thedawaring's blog

The Boudnath stupa, Nepa l Sharing the pain of Nepal. In ancient India, there lived a beautiful nun who was known for her exotic beautiful eyes. Around the same time, there lived a man who was deeply attracted & attached to the nun. The man made desperate attempts to meet the beautiful nun but to his dismay he could never arrange an agreed meeting. One fine morning, when the sun was rising, the nun was going for her routine alms begging when she chanced to bump into the man. The poor man was so surprised and happy that he could finally let the nun know that her eyes were beauty beyond descriptions. So he told her, ‘my dear bhikshuni , your eyes are the most beautiful thing I can ever imagine of in this world. I am attracted, out of control, for your divine beauty.’ Hearing this, the learned nun thought it was time for the ignorant man to learn a lesson. She pulled out both her eyes and gave it to the man. The man was shocked to see how she looked without her eyes. She looke...

The arrival of spring Before indulging in the nectar of words that I get to taste while writing, let me first rejoice that I am writing this blog after a real long time. Spring is always a beautiful time of the year to get poetic and for many people; it’s also the perfect time to get romantic. After a dry & dusty winter, signs of the coming of spring can be seen everywhere. From  fresh pale green innocent buds on withered willow trees to tender grasses sprouting by the roadsides, from the sight of gardens being prepared for plantations to the smell of fresh earth after a slight drizzle, from the melody of spring birds arriving in Bhutan to the wordless humming of happy songs by happy farmers,  here we are once again at the most crucial point in the life of everything natural!  On a beautiful Saturday morning, I am woken up by the sound of singing doves. I pull apart the curtains of my window to be greeted by the magical view of Thimphu valley. As the morni...

Chukha, Bhutan. October 3. 2014. A paradise called Drukyul. I am beginning to realize that being born in this beautiful Himalayan kingdom is by sheer luck and previous good karma. No wonder foreigners describe the place as the last Shangri-la . From peaceful morning sunrise from behind the lush green towering mountains to tranquil evening sky filled with billion stars, from countless cascades of pearly waterfalls to beautiful traditional Buddhist stupas, from serene temples to jolly monks, from merry farmers in the paddy fields in the autumn season to wandering musicians, I feel Bhutan is designed by the Almighty. Simply waking up to be greeted by a cool morning breeze against the backdrop of a promising sunny day, you can literally feel all make-happy chemicals being released in your body. And as you gleefully wander through small villages, you come across amazing display of an ancient culture very much intact even in this age of globalization. Traditional son...

The monk who laughed Many years ago when Lord Buddha was alive, there lived an enlightened monk named Katayana in a village in eastern India. One morning he set out around the village begging for alms as it was a common practice of Buddhist monks of that time. That same morning katayana happened to be at a house of a lady where she was having meal. He saw the lady eating boiled fish. She had a baby in her laps. She was so much caring and loving for the baby and breast feeding her with great love.  A poor skinny dog was trying to eat the bones of the fish that the lady had left behind. As the dog tried to eat the bones of fish, the lady got furious and beat the skinny dog mercilessly till it cried out of pain. The enlightened monk diligently observed all these events for a while and burst into series of laughter. The lady got irritated and decided to ask the monk , ‘why are you laughing so much without any reasons?’ The monk contemplated for a while and said,...

The Himalayan Days... I was born and brought up in a far flung village in the eastern part of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Growing up in a lovely village on the mountains, my subconscious mind is filled with sweet memories of my childhood days. One of the memories I still vividly remember is watching the sun set over giant mountains of the eastern Himalayas.  I used to thoroughly enjoy the beauty of the dusk when the magnificent sun would sink behind the tall mountains. The sky would appear to me like a piece of painting: the thin whiff of clouds above the mountains would be colored in different shades due to scattering of sun light, a flock of sparrows would fly by above my head. On the mountain above, the monks at the monastery would blow conch shell while they burnt incense sticks to please the gods.  The sweet aroma of the incense sticks would gradually fill the whole valley downhill. I grew up believing that nature is the greatest artist.  Everythin...

a glimpse of Chaling After approximately two hours drive from North-East of Trashigang, you will arrive at a beautiful village called Chaling. It is the very village which was once famously known as Yue Pemachen. Chaling is located on a gentle slope at an altitude of about 2000 meters. The climate is moderately cool in summer and cold in winter with light  snowfall. The village has a primary school, a basic health unit and a natural resource extension office. It has two temples, one in the village and another above the village. The best time to visit is from October to March. During this period, one can witness extremely beautiful natural scenarios. Snow capped Chorphu Mountain, colorful rhododendron pastures,clear blue sky,blossoming peach tress,exotic willow plants and so on. The majority of the people are farmers practicing age old subsistence agriculture. Farmers grow maize,millet, wheat,buck wheat, soya beans, potatoes and many other vegetables. Many families own herds ...