Jigme Namgyal's kasho

The first lunar month is a holy month. It's called Chothrul Dawa or the Month of Miracles. Lord Buddha is believed to have performed different miracles in the first 15 days of the month to augment the spiritual merit of his disciples. In Bhutan, the holy month is observed by banning the sale of meat. Such government decisions to save life, I gather, is not new to Bhutan. The following decree of  Trongsa Ponlop from a book I just finished translating makes it abundantly clear. Gongsar Jigme Namgyal, the father of the first King of Bhutan, issued the decree in the Female Rabbit year of 1885, two years after he became Trongsa Ponlop.   

Shri Karma Vajra Guru Yey! To the people of the east of Southern Land – from this side of Pelela, north of Kheng Bhadey and Kher Kher on the southern foothills, south of Tshampa and Tawang [Arunachal Pradesh] on the Tibetan border; all the areas under the control of Chotse Ponlop. Dzongnyer Lezin, lamas and lopons, representatives, nyerpas, garp tozen [the lowest-ranking attendants], khochey ponchen [religious aristocrats], all chieftains, common people, religious figures, monks, soothsayers and astrologers, yoginis, hunters and fishermen, cowherds and shepherds, travellers and traders, wanderers, and children – bear this in mind.

According to all sutra and tantra texts containing the teachings of Lord Buddha, taking life carries the biggest sin among all non-virtuous deeds. Those who are inclined to take life will be reborn, soon after the moment of death, in the hell realms where they will be scorched in a burning iron chamber and their bodies cut into a hundred pieces by different weapons. Each day, they are killed between a hundred and a thousand times and revived for so many times. They undergo such suffering for several aeons.

If they are reborn as pretas [yi dwags], they suffer from hunger and thirst, and if born as animals, they suffer endlessly from servitude and being slaughtered. Even if they are reborn as humans, they will be afflicted with many diseases and will have a short life. They will die in the mother’s womb or right after birth. Should they escape death at this stage, they will be killed by weapons, lightning or hailstone, or meet their end falling off a cliff.

Refraining from taking life for even one day prevents one from being born in times of epidemics and war, averts sudden death, removes obstacles, and prevents diseases leading to a long, happy and peaceful life.

There are accounts of Gyalpo Jampai Tob, Lha Tshangpa [Lord Brahma], Lha Jajin [Lord Indra] and Songtsen Gampo averting degenerated times and reviving the golden era [bskal pa bzang po] through institution of laws based on ten godly virtuous deeds. Learned personalities and treasure discoverers have said with one voice that the people of Bhutan suffered from conflicts and diseases because of their unbridled proclivity for killing.

From now on, as long as the teachings of the Buddha flourish, whoever dwells in this land shall refrain from doing harm to any form of life, including humans and domestic animals, birds and wild animals, fish and other aquatic creatures thriving in the rivers and streams, insects and flies living on land, cliffs and trees. No human or non-human shall do them any harm. 

Manslaughter in particular carries the heaviest punishment. Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by phampi tungwa [a category of sin that brings worst consequences] and voluntary manslaughter is punishable by death sentence. Premeditated robbery along footpaths, killing over women and out of intoxication, killing not in the interest of dharma and sentient beings, serving poison, abortion by using musk and dye by prostitutes and nuns, foeticide – all of these shall be deemed to be an act of murder. Upon confirming the acts after investigation, individuals guilty of these acts, irrespective of wealth and reputation, shall be consigned to fire or river along with their victims. These acts shall not be pardoned.

Inflicting injury using assault weapons and purchase, sale and production of poison shall pay by having their hands chopped off. Courtiers who travel to the villages shall not be allowed to order the slaughter of chicken and pigs for their consumption or kill these animals by stoning and bludgeoning. They shall not be allowed to harass women and girls and take them as brides only to demand money later from villagers through deception and manipulation. No one shall be allowed to take any advantage of the villagers. Courtiers on official assignments shall strictly conduct themselves within the limits stipulated by the letter of assignment. Should there be courtiers misbehaving, village chieftains and elders should remind them to conduct themselves better. If they failed to take heed of the reminder, villagers can join force to deal with them physically. The authorities will not take offence. Even killing some intractable courtiers in the process shall be pardoned provided that the authorities are kept informed about it. However, if the villagers put a courtier to death without enough justification, the act shall be punishable.

Catching innocent fish is a big sin. It will result in one being reborn in the hell realm where one will be forced to swallow molten iron. No one shall catch even fingerlings from rivers and streams in the entire Zhongar region, including Kuri Shongmed and Menmo Sheri Murung areas. Whoever poisons water bodies for fish, whoever makes and owns fishing nets or snares, whoever blocks migration paths of fish and damages their breeding grounds shall have his hands cut off. Except when building bridges or embankments, digging water channels, and collecting fire wood by riverside, no one shall, after crossing a river, come back and play in the river or by the banks.

From the first day of the third month to the end of the tenth month, no one shall destroy hives of any kind of bee for honey and nests of all kinds of wasps for larvae. Those who do not heed this rule shall pay with their hands. No one shall commit the above crime on the pretext of collecting abandoned or fallen beehives and wasp nests.

Forest fire, not excepting one accidentally caused by agricultural activities like shifting cultivation, is prohibited. Not a tiny patch of forest shall be set on fire intentionally.

Besides those harming humans, domestic animals, and crops, no wild animal living on forest resources shall be hunted down using hounds or bow and arrows. One guilty of this offence shall lose his hands.

Apart from unavoidable and unintentional killing while working or walking, no one – not even children – shall kill insects, flies, frogs, and worms in sport.

Killing all kinds of birds, including fowls like the blood pheasant and the monal pheasant, using snares and building barricades shall be a punishable offence. One’s own domestic animals can be killed only according to the demands of cultural norms like periodic rituals, travel needs, and reciprocal visits. After raising them like one’s own children and employing them like servants, benevolent animals that provide our needs such as milk and fur shall not be put to death and their body parts traded for cereals, dyes, cotton, and textile. This offence shall lead to the loss of hands.

For propitiation rituals for deities, guardians and spirits, meat offering shall be limited to pork once in a year. Regular meat offerings shall be limited to dried meat, besides eggs and cash. And for the purpose of offerings, even if a piglet or a chick is sacrificed, hands shall be cut off as punishment.

Oracles, astrologers, mediums, shamans and yoginis shall, out of avarice, not practise harmful occult religions and speak of the need to sacrifice animals. Any such practitioner, who makes a slightest mention of animal sacrifice, shall have his or her mouth slit vertically.

Dzongpons should make copies of this decree and distribute them to the following with detailed explanation and guidance: lamas and lopons, representatives, keepers of dzongs, supervisors, bridge controllers and low-ranking garps, chojes, khoche and ponchen, chieftains, religious figures, ordinary people, traders and travellers, cowherds and shepherds, cowherds of Bumthang, hunters and fishermen, bird hunters, and innocent children. Moreover, village chieftains should remind the masses in general and following individuals in particular about the decree, frequently, every month: Soothsayers, astrologers, shaman, jomo, yoginis, mediums, bridge controllers, hunters, fishermen, bird hunters, cattle herders, shepherds, wandering children, travellers, traders, and cattle herders of Bumthang. If those who are responsible for giving directives do not do their job, their mouths shall be slit vertically. If people do not take serious note of their directives and fail to live up to them (directives), their ears shall be cut off from the base. If some go against the directives clandestinely pretending not to have heard about them, they shall meet their end. If dzongpons concerned do not execute the directives properly and in full measure, they shall lose their post.

We call upon eight groups of guardian deities, namely Chamdrel Maning Nagpo, Legoen Tragshed Sogdued, Drangsong Za, Tshangpa, Chabjug, Wangchuk, and Jajin to take ownership of the directives and punish anyone who fails to abide by them. We also call upon local deities such as Lhamo Remitey, Jangi Duepa and retinue, three manifestations of Leshin, Jomo Tshogtshong, and Dahungpa to follow suit. If these deities failed to exercise their might soon enough, let the displeasure and wrath of Pal Heruka (yab-yum) and Sangdag Thrinley Khachab befall them. Those who can write, make as many copies of the letter as you can. Keep it in each village, understand the content and follow it. All the people, big and small, bear this in mind!

Issued from Chokhor Rabtentse [Trongsa Dzong] on an auspicious day of the tenth month of the Wood Rabbit year. Bidza Haram!  

How Oxford dictionaries define Bhutan

I am a regular user of online dictionaries, particularly Cambridge dictionaries at www.dictionary.cambridge.org and Oxford dictionaries at www.oxforddictionaries.com. I learn the English language from them every day. In my rare moments of pride, they have made me realise how little my knowledge of English usage is. A few days ago, I was curious to know how the Oxford dictionaries define our country, Bhutan. I was rudely surprised to find this definition: a small independent kingdom on the south-eastern slopes of the Himalayas, a protectorate of the Republic of India; population 691,100 (est. 2009); languages, Dzongkha (official), Nepali; capital, Thimphu.

I thought this entry was not fair. So, I decided to immediately write a quick note to them. This is what I wrote. 

Dear Sir/Madam 

I am a Bhutanese citizen and a regular user of your online dictionaries at www.oxforddictionaries.com. This morning, I was surprised by your definition of my country, Bhutan. You have defined Bhutan as "a small independent kingdom on the south-eastern slopes of the Himalayas, a protectorate of the Republic of India...". First, an "independent kingdom" cannot be a protectorate of any country. Your own dictionary defines the word protectorate as "a state that is controlled and protected by another". Bhutan is not controlled and protected by another country. It is a sovereign country with a constitution, an elected government, more than a 100 years old monarchy, a robust army, an independent judiciary, UN membership, and so on. I will be grateful to you if you could kindly explain to me why you decided to define Bhutan in this way. I am asking this question as a private citizen. 


Yours sincerely 

And this is their response to my email a day later.

The mock election dilemma

A mock election campaign being staged in Paro College of Education 

(As the second parliamentary elections draw near, I thought we might like to look back at how Bhutan prepared for the first parliamentary elections. I wrote this article in March 2008 when mock elections were held )

The primary round of nation‐wide parliamentary mock election is over and results are declared. The two winning parties, Druk Yellow Party and Druk Red Party, will contest in the general elections in which votes will be cast for candidates, not parties. The voter turnout of close to 51% is encouraging, but not impressive. It was reported that elections went smoothly despite some hiccups in some constituencies.

The success of any mock election, though, does not rest with smooth voting and relaying of results. The important considerations should be how our people voted and how much they understood the concept of voting beyond the mechanical use of electronic voting machine. The purpose of mock elections should go beyond sensitizing our people to the use of EVM and voting procedures. The mock elections should inform our people of the basic concepts of democracy like analysis of political agendas, choice of leadership, exercise of their rights and, above all, the significance of going to the polls.

Drukyul’s destiny

(This essay was first published in Tarayana Foundation's book of tribute Drukgyel's Destiny in 2004)

Drukyul's Destiny has been inextricably linked with deeds of noble note. Shaped by a people's faith and pride in their kingdom, forged by repeated wars, chiseled out of dire circumstances, engineered by the visionary monarchs, Drukyul's Destiny is an invaluable legacy of the past, priceless possession of the present, and peerless gift to the future.

For Bhutan, the tryst with Destiny began at the dawn of history, as early as the 8th century A.D. when Guru Padmasambhava brought the light of dharma to our land. Then, in the 13th century A.D., Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and an influx of great religious figures came and blessed the land and sowed the seed of a Pelden Drukpa.

But, the tryst with Drukyul's Destiny began almost three centuries and eighty‐eight years ago when Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgay, the founder of this tiny land of ours, snatched it from the jaws of wars and disintegration. Since then, Drukyul's Destiny began to take shape.

Drukyul's Destiny. For it, wars were fought, lives sacrificed, hardships endured. For Drukyul, the sail on the solemn ocean of Destiny was not one of ease. A myriad of external threats had to be overcome. Numerous wars with Tibet in the north and British India in the south. Frequent internal strife had to be negotiated. From Paro to Mongar, Dagana to Gasa, a note of discord sounded and drowned the symphony of fraternity. But, in the nick of time, Destiny sent his own son and Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck came. And he carved and shaped the destiny of this our land.