Sunday 6th September 2009
We took the car out of Thimphu to visit a famous monastery, Cheri Goemba. On the way, we stopped at a vertical rock face where an image of a historical figure had been seen in the rock. This image has now been made visible by painting the rock. Below the image, a water prayer wheel had been built. I was intrigued by this concept. A small, locked stone building contains a single, large vertically-mounted prayer wheel. The axle of the prayer wheel extends downwards and is terminated on a horizontal paddle wheel. A water supply from a mountain stream is then channelled through a rectangular pipe so as to strike the paddles and rotate the prayer wheel above (in a clockwise direction, of course). Pictures on the road to Cheri Goemba.
A little further on, a huge tree-clad 'sugar loaf' hill reared up ahead of us. Dotted around the top of this hill could be seen a number of white-painted buildings. This was the monastery we'd come to see. We parked near another traditional cantilever bridge which gave access to the steep track up the hill to the monastery. I was surprised that I seemed to be tiring rapidly but then realised that I had an upset tummy and persevered. After an age, we passed a number of small pack-horses going down for another load. All supplies have to be carried up by man or beast. Soon after, we came to a chorten with a number of seats for pilgrims to rest and I was glad to pause for a while. We started again and I was relieved to find that we were almost at our destination as the huge bulk of the main building loomed above us.
The ancient largely-wooden building was a mixture of the prosaic and the sublime. In the entrance lodge were a supply of cypress branches which are used as an incense and a huge number of fire extinguishers. Fire is a perpetual hazard in these wooden buildings. We passed through a courtyard with a long row of small prayer wheels on one side and a series of small cells for practising meditation on the other side. Once novices have achieved some success in these cells, they are allowed to use the more remote buildings spread across the hillside.
Apparently, a special ritual was being performed that day and a number of the local people had come to participate. Outside the main building there was a remarkable collection of footwear and, adding my own shoes, I passed inside. Two rows of monks sat facing one another chanting the ritual, rather after the style of choir stalls in an English church. Behind the monks on each side were rows of the local people, praying or telling their rosaries. Tashi and I were able to walk around and study the main altar and the decorations as the service proceeded.
Tashi and I made our descent this time passing a team of loaded packhorses going up at the chorten. By the time we reached the bridge and our car, there were another crowd of locals just starting out on the climb. We drove back to Thimphu Lodge for lunch but I skipped lunch and slept until our afternoon tour, which I'll describe next time.
