Buddhism
Local Government Campaign
Four of the eight candidates failed to show up for the common forum campaigning Rough and ready: Villagers rush to the community lhakhang leaving their field work to listen to candidates speak Local Government Campaign 10 June, 2011 - After much delay, candidates for different local government posts in ... [more]
Vesak in Sri Lanka
Lord Buddha’s parinirvana celebrated in Colombo 31 May, 2010 - Doechen Nga Zom, Lord Buddha’s parinirvana is also celebrated as Vesak in Sri Lanka, a Theravada Buddhist country like Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. The difference between our celebrations is that, while we have five occasions, Sri Lanka has only three - ... [more]
Buddhism in a nutshell
His Eminence Sogyal Rinpoche. Our reporter Phuntsho Wangmo asks some common Buddhist questions to His Eminence Sogyal Rinpoche Q. Your Eminence, nowadays people say that Buddhism needs to come out of the monasteries. What do you think about this? A. The extraordinary thing about Buddha's teachings is that all are relevant to the ... [more]
THREE MARKS OF FAITH
Bhutan is a deeply spiritual country where the values of the people are strongly influenced by religious customs. Common among these are three marks of faith that shape the Bhutanese personality. The Power of Prayer The first mark of faith is the importance of prayer. The pattern of prayer ranges from short ... [more]
A MEDITATION IN DANCE
The Drametse Ngacham is a dance form that originated in Bhutan five centuries ago. Today, the Institute of Language and Cultural Studies is documenting the dance as a cultural heritage of Bhutan. Here is a rare insight into the tantric Buddhist teachings of his meditation in dance. "If you know the ... [more]
What the state preaches about GNH and what it practices should be in harmony
Q. How spiritual are our youths today? A. I think their spirituality is good but they are increasingly exposed to materialism and western culture by way of modern mass media. Through means such as advertisements, they are made to feel to want more material goods. We must make them feel that ... [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]