“Tinsel tiger’s in a metal room stalking satisfaction”
Picasso Moon
Progress is happening in rural Bhutan. Since I
have arrived a cell tower has been erected above Zongdopelri. And now they have
widened the tiny road up to Tsangma and the temple. Luckily Tsenkharla Dzong is
buried in the forest a hundred yards off the track. Almost every village in
Bhutan has electricity and many have roads. Overall the wilderness is unspoiled
and constant. To best explain to my U.S followers it is like living within a
National Park, except it’s the entire country. Bhutan’s political border is
actually a geological boundary protecting a biological oasis stretching from
the plains of India to the snow clad twenty five thousand foot peaks of Tibet.
Bhutan boast jungle, broadleaf and pine forests, moraines, and a vast river
system. The wildlife is equally astounding including a list of animals I will probably
never see. The short list includes: tigers, snow leopards, common leopards, and
a myriad of big cats. Elephants and unicorn rhinos in Manas, all kinds of birds
including the renown black neck cranes. Also bears, wolves, Tonkin, red pandas,
and Asian Buffalo. Around here we have bores, porcupines, deer, a lot of birds
and insects including awesome butterflies. The terrain is the most attractive
and startling I have seen. One can never absorb it all. The mountains are steep
and lushly canopied. The rivers zigzag through a maze of valleys. In places it
is unyielding and impenetrable and other spots undulating and rolling. In the
east it is rugged and gnarly.
Settlements must be scratched into humongous
mountains. Fields are carved and from a distance look as if they will slide off
the cliff into the abyss. Providing infrastructure is a tremendous challenge
and speaks to the grittiness of the Bhutanese folks. Another reason they remain
the only sovereign Buddhist kingdom is their remoteness and isolation due to
the unconquerable terrain. Trashigang Dzong gave the Easterners a literal upper
hand in repelling the Tibetans. Otherwise we’d be in China now. I mentioned
before, it has been a succession of miracles to enable the survival of Bhutan
as an independent nation. Watching the students hack grass, prune trees, and
move about the land you notice a difference to their movements compared to
Westerners. We are not as strong or fluid. The Bhutanese are connected to the land
in an intimate way. I don’t want to romanticize or mystify the reality, but it is
true. I am convinced their feet and hands are larger and they are in very fit
condition. There is no gender bias when it comes to working the land as both sexes
harvest the fields. The children have knowledge of farming and the earth that
most of us don’t possess. The Bhutanese have many things going for them. They have
the ability to survive here and are extremely patriotic. They will need these
qualities to face the challenges ahead. I am confident they will endure at least
through my student’s generation but problems will exist. They must preserve
their precious culture and continue to be faithful to sustaining the land that
has sustained them. I am merely an armchair anthropologist but these are my
early impressions of Bhutan.
I also found out today from a class 8 boy that
Zongdopelri means paradise. I couldn’t think of a more fitting name for our
temple perched up on the ridge with views in all directions. This spot is quite
possibly my favorite spot on earth. Surrounding the perfect pagoda are vertical
prayer flags, cypress, a pear orchard, grass, and chest high marigolds. And of
course from my inner sanctuary the attic, one can see in both directions
including the two rivers racing to meet at Doksom, thousands of feet below. Inside
the temple (the brain of the guruda) is an entire universe as vast as our own.
One has the urge to simply sit and wait for all truth to manifest while
watching the statue of the Guru and his tiger come alive to engage with fierce
tantric deities who escape the mural walls. There is actually a fourth chamber,
a sidecar on the second floor. This dark room has only a huge “space drum” and
a frighteningly ferocious deity. This is a room I don’t linger in long.
“We’re sitting here stranded though we’re all doing our
best to deny it” Visions of Johanna
Tonight the students and I got special curry for
dinner. I rarely eat at school but when there’s beef and emadatsi then game on.
The students sure deserve it, although my 8B was naughty this afternoon making
spit balls and throwing them at the roof where they stuck. Today we were
blessed with sunshine and stars which is unbelievably rare in the summer. All
of us BCF teachers fulfilled our destiny at our placements and we all have our
pitfalls and boons. I am ecstatic to be on top of this diamond peak surrounded
by daisy chains of mountains. I desperately try to convey the beauty to you and
by now readers are surely board of my lackluster descriptions. But this is the
focal point of my life here along with my work. So hang in there eventually I
might report something interesting. For now my BFF (Bhutan Friend Forever) Becky
is stranded on the east side of the river in Phongmay. I wonder how Martha is
holding up as well. Becky is fortunate enough to have a fellow felincpa close
by. I am hoping to see Bunks for her 35th next week in Rangjoon at
Ian and Vicky’s. My twin sister is actually five months my senior. Am I really approaching
35? I guess Bhutan qualifies as a respectable midlife crisis, tee he. It’s safe
to say with my large debt from loans and no companion I won’t be living a
stable life in the foreseeable future. I guess I am destined to gallop in Mare’s
footsteps. It’s nice that Becky is so similar in her wanderlust ways. Her
existence validates my own ramble down the lost highway. At one point I
imagined a family and kids but was always far more concerned with the next show,
powder day, or adventure. Since Tyler and Beth had Reed and Paige I feel content
to be an uncle. Certainly as a teacher I get my fill of children. As for true
love that’s a whole other blog. My notions have changed since twenty two. I
know love exists in many forms on this planet on a grander scale than any human
relationship that might temporarily embody it. For example my love for my
family is as true as love gets and right now I want to send good vibes to my
mom who is getting shoulder surgery. I love you mommy!
This is an important time for me to be alone in
this world. If I never find the ONE then there was no ONE to begin with. I have
already exceeded my allotment in being loved in this life. This is my
opportunity to give back to the universe. We all have a debt to pay back to the
maker. I realize I am rapidly firing off the blogs with little significant
content. It also seems I am repeating myself or experiencing déjà vu. Maybe if I write it out, something will come
of it. So pull up a log around the campfire and lets watch the sky awhile.
Sorry I am out of colortines at the moment.
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| Class 8 |
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