TELL TALES

Human brain (or the mind) has unparalled capabilities if trained and used well but it is dangerously tricky and deceptive if left unchecked and untamed.  As powerful and as deceptive our brain is, it is equally fragile. It needs utmost care and maintenance. Excessive drinking can cause severe defect to our brain and even cause death. This story is a personal account of my paternal uncle. Drinking is a huge problem in our village and all single men have had their share of such experiences. This is his near-death experience after years of drinking and the eventual withdrawal symptoms. This is what he has to say: It was back in 2018, I along with my brothers and friends went to pick cordyceps some 7000 meters above sea level at the base of Gangkarpuensum. There were around 30 of us, divided in groups of 7 to 10 people. This wasn't my first rodeo, by this time, I was a well experienced cordyceps picker. However, I have been drinking quite heavily for the past couple of years and seems ...

Buddhists believe in maintaining a positive energy to ward of negativity. When our bodily energy becomes low, Buddhist refer to it as "Wangthang and Lungta nyam ni". This phase of low energy is deemed to be very dangerous and potentially fatal if no proper rituals and mantras are chanted to prevent mishaps.  Anyhow, here is story that happened to a friend of mine back in 2020, right after the COVID- 19 lockdown. Pema (name changed) was 22 years old when she finished her college from Royal Thimphu College in Thimphu. She lived with her parents in a modest 2-bedroom apartment in downtown Thimphu. She is the only daughter of her parents, so they adored her more than anything and she loved them back equally. However, after months of lockdown, Pema got all riled up and depressed. She spent most of her days in her room sleeping and watching movies. The lockdown took a toll on her just like it did on many of us. By the end of lockdown, she was dying to go outside and be with her fri...

Bhutan is a small independent nation, fiercely protected by deities of all magnitude and prowess. Deities hold a special place in the Bhutanese value system and greatly shapes the Bhutanese outlook of life and living. There are many stories and anecdotes of human encounters and experience with deities.  To give you all a little context; I grew up in a little hamlet called Tekarshong, a hilltop village overseeing the whole Jakar valley of Bumthang. Before I got enrolled to the nearby school at 7 years of age. I spent better part of my days with my great paternal grandfather, Mimi Nado.  I have a very fond memory of Mimi Nado. Every night his folk tales would lull me to sleep. One story he told me was about a certain group of people who mistreated the local people and faced the wrath of the deity.  Mimi Nado was a skilled bamboo basket weaver and a highly regarded Champoen or Dance Master of Tamshing Phala Chodpa; an annual festival that takes place in September.  The ...

I never believed in magic. NEVER. Nor rituals. I saw rituals and magics as nothing but complete shenanigans. I was a radical man, a man of science as some call it. I believed in scientific medication but my brother, who is a monk, believed in rituals and mantras.  Our grandpa had been sick for almost a year. Under my guidance, we took him to the best hospital and my brother convinced us to perform all kinds of rituals, grand and modest. Against my will and wish, we also did all sorts of offerings and prayers but nothing seemed to work. We were really desperate help get our grandpa better. On the 16th of February, 2010. My brother dragged me to Tamshing Lhakhang, a 15th century temple located in Jakar, Bumthang. We went to offer prayers and butter lamp in the name of our dying grandpa. We reached the temple quite early during the day but the caretaker was not around. We waited for sometime and after a while, a young boy, about 10 years of age, walked out of the temple, carrying a bi...