December, 2007
2007: a reckoning year
Magnum opus. The year 2007 has been a remarkable year. On the threshold of change and in the transition to democracy, Bhutan grew by many years in 2007. She consolidated herself in the political arena, strengthened her bi-lateral and multi-lateral relations, saw a new found vigour to strengthen the economy, and ... [more]
ECB brings party presidents together
>> The presidents with the Chief Election Commissioner Dec 30, 2007-Thimphu: The meeting of the two party presidents with the Chief Election Commissioner on Friday was the first ever tri-party meeting held after a series of complaints were filed in by both the parties to the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB). In ... [more]
Some year-end thoughts
29 December, 2007 - We started 2007 with a royal visit to India and the signing of the updated India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, symbolizing a new era of political stability. We end the year with the first stage of our parliamentary elections. In between we had much to talk about and ... [more]
India and Bhutan to sign updated Treaty
Thimphu: A revised and updated India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty will be signed sometime later this year between the governments marking yet another historical milestone in the enduring friendship between the two nations. The Treaty was signed by the two governments in 1949. A joint press release this week states that the treaty ... [more]
The Last Shangri-La be damned
A local journalist talking to a group of tourists was asked if tourism posed any threat to Bhutan's indigenous culture and the "purity of the Bhutanese way of life" (whatever that means). No, he said, the number of tourists coming to Bhutan was still too small to be influential enough, ... [more]
Wheel of Life (Sidpa Khorlo)
Realm of Gods: People are born into these heavens due to good karma (good deeds). More freedom & opportunity but their greet endowment and fortune is their greatest danger. Feel so great, grand, immortal and enjoy such comfort and pleasures. Realm of Hungry Ghosts or Pretas: Hungry, Thirsty, frustrated beings. Greed ... [more]
Thunderbolt and Bell
Thunderbolt (Vajra) or Dorji (also known in Bhutan) is employed by Tantric Buddhism to dispel evil forces from the sacrificial enclosure, and hence came to symbolize spiritual forces and firmness of spirit. It also symbolizes the victorious power of knowledge over ignorance, of spirit over the passions; "the vajra symbolizes ... [more]
A Prayer Wheel
A prayer wheel is of a hollow metal cylinder, often beautifully embossed, mounted on a rod handle and containing a tightly wound scroll printed with a mantra.According to the belief, spinning a prayer wheel is just as effective as reciting the sacred text aloud. This belief derives from the Buddhist ... [more]
Prayer Flags
Prayer flags are made of coarse cotton and placed in strategic places in the belief that the wind will carry the invocations and the messages on the flag down the rivers and valleys into the beyond. Redi and Khorlo Prayer flags are raised on a pole that has the Redi and the ... [more]
Prayer Beads
A rosary has 108 beads. It is used for counting mantras, chants or prayers. Buddhist rosaries are made from variety of materials, most commonly wood. Preferred woods are sandalwood or sacred wood from the bodhi tree. More expensive rosaries are made of precious and semi-precious stones. They can also be ... [more]