We woke to a beautiful sunny day. After a quick breakfast, we met Tandin to hike and explore the Thimphu countryside. Our first stop was Changgang Kha Monastery, a hill top temple where Tandin’s family has practiced Buddhism for generations.
We quickly learned in Bhutan that to experience ‘thin places’, those holy places where the physical and spiritual come together, requires a steep hike. Even a quarter mile walk on a 15 to 25 degree incline at 7700 ft gets the heart pounding. At Changgang Kha, we were introduced to Bhutanese Buddhism. Like Nepal and Tibet, Bhutan practices the Vajrayana sect of Buddhism. Monks in this tradition wear scarlet robes rather than the saffron color commonly found in the Theravada sect. Monks typically do not marry and devote their entire lives to study and ministry. Boys as young as seven enter the monastery, often encouraged by their families since compensation for entering the monkhood provides a good living to the extended family. Prayer flags blanketed the slopes leading to the monastery. Multi-colored flags are prayers for happiness and prosperity; white flags memorialize the life of a deceased loved ones.
In the monastery courtyard, rows of prayer wheels are available for people to spin, distributing their prayers and intentions throughout the world, creating positive karma. We learned one always walks clockwise and spins the wheels in the clockwise direction.
Larger monasteries typically have multiple courtyards leading to one or more temples. Changgang Kha was a modest local monastery with one courtyard and one temple. We removed our shoes and entered the temple.
Changgang Kha courtyard
Unlike in Thailand, the taking of photographs is strictly forbidden inside all Bhutanese temples. That’s unfortunate because the statuary and paintings inside even the most modest temple are amazing. Note that any interior temple pictures shown in this blog are photographs of pictures I found in books purchased in Bhutan. (Apologies in advance for the quality but I want to give readers a flavor for the amazing artistry.) Although a small temple, Changgang Kha had statues of Buddha and other deities surrounded with exquisitely designed rice cakes made by monks as offerings. Beautiful wall paintings depicting the life of Buddha and enlightened masters covered the walls. Tandin brought offerings of food and milk and then performed his three prostrations of faith. Between the challenging terrain and the physicality of the prostrations – supplicants fold their hands and stretch their arms up over their heads, bow deeply from the waist, drop to their knees, touch their foreheads to the ground and then rise up again – it’s easy to understand why Bhutanese remain fit into old age.
After the temple visit, we began the hike to Buddha Dordenma. The trail climbed gradually and passed through pine forest and over the occasional stream trickling down from the higher mountain passes. When the trees cleared we had beautiful views of the Thimphu valley.
The hillside was blanketed in prayer flags and we occasionally saw mini silver and gold painted stupas nestled in the rocky crevices along the trail; these small ceramic tepee-shaped pots were placed in beautiful, remote areas, may or may not contain ashes but memorialize loved ones who have passed.
Although we started the hike with long sleeves and jackets, we quickly shed layers as we walked in the sunshine. After about an hour and half of hiking we came to a flat, open space blanketed in prayer flags furiously flapping in the wind and saw a side view of a massive Buddha on the hill in the distance.
Tandin surprised us with a hot picnic lunch in the Kuensei Phodrang Nature Park before we proceeded to the Buddha plaza. Two young women dressed in kiras, the traditional dress for women, were waiting with steaming pots of rice, chicken, vegetables, a variety of hot sauces, bread, fruit and tea.
We feasted and then made the short trek to the plaza. The Buddha, seated on a pedestal, is made of bronze covered in gold. At almost 170 feet high, it is one of the largest sitting Buddhas in the world. The main statue was completed in September, 2015 in time for the fourth king’s 60th birthday and is said to fulfill an ancient prophesy to bring peace and prosperity to the world.
From a top the large plaza, we had amazing views of the surrounding area – the snow covered peaks of the Himalayas to the west and the Thimphu valley to the north and east.
We exited the plaza by walking down a hundred stairs to the parking lot. Our last view before meeting our driver was the enormous head of the golden Buddha smiling upon us, wishing us good karma!
