Posts

Showing posts with the label Historical

Featured Post

Menchu of Menchuna: A Hidden Gem in Tobesa, Punakha

Image
Nestled in the serene village of Menchuna, Tobesa, Punakha, lies the mysterious and historical site of Menchu. As its toponym may suggest, Menchuna is a place where tradition and nature intertwine in fascinating ways. Once renowned for its medicinal hot springs, Menchu has a story that reflects both the resilience of its people and the enduring allure of its natural gifts. Here’s a journey into the intriguing tale of Menchu and its place in the heart of Bhutan. The Legacy of Menchu: A Once-Prominent Hot Spring Menchu was once celebrated as a revered hot spring, its waters believed to hold remarkable healing power with medicinal as well mineral properties. For centuries, the people of Bhutan trekked to Menchuna, as it is ideally situated near traditional Punakha-Thimphu trek trail. The hot springs, with their mineral-rich waters, were a vital source of therapeutic relief, providing solace and healing to countless visitors. The Struggle and the Change However, as is often the case with p
Post a Comment
Read more

Menchu of Menchuna: A Hidden Gem in Tobesa, Punakha

Image
Nestled in the serene village of Menchuna, Tobesa, Punakha, lies the mysterious and historical site of Menchu. As its toponym may suggest, Menchuna is a place where tradition and nature intertwine in fascinating ways. Once renowned for its medicinal hot springs, Menchu has a story that reflects both the resilience of its people and the enduring allure of its natural gifts. Here’s a journey into the intriguing tale of Menchu and its place in the heart of Bhutan. The Legacy of Menchu: A Once-Prominent Hot Spring Menchu was once celebrated as a revered hot spring, its waters believed to hold remarkable healing power with medicinal as well mineral properties. For centuries, the people of Bhutan trekked to Menchuna, as it is ideally situated near traditional Punakha-Thimphu trek trail. The hot springs, with their mineral-rich waters, were a vital source of therapeutic relief, providing solace and healing to countless visitors. The Struggle and the Change However, as is often the case with p
Post a Comment
Read more

A Melon at Rukubji

Image
Rukubji As I dissolve among the ordinary Drinking the ecstasy of sublime thoughts, Burrowing through what-ifs, and Rejoicing the best in my mind, I re-make myself every day. As I spread the deed, With no ego of having nor fear of not having I offer this chunk of melon To the deity of Pelela Who opens the door to scenic Rukubji,  I offer this chunk of melon To the serpent of Rukubji Who once slithered through the valley, I offered this chunk of melon To the omnipresent Pema Who pinned down the snake demon,  I offer this chunk of melon To the divine Kinley Who blessed the valley with mastered, I offer this chuck of melon To the red-cheek beauties of Rukibji Who shines the valley with unique art. In my humble offering May I find more solace, and May Omteng Tshomem bless them more. Lake below Palela (not Omteng Tso) Read More Here
Post a Comment
Read more

Foggy Yoeling (Weling), Trongsa

Image
Histories are enthralling yet many legends are getting mystefied among the complexity of scientific truth and turmoil. While the knowledge base of society is rapidly shifting towards scientific data, histories and their stories are worth recoding before being entirey regarded obsolute and discarded. Here is one such story for record.  The founding Lama, Drubthop Ngawang Samten of TaPhag Goenpa ༼རྟ་ཕག་དགོན་པ་༽ was rearing horeses for riding and for trasnportation of goods to his monsatery. The use of horses, however, are subject to the requirement which happened only couple of times a year. The Lama had no horseman to man his horses and they were left to graze freely in the open meadows around and below the monastery.  While this continued for many years, it so happened that horses roamed too far into the wheat fields of Yoeling (Weling) village and helped themslves with the wheats in unguarded fileds. After sometime, it became too frequent and intolarable nueasense to the villagers si
Post a Comment
Read more

The Divine Stones of Singay Thang ༼སེང་གེ་ཐང་གི་གནས་རྡོ༽

Image
རྟ་ཕག་མགོན་པ། Two hours to the  north of Trongsa Chhoekhor Rabtentse Dzong, Tafa Goenpa  ༼རྟ་ཕག་དགོན་པ༽  is renowned meditation centre for Trongsa Rabdey. As we have etymologies for most names of the places, the name of the meditation centre is derived from its religious significance attached with its topography. Since the whole ridge on which it is situated is holy site dedicated to and blessed by Hayagriva  ༼རྟ་མགྲིན༽  who is wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara and Dakini Vajaravarahi  ༼རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ༽  who is wrathful form of  ༼རྡོ་རྗེ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ༽ Vajrayogini, the place is named after their divine names. The Goenpa has her religious as well historical marvel to those who pursue the subject seriously but that is topic for another story. Top Edge of Singay Thang Around one and half hours north-west to Tafa Goenpa, walking past marshy land, bent rhododendron trees, and dwarf bamboo plants that may even hide our friends who is just a meter away among its leaves, an alpine meadow/g
Post a Comment
Read more

Trees of Eastern Girls at Thowa Drak ༼ཤར་ཕྱོགས་མའི་ནགས་ར༽

Image
There is so much charm in hearing the stories we never heard but there is nothing that fascinates us more than validating the stories and legends we heard. My parents narrated stories and folklores that lived throughout my life and I always carry this huge urge to validate and testify the stories to satisfy myself. One satisfactory testimony of the story I heard is one of the many living legends of Thowa Drak, a famed spot that cling to the highest rocky cliff to the north of Tang, Bumthang མཐོ་བ་བྲག་ལྷ་ཁང་ Thowadrak, one of the four great holy cliffs of Bumthang, famed by meditators, faith seekers, and pilgrims from all walks of life, is full of amusing legends and stories that awestruck everyone who pay visit to the temple or hear about it. The most important story from Thowa Drak is enthralling story of Guru Rimpoche performing miracles though divine powers to subdue vicious demons and summoning them as Dharma protectors. The second legend of Thowa Drak that never fail to entice us
Post a Comment
Read more

Mythical Temple of Lugi Raw ༼ལུག་གི་རྭཝ༽

Image
Lugi Raw Temple Have you heard of Lugi Raw? Many haven't. If you are one of them you are on the right platform. This is for you.  3200 meters above the sea level, secluded among the towering mountains that feed Tshachuphu river, surrounded by fragrant cypress, juniper and pine trees, the temple of Lugi Raw (Rawa) is mystically yet snugly tucked at the heart of perilous cliff. Once you are at the temple clouds scudding overhead and the eerie silence of the surrounding perfectly blends with mysterious existence of temple. The old and rugged structure looks straight from the mythical era of 10th century. Very little is known about this temple. That is no wonder since the temple was established sometime between 10th and 11th century by some renowned Buddhist master.  Ngog Chöku Dorje (C@Mar Ngog.Org) The huge rocky cliff on which temple sits is believed to be meditation cave of Guru Rimpoche. The founder of the temple, however, is attributed to Lama Ngog Chöku Dorje (AKA Ngog Ten Choe
Post a Comment
Read more

Survival Through Leadership : A Tribute

Image
For centuries powerful empires embarked on restless search for resources. They were ruthless on their dominion(s) and expeditions, wars and conflicts became necessity for survival. Europe became hothouse of military, economic and political power struggles by fifteenth and sixteenth century. By 1770’s James Cook expedition swept away the civilization of south-western Pacific region . “…worse fate befall the natives of Tasmania. Having survived for 10,000years in splendid isolation, they were completely wiped out, to the last man,woman and child, within a century of Cook’s arrival.” Tasmania native are, now, the subject of historical study and lecture series only. Cooks expedition and political situation that followed pressed the delete button on Tasmanian culture, civilization and whole of their existence. For around 45 years world experienced one of imminent threat from power struggles and two locus of global power. Let lone survival of humanity, even the existence of planet itself w
Post a Comment
Read more

A Brief Narrative on Lhasel (Bon Oblation) of Jaray Gewog

Personal Recollection and Commentary (June 17, 2018) With the end of Saga Dawa (Fourth Month of Lunar Calander)the unison sing song verse of "Wayo Wayo" had already began in villages of Jaray Gewog. The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth day of fifth month is special part of cultural bonanza for people of Jaray. Cultural bonanza I'm meaning here is splendour of reenacting the epic visit of Bon Lha centuries ago. In my heart, I could hear the child within me sing the verse aloud from hills of Yedang. Thanks to the rich culture.
Post a Comment
Read more

Historical Account of Mangzee Brak Waterfall

Image
The waterfall of Mangzee Brak (aka Mangzee Brak Chuthor) is remarkable creation of nature that cascades down the foundational cliff of Yedang giving scenic and satisfactory view to flocks of Paam. Water falls from the height of around one hundred meters high cliff crashingg down into a beautiful shallow pool. On sunny days it is festooned with myriad coloured rainbows as if it is permanently etched on the background rock.
Post a Comment
Read more

Chutheegang and its history

Image
If what I heard as a child wasn't wrong, village of Ngangla Kharchung was warned by a forefather (by a Lama to be precise)that in the era of degeneration river banks of Chuthegang will loss itself to test of time and confluence will be at the current footpath. The work has already begun, it seems. To those who don't know much about this place, Chethegang is a small land mass at the confluence of streams from Pam and Ladrong village, Jaray, Lhuntse.
Post a Comment
Read more