Enough is enough, no more trucks please!

In september a truck loaded with potatoes was heading towards Tabading from Chakchey. It reached the Pakzam, a bridge below Nimphey village. While making its way through the bridge suddenly the bridge broke and the truck fell down in the river. Many similar trucks have passed via this bridge but nothing happened to them. The unlucky turn fell upon this truck.
Around four villages use this bridge for the transportation of potatoes. Trucks started passing over this bridge this year. Some trucks carrying logs of the conservation of Wangdue Dzong project also used this bridge. In the previous years the trucks carrying potato made their way through the water. No proper road existed in the river and the trucks passed through rough river bed loaded with boulders and pebbles. Some trucks even broke down in the river. This also posed a threat to the aquatic life downstream.
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The bridge was made from wood and stones. The farmers either repair or reconstruct this bridge once a year. The main supporting material was made of a long piece of wood with planks arranged above them. This made a good bridge for the passage of powertillers and tractors but not for the heavy trucks. During the monsoon seasons the river often damages this bridge. The farmers are in need of a good, strong and reliable bridge inorder to transport their potatoes.
Three such bridges exist over this river. The first such bridge (Ligche zam) exists below Rameychen Community Primary School. This bridge serves a dual purpose. It is the main transport route for Taphu, Zhilam, Pilam and some parts of Tawo villages. It is also a main route for the students of Rameychen School. The materials to build a new iron bridge already reached there but nothing happened to these iron materials. These materials are getting themselves rusted near the river. One can easily spot these unused materials piled up near the wooden bridge. People are eagerly wating for the construction of a new iron bridge to replace the traditional wooden bridge. Trucks still pass through the river without using the bridge.
The second one is the one shown above in the photo where a truck while making its way collapsed recently. The third one is the Gangplel zam. This connects Zeba and Pisting villages to Gangphel. It is located below the Gangphel village and hence got this name. An old suspension bridge exists there but it served no purpose to the transportation of potatoes. Therefore, the farmers built their own wooden bridge.

Red rhododendron of Phobjikha

This red rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum) is found across the Phobjikha valley

Significance of eight kinds of Chortens

Bhutan is adorned with Chortens or Stupas. It can be seen almost everywhere; on hilltops, in the valleys and even on the highways. But, how many Bhutanese know about its significance and different kinds of Chortens that exist in the Country?

According to legends the Chorten is the oldest Buddhist religious monuments and was originally only a simple mound of mud or clay to cover relics of the Buddha. After the Parinirvana of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes were divided and buried under eight stupas. Built for a variety of reasons, Buddhist Chortens are classified based on form and function. There are eight different kinds of Chortens in Tibetan Buddhism, each referring to major events in the life of a Buddha. It is rare to sight all the eight different kinds of Chortens together. There is one in Wangduephodrong, just a few metres away from the Wanduephodrang bridge. The Lam Neten of Wangduephodrang explains the significance of each type of Chorten.

Significance of eight different Chortens

1. The Lotus Blossom Chorten

The-Lotus-Blossom-Chorten[/caption] The Chorten is also known as the Chorten of heaped Lotuses. It refers to the birth of the Buddha. At birth Buddha took seven steps in each of the four directions- East, South, West and North. In each direction lotuses sprang, symbolising the four immeasurable of love, compassion, joy and equanimity. The four steps of the basis of the Chorten are circular, and decorated with lotus-petal designs. Seven heaped lotus steps are constructed occasionally. This refers to the seven first steps of the Buddha.


2. The Chorten of Enlightenment
This enlightenment Chorten is also known as the Chorten of the conquest of Mara. It symbolises the 35 year old Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment in the village of Magadha in Bodhgaya under the Bodhi tree on the 15th day of the 4th month in the Bhutanese calendar. It is here that the Buddha subdued all the evils and conquest worldly temptations and attacks manifesting in the form of Mara.


3. The Chorten of many Doors

The Chorten of many Doors is also known as the Chorten of many gates. After attaining enlightenment, the Buddha taught his first students in a deer park near Sarnath in Varanasi on the 4th day of the Sixth Bhutanese month. The series of doors on each side of the steps represent the first teachings of the Buddha- the four noble truths, the six perfections and the noble eightfold path.


4. The Chorten of descent from the God Realm

The-Chorten-of-descent-from-the-God-Realm
At the age of 42, Buddha spent a summer retreat in Tushita Heaven, where his mother had taken rebirth. In order to repay her kindness he taught the dharma to his mother reincarnate. So in order to commemorate this event the local inhabitants built a Chorten on the 22nd day of the 9th Bhutanese month. This stupa is characterised with a central projection at each side containing a triple ladder or steps.

1. The Chorten of great miracles

This Chorten refers to various miracles performed by the Buddha when he was 50 years old. Legend claims that he overpowered Maras and heretics by engaging them in intellectual arguments and also by performing miracles. This Chorten was raised by the Lichavi Kingdom to commemorate the event.


2. The Chorten of reconciliation
 

According to Lam Neten of Wangduephodrang this Chorten commemorated the Buddha’s resolution of a dispute among the Sanga or among the Buddhist community. “A Chorten in this design was built in the kingdom of Magadha, where the reconciliation occurred. It has four octagonal steps with equal sides.” The Chorten of complete victory When the Buddha was 80 years old, on the request of the king of the evils Buddha decided to attain the state of Parinirvana. But the devotees again requested the Buddha to still stay alive. So, the Buddha then prolonged his life by three months. In order to commemorate the prolonged life of Buddha this Chorten of complete victory was built. It has only three steps, which are circular and unadorned.


3. The Chorten of Nirvana

 

The-Chorten-of-Nirvana

This Chorten refers to the death of the Buddha, when he was 80 years old. It symbolises the Buddha’s complete absorption in to the highest state of mind. It is bell shaped and usually not ornamented. The Lam Neten of Wangduephodrang said that building a Chorten is considered extremely beneficial leaving very positive and accumulating merits in one’s life. “At times we should circumambulate the stupa with the inner thought of the teachings of the great masters,” he said. Buddhists believe destroying or vandalising a stupa on the other hand is considered an extremely negative deed. According to the Lam Neten, such an action is believed to create massive negative karmic imprints leading to the massive future problems during the present stay and even after death

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This article was published on 17th april 2012 by Bhutan Broadcasting Service

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