In November I was exceptionally fortunate to be invited to attend the Peace Prayer Festival in Thimphu, Bhutan, a truly once in a lifetime experience. Also planned was a subsequent pilgrimage to several sacred sites I have long held dear and only dreamed of seeing in this lifetime. These plans all came about very suddenly through a Dharma sister. I did not hesitate for a moment to say yes to this rare opportunity to see Bhutan, the homeland of several of my Buddhist teachers as well as the practice place of Guru Rinpoche, Yeshe Tsogyal, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Longchenpa, and so many sublime Buddhist masters and lineage ancestors.
Bhutan held many challenges and miracles beyond my feeble imagination. My teachers have often spoken about the importance of pilgrimage, yet I have had very few opportunities to engage in this path of practice. In Bhutan, I spent 12 days with the international Ewam sangha under the guidance of Gomchen Tulku Sang-ngak Rinpoche and his trusted executive director and Khenpo as well as the good company of about 20 anis—ten of whom had just completed shedra and 10 who had just completed drubdra. In addition, there were about 30 fellow Westerners and a handful of wonderful lamas and khenpos guiding us, sharing some of the most special places in Bhutan.
It is hard now—even a couple of weeks later—to comprehend the trip so otherworldly and yet arduous as it was. It was a bit like engaging in a 12-day Nyingma drubchen retreat on wheels! We toured Bhutan in our magical Buddhadharma tour buses from which we viewed sacred and sublime mountains and valleys, gompas, caves, and wonderfully hospitable restaurants, hotels, and cafes. As guests of a high lama, we were treated as VIPs.
Far from ordinary tourism, ours was a deep dive into practice through pujas, hikes, and contemplation in some of the holiest places for the Vajrayana. Bhutan, as a modern country, certainly experiences many of the same challenges as all countries now do. However, it is also a land that holds the powerful unbroken lineage of Buddhism back to the time of Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal, and King Songtsen Gampo, who helped subjugate demoness obstacles to pave the way for Buddhism to flourish in the Himalayas.
Bhutan was then, and remains now, alive with the timeless powerful practice of countless mahasiddhas, saints, yogins, and monastics, palpable in the air, water, forests, and temples of this very holy place. I still marvel at the fact that we were able to visit and meditate at Gangtey Gompa, Khyi-chu, Tharpaling, Paro Taktsang, Zhabjethang Lhakhang, Kurjey Lhakhang, Tamshing Lhakhang, Choedrak Monastery, and many more revered sites.
During my time in Bhutan, I came to understand even more why the government guards its sacred and natural resources so carefully by limiting visitors and their movements. I deeply appreciated that in the majority of all the sacred caves and temples no photography or videography was allowed. Many of these were guarded and in some, our devices were taken away from us. I wish this were more prevalent in sacrosanct places around the world, as it allowed us to relax, sit, and offer our sense faculties, rather than the dualistic taking of images. Engaging the full human meditative experience meant being present and imbibing the dynamic energy and deep blessings of every place we visited: indoors, outdoors, human-made, natural, and miraculous.
The forests, trees, waterfalls, rivers, and houses in Bhutan are imbued with power and beauty that often took my breath away. I was left marveling at how commodified and harsh our environments, architecture, and outdoor spaces often are in the West. It will take me many months or even years to integrate even a fraction of the depth of blessings I received—blessings beyond words or comprehension which touched deep parts of myself that have been nourished and matured by the Buddha Dharma. I felt deep gratitude to all my Tibetan and Bhutanese teachers, as well as my Western Buddhist teachers who themselves have been steeped in Tibetan and Bhutanese Vajrayana Buddhist tradition.
There were several points in the journey where we witnessed powerful relics, miraculous activity, and an almost visible potency of the living lineage in so many facets. At one point, a fellow traveler started to explain away, via scientific thought, one of the miracles we had seen. I stopped him and said, “Please do not.”
We in the West have countless methods to explain, make logical, or reduce phenomena to atoms, particles, and sequences. However, that aspect of our mind is well-refined, given countless resources and frequent confirmation. The aspects of our mind that pertain to fullness, realization, and an expanded capacity to perceive the visible and invisible are the aspects for which we engage meditation, contemplation, and connection to sacred wisdom teachings, by engendering devotion to qualified masters. We need not further reify, or solidify rational thought but rather cultivate wisdom, compassion, and true seeing through higher, fuller, and subtler sense faculties.
Bhutan is a place to revere, protect, and appreciate, just as Bhutan reveres, protects and upholds the Buddha Dharma for the benefit of the entire world. If I am so fortunate, may I one day return to offer even more appreciation and devotion to her holy lands, temples, caves, and beings.
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King Songtsen Gampo (Khyentse Foundation)
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