A Humble Prayer for our Dharma Kings

We all should be proud and grateful for being a Bhutanese under the glorious reign of the Wangchuck Dynasty with continued peace and happiness. While year 2015 ended with grand celebration and longevity prayers on 60^th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, 2016 had a grand beginning.

With the Royal Birth of His Royal Highness the Gyalsey, 2016 began with such an auspiciousness which only few are fortunate to witness. Happiness knew no bound for all citizens of Bhutan when they heard news of the Royal Birth on 5 February 2016, a historic day which will be remembered throughout by all. We all had the rare opportunity to share our prayer for the good health and longevity of His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Gyaltsuen and His Royal Highness the Gyalsey.

We are so fortunate to have Bodhisattva and Dharma Kings of the past, present and the future amongst us. We are so lucky to be living among glorious lineages of Wangchuck dynasty in the form of Lord Buddha, Guru Padmasambhava and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel. I am sure that no other nations will be lucky enough to witness the three generations of Dharma Kings with unwavering love and compassion for the people of Bhutan.

We are ever grateful to our farsightedness of our Kings who led Bhutan to 21 century without compromising our unique culture, traditions and social values. We gained affections from all corners of globe for our unique development philosophy Gross National Happiness and efficient management and conservation of our rich natural heritage. We pray and wish for continuous peace, prosperity and happiness under leadership of Dharma Kings for all times to come.

Bhutanese Song-This heart of flesh and blood

Female:

This heart of flesh and blood,

Though resides inside me;

Its beats are just for you

This foolish heart's gonna break for you!

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Male:

I am becoming totally restless,

When you aren't around

Please don’t go out of my sight

Please don’t go out of my sight.

****

Female:

In the peaceful altar of my heart-

A faithful heart of yours

Can now offer a golden cup,

I will keep filled with love-scented water

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Male:

This highly skilled-in-seeing eyes;

Though live just on my face

Whatever they see is just you,

Your image flickers even when closed

****

Female:

Don't tell this to me darling,

You are very lovely girl,

Please let me lean on your lap

****

Male:

My mind truly loves you- Karsang

A faithful heart of yours,

Can now draw a circle of dragon,

So that milk of our love can be kept in it.

****

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Dzongkha Version. Click on the photo to make it more legible

Let's Pledge Today!

“We eat anything with legs except the table, and anything with wings except the plane.”

It is very difficult to obtain free and well-favored human realm, yet we are fortunate enough to be born in this realm. We have opportunities to realize and make good use of full human potential for best. If we miss the chance, we shouldn't expect to find this rare chance again.

Our life is as transient as clouds and like a flash of lightning. When we finally have to leave this world, neither friends nor wealth can defend us and no one can accompany us. We must be proud that we are not born in lower realms where there are endless sufferings. Why can’t we use this rare chance to do good things which is beneficial for both self and others?

Let us celebrate auspicious first lunar month that only comes once in a year. It is during the first month Lord Buddha taught many teachings to his disciples and to all sentient beings. Buddha himself said that if we do good things, we will accumulate tremendous merits. He also said if we do bad things intentionally, we accumulate negative Karma.

The Royal Government of Bhutan banned meat during auspicious months throughout the country. It is a move by the government and our central monastic body. Although there aren't any available statistics to prove its effectiveness, more people are completely refraining from eating meat during these auspicious months.

There is also section of society who store meat during these banned months. Even if we can’t be vegetarian for entire life, why can’t we refrain at least during these holy months? I too am not a vegetarian, but I refrain from eating meat during holy months.

As there is no single being who haven’t been our parents in our previous lives, all animals should be respected. They all desire love, care, affection and respect. The only difference between human and them is they can’t express their feelings. If you love your parents unconditionally, why can’t we for those helpless animals?

Let us pledge to completely refrain meat today, for at least a month. It is Valentine’s Day, a day when we express our love and affection. Let’s also express our love to our fellow beings who have been our own parents at one of time.

Thank you

Dear MOM

Did you know that your only child out of three turns 26 today? On February 5, 1990, when you presented me to the entire world, I might have cried out of some uneasy circumstances but you were the one with great smile looking at me, wished and dreamt about me and had great expectation from me. You carried me in your womb with care for nine months. After birth you protected me from cold and heat, fed me with delicious food and made me grow up. Mom, I am very sorry for I woke you up in the middle of night. I made you to breast-feed in the middle of your works and letting you to wash those old diapers for uncountable times. I made you to upset by crying without any reasons and above all, you had little peaceful moment.

When it is time for me to thank you, you are nowhere to be seen. You left us too early. Did you know when you passed away; we were left like a chicken in a coop waiting for the mother bird to come back with mouth full of worms? When morning star strokes the western horizons, our eyes were full of tears, seeking for your return but in vain. As the time passed by, your younger son and daughter had to follow you. I, your only son out of three, had to face in this earth alone, treading the path less trodden. Mom, I know you had trust and faith on me; believed in me and loved me. You said and wished I become a Doctor and cure all the ailing patients. You also wished that I become an architect, a great teacher who teach values and knowledge to students. Sorry, Mom, I could not fulfill those dreams. Nevertheless, I stand on my own feet with your great prayers and wishes.

I might have done mischievous things in my life, hurt others with harsh words, harmed other living beings unknowingly, and fought and quarreled due to my young blood that boils within a second. Today, I want to apologise my mom and promise that I won’t repeat any more. I am now a grown up and I will do whatever I encounter with the second thoughts. 

Lastly, to the Almighty, protector of sentient beings, I am neither learned nor experienced. I might make mistakes. I sing hymns at heaven’s gate with prayers to bless my Mom. Mom you are always in my heart. You would never cease to be my beloved Mom, even without your physical presence. I shall love you forever.

The Day Already Passed

Winter Season, 25/1/16

It is cold chilly winter,

The trees shed their leaves

Weather is quite cold and freezing

But we never feel the difference.

As soon as the day breaks,

I and playmates rush

In the middle of the woods,

Slip top to bottom on fallen leaves

Whole body dirty as of Tarzan.

Return home starved,

Get scolding from the parents,

And the childhood days passed.

When the season approaches,

Reflection occurs in my head,

The weather again feels no different.

It seems to last forever.

New Year (2016) Resolution

Every human being is born with different fates to do something in life and survive. Depending on one’s own fate everybody earns a living accepting the responsibility gifted by god in their life, believing it is granted and everyone works with dedication. In my case, I accept my life and the profession I am in because working environment and my routine caters to a needy and people in pain come to my place to get cured. My work gives me joy. Everybody is concerned about their own health and whenever they have any little pain and suffering, they come to avail medical services get rid of their pain. The greatest satisfaction of my work comes when I see people smiling and going back cured and all right after they came to hospital feeling unwell.

My ambition from pre-primary to middle secondary grades was to become a doctor to help the patients who come to hospital to get rid of their ailments. I thought doctors are kindhearted with pure heart donning a clean white coat. It is true that we wear white coat in hospital to indicate that health care providers are pure from internal and external without any bias between the patients. All of us are responsible to take care of the patient equally no matter what degree of ailments they come with to at the clinic. A patient has the right to get equal treatments at any medical service they choose and in Bhutan we are lucky to get free medical services. Therefore, such free services has to be utilized meaningfully.

When I reached higher secondary school, my ambition changed because the subjects I took was Mathematics. Mathematics students would not qualify to become a doctor and I had to change my ambition to become an engineer. We have to always aim at sky then only we could reach at least certain level of our life which will give us some satisfaction. Likewise, my aim was big - to become a doctor and an engineer but my karmic deeds and luck didn’t favor me to become what I wanted to be and everything got shattered.

It was a blessing in disguise for me after joining Khesar Gyalpo Universityof Health and Sciences of Bhutan. I got training for two years as a Medical Laboratory Technician and I work in Department of pathology and medical laboratory services. The department plays an important role in medical services as a diagnostic service of the patient’s illness. A patient comes to doctor with clinical signs and symptoms, doctor sends us the patient’s samples to diagnose the accurate pathogens causing the disease. If we are wrong, doctors are wrong and we need to be extra cautious on diagnosing the accurate pathogens.

The patients are reluctant to listen to what we request them to do in sampling their sample and dropping in the laboratory. They drop the inadequate samples and always expect excellent report which is unreasonable. Laboratory services are not robotic that can change the unwanted things into a useful thing. Please make a note that if you throw your waste, what you will see in the waste bin will be rubbish and not a clean thing. Therefore, I urge the patients to submit adequate samples to get accurate and best results. Let us start afresh as the New Year 2016 begins so that we make our works easier and more core competent.

Examining the patient’s sample through microscope gives me immense joy since I could see varieties of pathogens, different sizes, shapes, colour and wonderful environment. Such things cannot be seen by our naked eyes, credit goes to the discoverer who invented it. Looking through the microscope, enjoying in other world, identifying the pathogens, coming back to the real world and writing a report is my normal routine works that always gives me satisfaction at the end of the day.

As the year 2015 ends and the New Year 2016 begins, my resolution for the year would be to be punctual, creating pleasant environment, diagnosing right pathogens and release accurate and competent results to the patients as this profession is my bread and butter.

Thank you!

The life of a Graduate

She is from a very remote place of Bhutan. Her poor family supported with whatever financial resources they could get for her schooling. She studied very well and excelled in her studies and completed her graduate in 2014. In 2014 she appeared RCSC examination but could not qualify for a government job. Her dream was still alive and confidently aimed to make another attempt at the RCSC exams in 2015.

She waited large part of the year waiting for the RCSC examination to be conducted. Her family gave her tuition fee to get coaching from a consultancy firm who had started coaching classes for the graduates sitting for the Bhutan Civil Service Examination. She took up the coaching sessions at the Rigsin Consultancy paying Nu. 6000 for two subjects.

When 2015 RCSC exam came closer, she was well prepared to face the exams. After the exams, she said this year’s exam is quite easy compared to last year’s and that the coaching classes really helped her this year. She said that viva-voce has also gone really well because the panelists were jolly. She said they didn't ask tough questions and they asked her to tell jokes, she told jokes and they all laughed. After the viva-voce over, she was waiting near a school gate with her friend to be picked up by her friend’s mother. The panelists were leaving the exam hall. And when they saw her, they pointed at her and told her that she did the viva-voce really well. She was confused and asked the panelists as to whom they are referring. They told her that she had done the best. She went back home happily thinking that she will get through the exams and get a job this year since the written exams went well and her viva voce was went good as well.

And she was eagerly waiting for the result to be declared. A day before her result declaration, she could not sleep well. She prayed to god for blessings and luck. She could not eat well also. The next day, she woke up early in the morning at 5 o’ clock and started praying. She has not eaten breakfast waiting for the result to be declared. Due to tension, she could not breathe well and she even suffered from sore throat.

At 9.00 am BST, the result was uploaded on the RCSC website. She entered her BCSE registration number and checked her result. It was not what she expected. She hadn’t qualified and her marks were not up to her expectation. She cried out of heartbreak, her tears rolled down uncontrollably from her cheeks. “Why am I so unlucky? Luck didn't favor me this year also. My dream is shattered now, I can’t face anyone. How? When? What job will I get now?” She cried and shouted aloud. I was very sad looking at her condition. She has studied very hard from pre-primary to college to fulfill her dreams, her parent’s dreams, and her family’s dreams but that RCSC exam distorted everything. She said that her viva-voce mark is not satisfactory. She has to get more than that because the panelists have said to her that she has done well. She said that why the panelists said again and again to her of good viva if the mark is given is low. Her friend came out from viva-voce room with red face and said that she has not gone well but when result is out her viva mark is more than her, and she doubts that the panelist has done mistake while marking the marks. If her viva mark is little higher, she would have got through the exam. This year her expectation was to get a pass mark only but it did not happen.

One-day luck really matters a lot in our career and our previous karma too. Her natural ability has really abated. She can’t dream more, she can’t help her parents anymore and I doubt when she will fulfill her dreams.

Scarcity of job opportunities in our country has really spoiled the graduates and youths above all.

A graduate’s life is very haggard! I can’t think of them roaming in the town, going different offices endlessly for interviews. For a single vacancy around 50 plus graduate submit their documents hoping to get a job. And all the vacancies are filled up by the experienced and in-service candidates. After so many attempts and failures, they get restless and aimless. In such a situation many graduates are being spoiled indulging in many unlawful behaviors because our job market scenario has really let them down.

After many years of study, their dreams remain as dreams only. Then they start to indulge in unwanted and often harmful activities. That’s why many people blame on them. Our political parties always pledge to create many jobs opportunities but when they come to power, not many changes can be seen although there is a lot to be done.

Thank you.