Phobjika Valley religious and secular adventures, phalus-filled walk to a Fertility Temple, and a festival at the Talo Monastery

Greetings from Punakha, Buthan. My day 7 in Bhutan started in Gangteng, a remote village in the Western Bhutan. Located in Phobjika valley – the marshy valley floor is at over 3,000 meters – it receives an annual visit from black-neck cranes who fly here from Tibet in November and, before landing in the marsh, allegedly, circumambulate the Gangteng Monastery 3 times clockwise (like a Buddhist would); hence they are considered sacred. The cranes were not there (except for Karma, a cute but injured one well cared for in a sanctuary) but the hikes, the vistas, the mineral springs, my farm house hostess, her butter tea and pretzels, and the Monastery itself were more than worth the visit.

But before I tell you all about everything, let me speed through some imagery from the day 6 and our slow trip to Gangteng:

Last night, my government-appointed guide, my government-appointed driver, and I drove then hiked (narrow rocky path, then a ladder up a fence, ladder down the fence, another narrow rocky path, hop over some sleeping stray dogs) to a remote farm that was offering a mineral springs soak. As everything in Bhutan, that was a rather simplified experience: you throw some hot stones from the fire into a tub, you enter a shed housing the said tub, you sit and you soak. The water is icy cold so the stones are necessary to prevent frost bites but can heat up the water a tad much. Before I closed the wooden gate to the shed (by lifting it off the ground), the old skinny weird-vibing dressed-like-he’s-hunting-phasants “spa” owner handed me a few sprigs of something that smelled like sage and grunted in the direction of the water. I guessed that I was supposed to aromaticize the water with the sprigs so I tossed them in and, wouldn’t you know it, they actually made the whole shed smell nice. While I soaked, I could hear my driver, the government official and the hunter talk more and more loudly as they got more and more hopped up beetlenut…

First thing today, I managed to catch the Nyingma-Vajrayana Buddhist monks’ morning prayer: Nyingma is a rare ancient form of Tibetan Buddhism – the first that was introduced to Bhutan before the Bhutanese later embraced the DrukpaKagyi sect – still the state religion. Therefore, this monastery, its monks and their rituals are unique.

The drive from Gangteng to Punakha was mega scenic but could get you car sick (darn Himalayas!)

In Punakha we started with Chimi Lhakhang a small monastery known popularly as Fertility Temple, built in 15th cent and consecrated by Lama Kunley, one of the most unorthodox but super beloved Buddhist saints in these parts. Apparently, this debaucherous drunkard spread Buddhism (and hopefully nothing else) through song, humor and… ahem… love. He is also the saint who advocated that a phallus symbol be painted on walls and/or carved in wood & hung on houses. The monastery is the repository of the original silver-plated wooden phallus that Kunley brought from Tibet – the said object is used to bless people who visit the monastery on pilgrimage.

The path to the temple has houses on both sides each with more than one and more than prominent (as in GIANT) squirting penis: painted, carved, replacing noses of clown figures, on display on tables… I took pictures of 2 monks talking in front of one 5 ft dick painting and kids playing soccer in front of another. The Bhutanese believe that an erect penis painting will dispel evil spirits but from the (lack of) reaction from the Bhutanese, looks like it also dispels the taboo. Which made me think: Imagine being able to grow up without the repression about sexuality. No scary all-seeing super-judgmental god, just Buddha as a state of mind which you can attain through mindfulness, compassion, kindness, positivity and moderation… You grow up like that and what a nicely adjusted human… Imagine how much money would the world save if they did not have to go to a professional in order to hear that they are OK and it’s not their fault.

In the afternoon, we went to Talo Monastery for the annual tchechu or a religious festival (tchechu literally means 10th referring to the 10th day of a lunar month. It is believed that the 2nd Buddha – Guru Rempoche – was born on the 10th day of a lunar month, it’s just not known which, so every month at least one monastery has an all day masked-dance/Buddhist monk ritual festival. Very interesting and very traditional dances performed by large troops of the local community members wearing traditional masks assigned to that particular religious ritual dance. My fave was looking around the large families sitting on the monastery loan chatting, chewing beetlenut (which gets you pretty hopped up), munching on veggies-over-rice using their hands, chasing their babies, and more or less ignoring the festivities occurring right in front of them.