced ‘Am’ ). One can address a villager as Lopen in order to be polite or if he is educated; otherwise simply Apa or Ap followed by his first name. To call a child you do not knovm use Aloo for a boy and Bum or Bumo for a girl. A married woman is addressed as Am or Ama. lf people are old enough to be grandparents, they may be respectfully called Agye (for male) and Angye (for female). In all cases these terms of address may be followed by the first name or the entire name of the person, but never directly by the last name.
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Ceremonial Scarves
The large scarves (kctlme) that men drape around their bodies—for official occasions or to go to a dzong—indicate a persons rank. A white scarf with fringes is for commoners. A white scarf with fringes and a red band running lengthwise down the middle, with one, two or three red stripes across it, is worn by an assistant district administrator (Dzongmb, Dimgpa). A white scarf with fringes and two broad, red, vertical borders is called a khamar and is worn by village chiefs, the gups. A red scarf without fringes is worn by a Dctsho. This title means ‘the best’. It is not hereditary but is conferred by the King on people of his choice as a reward for service. A dark blue scarf shows that a person is a Representative of the People, a member of the Royal Advisory Council. An orange scarf without fringes is worn by Deputy Ministers; Ministers wear the same scarf, but with part of it folded on the left shoulder. The King wears a saffron yellow scarf, as does the je Khenpo, the head abbot of the country All high-ranking officials wear a sword. Certain scarves are conferred by the King, while those of lesser rank are given by the Minister of Home Affairs. The personnel of the Royal Body Guard, the Armed Forces and the Police wear narrow scarves of stiff material. Women of all ranks wear a red striped scarf with fringes on their left shoulder, folded in three lengthwise and then doubled over, This scarf is properly called a rachu but the term lmlme is often applied to it. .
Dzongkha (རྫོང་ཁ Wylie: rdzong-kha, Jong-kă), occasionally Ngalopkha, is the national language of Bhutan. The word "dzongkha" means the language (kha) spoken in the dzong, – dzong being the fortress-like monasteries established throughout Bhutan by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century. "Bhutani" is not another name for Dzongkha, but the name of a Balochi language. The two are sometimes confused, even in some published ISO 639 codelists. Linguistically, Dzongkha is a South Tibetan language. It is closely related to and partially intelligible with Sikkimese (Wylie: 'Bras-ljongs-skad), the national language of the erstwhile kingdom of Sikkim; and to some other Bhutanese languages such as Cho-cha-na-ca (khyod ca nga ca kha), Brokpa (me rag sag steng 'brog skad), Brokkat (dur gyi 'brog skad), and Laka (la ka). Dzongkha bears a close linguistic relationship to J'umowa spoken in the Chumbi valley of Southern Tibet and to the Dranjongke language of Sikkim.. It has a much more distant relationship to standard modern Central Tibetan. Although spoken Dzongkha and Tibetan are largely mutually unintelligible, the literary forms of both are both highly influenced by the liturgical (clerical) Classical Tibetan language, known in Bhutan as Chöke, which has been used for centuries by Buddhist monks. Chöke was used as the language of education in Bhutan until the early 1960s when it was replaced by Dzongkha in public schools.[ Dzongkha and its dialects are the native tongue of eight southern districts of Bhutan (viz. Phodrang, Punakha, Thimphu, Gasa, Paro, Ha, Dhakana, and Chukha). There are also some speakers found near the Indian town of Kalimpong, once part of Bhutan but now in West Bengal. Dzongkha study is mandatory in all schools in Bhutan, and the language is the lingua franca in the districts to the south and east where it is not the mother tongue. The 2003 Bhutanese film, Travellers and Magicians is entirely in Dzongkha. Dzongkha is rarely heard outside Bhutan and environs. Dzongkha is usually written in Bhutanese forms of the Tibetan script known as Joyi (mgyogs yig) and Joshum (mgyogs tshugs ma). Dzongkha books are typically printed using Ucan fonts like those to print the Tibetan abugida. |