Gender Equality

The one of the main issues confronting women and girls today is gender disparity. Gender disparity has come a long way and of course so much has been achieved in the recent years in reducing the gender gaps. Since it is ingrained in our culture and living with it for generations, it is difficult to change all at once. However, it is not something that cannot be changed and that is why great many initiatives are in place to remove the hurdles on the road to gender equality. The gender disparities in Bhutan are very much attributed to lack of gender knowledge and deep-rooted cultural practices. 

Of course, with the establishment of National Commission for Women and Children and other NGOS and CSOs, Bhutan has been continuously supporting the women and girls to create a gender equality society.  

The very first thing is the individual mindset. The societal mindset or the perceptions that men are better than women and women are weaker is one of main deterring factors suppressing women. As a result of this, even if the women come forward themselves, they lack societal support. In this way, many women who are competent and interested to rise up had to stay back home and run the family. Therefore, they become economically dependent on their husbands.

The other thing is lack of knowledge on gender equality amongst general public. This has led to general acceptability of gender biases including by women themselves especially in some remote communities. In some cases, women tend to be inferior in the family due to fear of broken marriages or families, fear of left out alone with nothing since she is dependent on her husband and fear of social stigma. This situation exacerbates the superior nature of husbands and become more dominant and sometimes inflicts violence. These women then become victims of all sorts of violence at home.    

Inadequacy of gender friendly infrastructures is another issue. All public places, public infrastructures and transport system must have adequate gender friendly infrastructures. Each and every workplace must have a system in place to prevent all sorts of violence against women and girls, especially the sexual harassment. There is a need to educate especially women and girls on all forms of violence especially on the violence associated with both physical and online dating relationships.   

Although there are many platforms for women to showcase their talents, it is not easily accessible to many. There has to be many women and girls dedicated platforms, accessible to all like Miss Bhutan pageant, body building, modeling and many more. These platforms not only help them build confidence and competencies, but they also inspire and help other women and girls in overcoming all issues highlighted above. Through such platforms, our women and girls will have the opportunities to participate even at the international level.  

A journey to gender equality society has begun and many of our women and girls have come forward and even proved that nothing is impossible. Although less in numbers, the women and girls have really shown their will and talents. And there shall be no turning back now until the road to gender equality society is paved well for all.

How to Stay Happy– My Personal Elixir

First of all we must know that it is a human phenomenon to be bothered by so many emotions and it’s not just us. We are not alone and that is why we should not try to solve it alone. We may be successful or we may not be but when we are not, that is when we break down completely. That is why it is important to know that everybody goes through these and one day it will be alright too.

Always surround yourself with positivity both inside and out. When I say inside and out, the inner part is our thinking and the outer part is our words and actions. When our life is filled with positivity, every action towards us will be positive. I still remember a lesson from school days that ‘it is always better to tame our inner enemy than trying to confront the outer enemies’. Here, the inner enemy is nothing but our negative thoughts. The moment we think or indulge in negativity, it will never leave us until we overcome such thoughts and actions through positivity. The negative energy will always drain us, it will make us exhausted and the feeling of guilt after that will haunt us. Why do we say sorry? That is to free ourselves of the guilt and be at peace.

When someone hurt us, we immediately try to react with a thought of vengeance, that is a negative energy and the feeling of avenging will not leave us at peace. It will lead to more and more negative thoughts and actions. That is why people say, ‘forgiving someone is to help ourselves to get rid of all the negative thoughts and actions’. Negative thoughts will bring forth negative actions and the positive will bring out positive actions. That’s why we are taught and we believe that ‘our body is the servant of mind’. So, always be positive in thought and action, there will just be a smile on our face always.

Listen and believe in your conscience. You might have noticed that when we are about to do or say something, our inner mind stops and let us give second thought. The involuntary reactions are irrational and sometimes does more harm than saving ourselves. But involuntary functions are very much essential for functioning of some of the vital processes like heartbeat, digestion, breathing, etc.… Sometimes depending on the situation, stop and let your inner mind, your conscience speak to you. When we consciously decide, it is a response and is logical. For example when someone hurts you or inflicts any negative action upon you, do not react, rather respond to it with you clear conscience.

Last but not the least is to live the moment. We know we can’t change the past and the future is uncertain. Thinking of the past and dreaming about the future, we forget to enjoy the moment. When we are not living the moment, all sort of thoughts come in with varying degree of worry and tension. Some will be resentful thoughts, some revengeful, worrying, distressful and many other forms of thinking which drains us both mentally and physically. These thoughts will not let us get a peaceful sleep and will wake up feeling exhausted. And that will hamper the following day. But it is very difficult to not to think. Focused thinking is good to making conscious decisions. The focus thinking is also living the moment.

While there are many ways by which we can live the moment, we have to choose which is easier to do and works for us. For some meditation may work, for some reading good books, listening to soothing music, saying prayers, conscious breathing and many other positive strategies. Different individual adopts different techniques or mix of two or three. For me I practice conscious breathing exercise at least before going to bed and right after I get up. Conscious breathing is easy to do and it can be done anytime and anywhere. I just focus my mind on breathing and to help me focus at least for 3 complete cycles.  Then before going to bed, I thank (whomever you want to) for the successful day. Just say ‘I have done my best and those which I could not accomplish, please erase from my mind, erase all negative energies so that tomorrow I can start afresh’. In the morning thank for being able to wake up and pray for positivity for the following day. I do read books (philosophical) and listen to online soothing music.

Happiness is giving. If you want happiness, make others happy first.          

***THE END***

འཛམ་གླིང་མི་རྟག་པའི་རང་བཞིན།།

འཛམ་གླིང་མི་རྟག་རང་བཞིན་ཨིན། མི་ཚོ་རྟག་པ་མེད་དོ་བཟུམ། སྡུག་བསྔལ་ལུ་ཡང་རྟག་པ་མེད། དགའ་བ་ངང་གིས་བསྒྱུར་དོ་བཟུམ། སྡུག་བསྔལ་དེ་དག་ལས་ཀྱི་བསྒྱུར། རང་ལུ་ཡོད་པའི་སྡུག་བསྔལ་བཟུམ། སྡུག་བསྔལ་མེན་མི་ག་ཡང་མེད། རང་གིས་བལྟན་རང་རྐྱངམ་ཅིག།མྱོང་དོ་བཟུམ་སྦེ་མཐོང་སྡོད་འོང་། རོག་ཕྱི་ལས་དགའ་ས་འཐོང་རུང་། ནང་གི་སྡུག་བསྔལ་རང་མི་ཤེས།

ད་རེས་སྡུག་རུང་ནངས་པ་སྐྱིད།འཛམ་གླིང་བསྒྱུར་བའི་རང་བཞིན་ཨིན། སྡུག་བསྔལ་གོ་མི་ག་ཡང་མེད། ཨིན་རུང་འཁོར་བ་སྡུག་བསྔལ་ཧོད། སྔ་མའི་ལས་ཡང་ཨིམ་བ་བསམ། མི་ཚེ་ནམ་ཤིས་ནུམ་ཤིས་མེད། སྡོད་པའི་རིང་ལུ་དགའ་སྤྲོ་སྟོན། སྒྲུབ་དཀའི་རེ་བ་སྐྱེལ་མི་དགོ། གཞན་ལུ་ཕན་སེམས་བྱམ་རྩེ་སྐྱེལ། ཤ་ཚ་ཧིང་ཚའི་སྒོ་ལས་སྦེ།གཞུང་དང་ཕམ་ལུ་ཞབས་ཏོག་ཞུ།

མནོ་ཚེ་དོན་དག་སྒྲུབ་མི་ཚུགས། ལྷ་ཡིའི་པག་བསམ་ལྗོན་ཤིངན་མེན། སླབ་ཚེ་ཉེན་མི་ག་ཡང་མེད། ཉེན་ཚེ་ཧན་པའི་གཏམ་མི་འོང་།འདི་ཚུ་སྡུག་བསྔལའི་རྒྱུ་ཨིན་མས། རང་ལུ་རྐྱངམ་ཅིག་མྱོངམ་ཡང་མེན། འགྲོ་བ་གེ་ར་ལས་ཀྱི་མྱོང། རང་ལུ་དགའ་མི་གཅིག་འཐོན་ན། མ་ཕབ་རྐྱབ་མི་བརྒྱ་འཐོན་འོང་། མ་ཕབ་རྐྱབ་མི་གཅིག་ཡོད་ན།་དགའ་མི་བརྒྱ་ནང་སྟོང་འཐོན་འོང་། འདི་ཚུ་འཇིག་རྟེན་འགྲོ་ལུགས་ཨིན། སྣང་མེད་རང་གི་མི་ཚེ་སྐྱོང་།

མི་ཚེ་མི་རྟག་མྱུར་དུ་ཟད། སྡོད་རིང་དགའ་སྤྲོའི་ངང་ལུ་སྤྱོད། འདས་པའི་སྡུག་བསྔལ་འབག་མེད་དགོ། མ་འོང་བསམ་འཆར་བཀོད་མེད་དགོ། ད་ལྟོ་མི་ཚེ་སྤྲོ་མཉམ་ལེན། 

མནོ་བསམ་ག་མེད་གུ་མེད་བཏང་། རྟག་མེད་སྡུག་བསྔལ་ཤུགས་ཐད་འདི། བློ་སེམས་འཁྲུལ་འདི་སྡོད་མ་ད། རང་སྲོག་རང་གི་གཅད་མ་དག། ནད་པ་མ་རྟོག་ཕན་པ་མེད། རང་ལུ་བརྩེ་བའི་ཕ་མ་ཡོད། སྤུན་དང་ཆ་རོགས་སློབ་དཔོན་ཡོད། སྡུག་བསྔལ་མི་རྟག་བསམ་འདི་གི། མི་ཚེ་དགའ་སྐྱིད་ངང་ལུ་སྐྱོང་། སྡུག་བསྔལ་རང་གི་སེམས་ལས་འབྱུང་།་དེ་བཞིན་དགའ་བ་སེམས་ཀྱི་བཟོ།

བཀྲིན་ཆེ།

Mass Tree Plantation

On 6th March 2016, Saturday, I joined the nation in planting 108000 tree saplings to mark the birth of Prince of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. In Thimphu, hundreds of people, Excellencies, monastic body, civil servants, students and teachers, army personnel and general public participated in the plantation. The saplings were planted in Kuenselphodrang just below the statue of Buddha Dhordenma.

It began with the prayers for the long life of the prince and the peace and prosperity in Bhutan for all times. A tree was planted by each person and each tree was given a name tag and contact address on it. 

The programme was initiated by the Tendrel Initiatives in collaboration with Department of Forest. Five or Six people will be deployed in the areas to look after the saplings and will contact the person who planted the sapling if it requires proper nourishment through the contact address provided on the name tag. Each person will have to take responsibility in bringing up the tree till it has grown big enough to nourish on its own. 

The tree saplings were planted throughout the nation on the same day and same time. It was even planted by the villagers around their places and  a total of 108000 tree saplings have been planted on that day in Bhutan. 

I planted a pine tree with so much of love and prayers and I hope it grow big and healthy. I will make a visit to my tree and make sure it grow well and not die out. Planting trees help to maintain our clean and green environment. 

Corporal Punishment- A Punishment for Poor?

My definition for poor here is the one 'who doesn't have the courage to go against what has been forced onto them and accepting what is not right because 'if I react, I will be singled out'. People say "are there two laws in the country?" because they feel that the laws are not being implemented equally. Personally I feel the laws are equal for all but there are situations where people are made to feel that it is not equal.

I have heard of the ban of the corporal punishment in Schools but have never seen clearly where it has been mentioned. The law or the executive order stating the ban of corporal punishment in schools might have been implemented in urban schools but in rural areas, the punishment might still be going on unreported and students being the victim always. Myself being one of the victims of such harsh punishment when in school, I do not want to tolerate anymore. Once you are victimized in front of the friends or other teachers, the student is both physically and mentally traumatized. Mental trauma affects the students more than physical. The students get mentally disturbed and at times, they tend to behave abnormally that can lead to even suicidal incidences.

We can't always point out the reason behind the punishment is to bring students to right tract. In the name of correcting the students, there could be some who have been looking for such opportunities to punish that particular student due to some reasons. These reasons could be due to likes and dislikes that we human beings are used to with. Our human mind is not pure and we tend to dislike someone for no reason and like someone. These likes and dislikes developed by our own mind obviously will create favoritism in schools. There are also teachers who tend to point out their favorite students in classes. Those students obviously will at least not suffer such harsh punishment from the teachers to whom they are one of the favorites.

But unfortunately not all pupils are their teacher's favorites. Just a single bad day will have all things been poured upon him/her if he/she is being disliked for some reasons already. I have experienced the trauma. I could not concentrate on my studies, I did not feel like going to school and could not even share to my parents. But somehow my parents have known through some of my friends and were not happy too. Even to this day, I do wonder "was that punishment sensible? Did it really benefit me?". I am very sure it did not help me in any ways, rather it made me more introvert and aggressive. Many different kinds of thoughts pour-in in that state. And people even commit suicide in this stage if they cannot control this traumatic situation. 

So, as far as the quality of education is concerned in our country, the corporal punishment in all schools has to be banned and make the learning environment very conducive for all students irrespective of their family background, so that, they learn what they are intended to. 

***THE END***  

Gadgets; I Am Not Born With

I still remember the times when I along with few other friends used to watch TV through a netted window on our way home from school. We would spend hours enjoying the movie and reach home late talking about the just watched movie along the way. During weekends, I would be very happy and work as fast as I could when my mom say "we will go and watch TV at our neighbor's place after completing all works " and our neighbor's place is about two kilometers away from my home. On weekends, we would spend whole night watching TV even if there is nothing interesting to watch at neighbor's place. We would be ready to do anything just to watch TV. It was then in late 90's. 

As time passed-by, we grew civilized. That was the time we stopped watching TV through windows and rarely went to other's places to watch it. Moreover, we had to study a lot and became more responsible to help our parents after school. When we were in schools, we were for the first time introduced to computer in a computer Lab. Fortunately we used to have one class a week and would feel like magic playing with power point slide transition effects and word arts. We were also threaten by our teacher that we are not supposed to touch anything anywhere and would say, "You can't buy it even if you sell yourself". Frankly speaking, I could not learn anything from that class under such threatening warnings. 

When I was in college, I could hardly put on and shut down the computer. When in college, we used to have three classes a week and learned many basics. I managed just to pass (51 marks) in computer exam when in first semester and 50 was the cut-off point. Three hours computer exam were like in hell for me. I could hardly finish a question in an hour having to look for words on the keyboard and typing with one hand. At one point of time during internal exam, at the last minute, I thought I saved my work but I don't where did I click, I lost all my data, even my lecturer could not retrieve it and to my relief he rated me based on what he has been observing me for last three hours. He told me "I have seen you working". That was like; you know how one would feel. It was in 2010, my friend created a facebook account for me and only then, I started to learn facebook. As time passed by, I learned so easily the facebook and chatting helped me increase my typing speed. Aiding to this, having to submit many typewritten projects and assignments, I improved my typing skills drastically.  

I got my first mobile phone when I completed class 12 in the year 2007. I had to have one because I had to go to college then and I got my laptop when I was preparing for the RCSC in the year 2011. I don't still have a car. 

This was how I got introduced to various gadgets in my life. I really had a tough time moving at par with my other mates. The children at present are born with gadgets. It has become their toys. A year or two old children know more about computers and mobile phones than I had known when I was in college. The present generation is no more interested in TV; they demand ipad, ipod, iphone and many other smart gadgets. They demand car, not a toy car but a real driving car. Since they are born with these gadgets and they grow up with these, they will not face any problems in future and the exposure to outer world is high. These even have side effects if not used properly. If not properly being monitored by parents, there are chances that the children being carried away by these technologies and land up getting nowhere in future. Therefore, it is the parent's duty if the kids are small and it is one's own duty if you are adult enough to use the gadgets effectively and in a productive manner. 

I do not no whether I was lucky or not to have brought up in a gadget free society. However thanks to my parents, teachers and government for having provided me with this wonderful education in life where I am now not worst if not best in using these useful gadgets in day to day life. 

A Dream turned out to be a Nightmare

I am not, not among those who always have a dream to travel abroad, preferably 'Australia' and earn a life changing income. It is not only Bhutanese who wish to change their lifestyle in over 2-3 years, working in the dust in countries like Australia, USA, UK and many more, but there are also people from other parts of the world who share the same vision. People go there to enhance their skills and knowledge but one of the main reasons behind for going abroad is the hope of reaching next level in life when back to Bhutan or in their own country. I have that dream to be frank!

However, my only way to get there is through government scholarships like Endeavor and AUSAID if it is in Australia and NUFFIC if it is in Netherlands and many other scholarships offered by our government and by donor governments. If I have to go on my own like some people who manage to go there, I don't have that means. I appreciate people who manage to go there either through Scholarships or through self.

Taking the advantage of this increasing trend of Bhutanese desiring to go to Australia and other third countries to do job and earn more, some heartless greedy people make a good business out of it colluding with the same-minded people in some other countries cheating the innocent people. When someone is driving a beautiful car, when one is successfully running a shop, when one is peacefully enjoying the monthly income, when someone is happily enjoying the rental income of his/her building and when someone is leading a happy family life, their minds are being disturbed by promising them the surety of working VISA and Job in other countries like Australia. Playing with their minds, these heartless people convinced the innocent which was easier than anything and made him sell his car, made her sell her shop, made him resign from a decent job, made them borrow money from bank, relatives and some even sell their building, land and all their belongings just to pay the fee for the people who falsely promised them with the ready job abroad. Convinced with the process and the faked VISA that they got, some paid full amount (few hundred thousands) but some who are smart enough paid half.  When it was time for them to go to their long wished land and fulfill their burning desires, there came a huge blow right across their face when they came to know that they were actually cheated with a fake VISA and a false promise of job surety abroad. That was the time where their dreams turned out to be a night mare. Some lost their home, wealth and some were even abandoned by their beloved family. 

It is bit of a relief for them because the culprits behind this are under police custody and they have greater chances of getting what they paid them. It is too bad to cheat our own people. People are willing to do anything for the money. Of course, some agents are good and genuinely help people fulfill their dreams. Therefore, it is up to us to choose well the agent whenever we are to approach any agent for assistance. 

I have heard of many such stories of innocent people being hooked up getting nothing after having paid a huge amount. The point 'B' is our destination but how to go about and whom to rely upon to reach our destination is crucial while we are still in point 'A'. When approaching any agent for such assistance, it is very crucial for us to study the accomplishments made by the agent in the past. Study well, do not listen to one or two friends and make decisions hastily. It is not advisable to sell all our assets in order to get there. There are many sad stories of people going abroad and have landed nowhere. If we learn to be happy with what we have, there is nothing happier than this. 

Being a strong believer in Karma, I feel, if we are not supposed to be wealthy in this lifetime by our fate, no matter how much we try, there is no way we become wealthy. Sometimes with the dream of reaching the star, we will lose the tract to reach the mountain.  

"I Dont get Time" - Is it an Excuse?

Many a time we say, "I don't get time, otherwise..." This has become a common thing for everyone just to escape or avoid doing something of not their interest. People often say those who say I do not get time are the ones who are free all the time and the ones who do not do anything productive. Even I feel it is true, people who get time to do anything are the ones who are busy all the time. "I don't get time' is just another way of saying I don't want to do.  

That is not an excuse but a pleasing way to say 'No'. One of the best examples of this is keeping ourselves fit with morning jogging for gym, going for prayers, evening walk, reading, etc...People often say they do not get time to do these things, not because they are occupied all the time doing productive things but just because they don't like doing things. There is always exceptional though. I have read in one of the books that those who say they don't get time to work for their personal development like early morning walk, reading good books and praying are like saying I don't have time to stop the car when all your fuel has been consumed. How much in haste you are, if your car runs out of fuel, you will have to stop by the fuel station. It is also said that people who don't have time for exercises will later have time for illness. 

Therefore, whenever someone says I don't get time, always have a second thought that does he/she really don't have time to do what needs to be done. It should not be the lame excuses just to avoid doing things that could be done otherwise. 

Earth Quake- Conventional Vs Scientific Views

Conventional View

People call it Sayom (literally translated as moving/shaking of the earth) and in local terms people referred to it as Naka (Doesn't mean anything, just a name given by ancestors). It is believed that our world is in the hands of a Giant as it is shown in the picture. The circle called the Sidpa Khorlo or the Circle of Karma represents the six realms of Samsara. From the Buddhist point of view, it is said that this Samsara is divided into six realms and the earth is one of the six realms. When the mild earthquake strikes, it is believed that the Giant holding the six realms of Samara moves one of his body hairs. And if he moves his finger, the intensity of earthquake will be more and if he moves his body, it will be the end of world. It is also believed that during the earthquake, that Giant will be waiting at the doorstep of every household with a sack and whoever moves out first will be put in that sack and will be taken by him (meaning death). Therefore, during the earthquake it is believed that we should not move out at once, we have to throw something out of the door first and then have to move out. People also shout ‘Naka...naka...naka’ in order to drive away that Giant and stop the tremor. Some also believe that we should not shout and rather we have to pray and move out to open space. Some people in different region believe that during the quake, they have to say " sergi kawai dhos dhos" which means 'please support our buildings by the golden pillars' so that the giant will fear and give up thinking that the houses are made of strong golden pillars. But in some region people believe in contrary to this. They believe they should say such words because it would infuriate the Giant and will cause more destruction 

Scientific Views

The science says the world is made of underlying plates which are in a continuous motion. When these plates move and slides each other, certain energy is created which is being sent out as a seismic wave. This wave is being perceived by the world as tremors. The sliding of these plates results in the formation of ridges and valleys. This violent sliding of one plate on other causes the earth to shake and the point at which these plates slide is the epicenter. The Himalayan ranges are formed some millions of years ago due to the collision of Eurasian plate and the Indian plate.

Some earthquakes are also caused by volcanic eruptions. Due to volcanic eruptions, it sends a wave that causes the earth to move in the nearby areas.   

Being Positive Always

Life is full of ups and downs. There are days sometimes when you wake up in the morning feeling dejected, distressed, despaired and feeling like doing nothing the whole day. And there are times when one morning you wake up feeling so relaxed, energized, excited and ready to face anything the following day. This very few moments in the morning define the day for all of us. 

The feelings that we get in the morning is actually conditioned by the state of our mind the night before we went to sleep. Just imagine tomorrow is your birthday or a very special day for you. You will wake up feeling so excited and relaxed the next morning. And if you go to bed with so much worries and stresses, the next morning you wake up exhausted. So it is preconditioned. No matter where your life drags, you should look at it positively. Your car goes through rubble but you are being comforted by the cushion and do not feel the effect. In a similar way you have to cushion yourselves from all those negative things in your life. If you fail, remember, you are a step closer to your success. The successful people get excited with 'NO' in their life because they believe it is their 'Next Opportunity' to prove themselves that they are not what they seemed to be. Every failure in life has to be taken as a lesson and build foundation on it. It is said, wise men learn from their mistakes and the wiser you are if you learn both from your mistakes and the mistake of others. Shiv Khera in his book has mentioned that the only difference between the ordinary people and the extraordinary people is the 'extra'. That extra input that they put in makes them extraordinary. 

As far as possible in life, you have to avoid excuses. Excuses are the deadly trap that entraps you from reaching the success. You would feel you have cheated others giving excuses but you are actually cheating yourselves. Excuses breed mediocrity and mediocre people are always complacent. Complacent people are limited by many things in life and there is no way they are going beyond it. Looking at something positively breeds positive things only. Even the negative things can be changed to positive. If you are being criticized for your work, take it positively. Learn from it rather than confronting it. It means there is a room for improvement and prove your strengths. If you have lost something valuable, rather than repenting over and blaming self or others, try to be calm and look for a solution. Stop blaming each other because it will not help, it only creates disharmony. Even if you can’t find it and there is no other way you can find it, accept that it is lost and do not curse anyone because it never helps. Rather, pray that let it be useful for someone and give happiness to anyone who uses it. If you feel this way, there is no way you can keep on thinking about it, haunting you.  

So, even if you wake up full of worries and anxieties, calm down, go for a walk, get energized, reading some inspirational books, breathe deeply and make your mind still. Think nothing for few moments. Be in 'Now' state, not in future and not in past. That will help you boost your energy and you will have many options to tackle whatever situation you encounter. Maintain the positivity in you; never get too excited when everything goes well because you can't take the feelings when something goes wrong. The first few hours of your day right after you get up is very crucial. Start up with something positive like going for walk, reading some inspirational quotes/books and some mindful breathing exercises. It helps set up your day bright. I always remember this quotation by Shiv Khera, "Winners don't to different things, they do things differently".       

WHY DO WE EAT? Do we Eat to Live or Live to Eat?

If we had no stomach, will we be working still? I had this question since I was a little boy looking after the cattle with a torn notebook in hand. Actually was herding cattle and at the same time preparing for the exams. This was the only help I could render to my parents. I was then in class two.

One day when I was with my daily chores of looking after the cattle, an elderly man came by. He was carrying a bunch of firewood on his back. I know him very well, a jolly person, worthy to spend time with; he is a friendly neighbor. A locally brewed wine is his favorite. I always used to give him a cup or two without even my parent’s consent. That is why he always come to me and share all the skills and experiences he had as an army personnel some twenty years ago. He sat beside me with a long “whoosh of breathe”. I helped him rest his firewood stably on the little slope so that it would be easier for him to lift it latter. “Have to bear the hardships because of this stomach” he spoke in a tone that was regretful placing his hands on his stomach. I smiled. He was really tired; I offered him whey that I was carrying in my bag. After having rested for sometimes, I tied my cattle, two of them and a calf. I helped the man get up with his firewood and walked with him to my house. I knew what he was expecting. My parents were out for works at neighbor’s place and it was easier for me to offer his favorite quenching brand. I looked for it but all bottles were empty. I felt it would upset him. I opened the jar and sieved out a cup of alcoholic liquid, locally termed as ‘singchhang’ and offered him apologetically for not having local wine. He gulped at once and warned me if my parent knows about it. He also taught me an idea to add some water into it so that it will be unnoticed by them. I did it like he said and lidded tightly. He went with a smile on his face and I went back to untie my cattle and herd them.

That night his statement ran all over my nerves. I questioned myself, why do I study? Why do I look after cattle? Why do my parents work so hard in sun and rain? Why do neighbors fight over boundaries? Why everybody is busy morning till evening? And many such questions. That is where I started to think “If we had no stomach, will we be working still?” The man that I met earlier that afternoon was very much aware of it. But now when I think back about this statement, having learnt a bit of science, if there had been no stomach, none of our body parts would have been functional as stomach is the main organ that digest and distribute food to various other organs to function properly. Stomach is necessary and every sentient beings work hard to get this organ filled up before going to sleep. If we just narrow our thinking that we work to earn food and we eat food to work to earn a food again, there is no purpose in life. I once read a book that states ‘the purpose of life is life of purpose’ so we need to have purpose in life. If we have the purpose, we will have many other reasons to live and many other reasons to eat. Not just eat to live and live to eat. We have to eat to live and when we live because we eat, we have to fulfill the purpose. So it becomes ‘eat to live to fulfill the purpose of life’.

From the religious point of view; we are taught that we have to eat only to gain the energy to practice Dharma. The purpose of Dharma practitioner is to liberate all sentient beings from the oceans of suffering, the ‘Samsara’. The Dharma practitioner like great Yogi Jetsun Milerepa survived on a single meal of nettle plant broth a day. Lord Buddha meditated feeding on a single grain a day for six years just to attain the enlightenment and help liberate other beings. If we have that purpose in life, we will eat bearing in mind that, ‘I am eating just to gain enough energy to fulfill my purpose’. That is a mindful eating. Eating with mindfulness gives the adequate energy that is required by our body. Science says we have to chew twenty four times before we swallow just to grind it well. This is as good as mindful eating. If we eat mindfully, there will not be any cases of diabetes or other lifestyle related diseases. Being mindful helps us to focus at our purposes, it helps us to eat with compassion, it makes us thank for the joy that we get out of eating and the most importantly it let us know the purpose of eating.

Human beings do not make own food. We depend on other living beings for food. So we have to be thankful to them. Once I was in my friend’s house and he has cooked some sweet potatoes. I took a bite and enjoyed the sweetness of it. “Indeed it is a miracle that the plants can make a sugary taste themselves” he said with a look of confusion. And now we get to taste that sweetness, we have to be thankful for the joy that they are able to provide us. We have to be compassionate while eating because our food cost a life of other living beings. Eat with good purpose, the ultimate thing. So eat not for the taste, eat to gain energy and that energy should be used to fulfill the good purpose in life. We should not live to eat, live for the purpose and eat as a tool to reach that purpose. I eat to live with purpose and live to get my purpose done. 

The man that I met that afternoon passed away in the year 2011 when I was in 2nd year in college. It was sad to know but he has lived his life with a purpose. He reared all his seven children and they are now of their own.       

***THE END***          

What Can Science Say?

Disintegration of Body 

When the great Buddhist masters die they know before hand and they go into meditation and we never know when exactly they pass away. They die in the meditation position and if no one disturbs them, their body disintegrates into air. If someone disturbs them before they disintegrate fully, their body will have shrunk and become small. What can science say about this peaceful passing away of great masters in meditative state and finally disintegrating?

Phowa Meditation

The great Buddhist masters can perform phowa meditation, a meditation which can directly lead them to heaven (Zangdopelri). With the help of this meditation, they can also liberate others from sufferings. The Buddhist practitioners also learn this mediation and there are stories of successful accomplishments. There are also stories that, while doing a phowa meditation under the guidance of perfect teacher, the grass (tsa khusha) that they keep in the middle of their head moves into the head which is a sign of successful phowa meditation. What can science say about this meditation?

Terdag or Shaman

It is a practice in Bhutan from time immemorial but is slowly fading away now. When someone is very ill, in earlier days they often use to perform Terdag. It is a kind of ritual a man performs who is believed to have been possessed by some deities. He performs fiercely and his acts are usually abnormal. There are stories of even stabbing himself and nothing happens to him. He can also drink the boiled oil and nothing happens to him. He can speak any language which he doesn't know otherwise. Once the ritual is over, he remembers nothing about his act. What can science say about this ritual?

Reincarnation

Some great master when they pass away, they are reincarnated as young generation. Some can even predict where will they be born in next life. When they are born, they can tell the whole story of their previous life and most amazingly they can even identify their own belongings in the previous life. When these great masters are reincarnated, they are being known by some other great masters and are identified as so and so tulku (reincarnation of great master). What can science say about this ability? 

Black Magic

It was really famous in olden ways, even today, it is believed by many. People say it is hereditary. The person who performs black magic kills someone whom he/she wishes to kill. When people are sick, they go to astrologer to seek help. The astrologer tells them, someone has performed black magic towards them and it has reached the final stage, so it has to be removed at the earliest. There are also stories when this black magic papers have been removed with the help of astrologer, the paper moves when it is held tightly with our hands. When this paper has been removed and burnt, the person becomes alright. What has science got to say about this Black magic?

Ngoenshey or clairvoyance 

Some great Buddhist masters can tell what is beyond the mighty mountains and can also predict the future. Some can even tell someone's past lives and his/her future lives. What can science say about this power of clairvoyance?

  

Delog or life after death 

Some women especially who are locally known as Delog are considered dakinis in villages. On the auspicious day, these Delogs passes away and after few hours they revive. There are also stories where some can even stay up to a week without breathing. Once they are awake, they tell stories to the people who have gathered there to come to listen to her. She tells stories of hell and how the people are suffering in hell. She also brings messages from the person who has died long ago to be delivered to his relatives in this world. After that, she led a normal life. What can science say about the life of such women?

There are many facts in Buddhism which are still left as unsolved mysteries. But we cannot undermine the power of science. There will be a time when science will have all the answers to these and many other unsolved mysteries.