This afternoon we visited the National Memorial Chorten, a beautiful stupa built in 1974 in the memory of the third King of Bhutan by his surviving mother. [A stupa is a Buddhist religious monument that people circle around in clockwise direction to generate good merits and pray.]
It was a an absolutely beautiful, bright day and the chorten sparkled in the midday sun. It was abuzz with people. Many were circumambulating (walking around clockwise) the sacred stupa. Others - mostly older folks - were sitting next to prayer wheels praying and socializing. We asked Jamyang about that scene and he told us that older people frequent this particular holy place to cicumambulate for hours on end in prayer, as well as socialize. He even said that many have boyfriends & girlfriends that they meet at the chorten daily :)
Special Ladies
There was a set of women sitting and chatting. I was taken by them because they appeared so peaceful and happy. They were equally fascinated by the girls, and were telling our guide how beautiful the girls were, asking if they were twins, etc. After we walked around the grounds for a bit, I asked Jamyang if it would be OK if I went back and asked to take a picture of the group of women. He said it would be no problem. With his help, I gently asked to take their picture. I then showed them their picture on my phone. Jamyang relayed that they were commenting on how old they look and how many wrinkles they have. I immediately replied "Nonsense, you look beautiful!" They then graciously offered me an apple from their belongings. I didn't feel comfortable taking it from them, when they appeared to have so little. But Jamyang insisted that I take it; that it would be very rude if I declined their offer. I graciously took the apple and wished them well.
GNH
Bhutan is known the world over for a philosophy called GNH (Gross National Happiness) that guides the Bhutanese government and people as a whole. The focus of GNH is collective happiness and well being. I was struck that afternoon that GNH was alive & well in Bhutan - not only in that group of local ladies, but also in myself for interacting with them :)
Opmerkingen