Traversing the Kingdom of Bhutan [Part 2]

December 1, 2024

Imagine a place with giant mountains covered in evergreens, beautiful valleys, temples and statues. Well, that's Bhutan. Bhutan also has a national religion, which is uncommon for most countries. Buddhism is the main religion in this beautiful country, and it has many stunning sights and interesting stories that I want to share with you.

Before I talk about the religion here in Bhutan I want to explain some other things about this country. Bhutan has a very high elevation compared to other countries I have been to. So, I experienced the wonderful adventure of elevation sickness, and I woke up dizzy at 5.00 on our first day. Also on this day, we saw traditional dances. One of them was a yak dance. Watch and see what happened!

The country also has amazing scenery, and the view from some of our
hotels has been stunning. The animals up here are also cool as well, and this was a great place for seeing some new creatures. The national animal of Bhutan is a takin, which is closely related to goats, but in Buddhist mythology it’s represented as a goat's head reattached to a cow’s body. We've also seen a lot of yaks here which are related to cows but are bigger, more furry and larger horns. We also saw deer, sheep, birds, and cows.

The actual religion here in Bhutan is also interesting, as well. There are
many statues of the Buddha. People believe that the Buddha was a human
being, not a god. And he was somebody who attained enlightenment and
deep understanding of self and life. He was born a prince, but he gave up
all his wealth and meditated and found enlightenment. He then passed on
what he learned to others and hence started the religion Buddhism.
Buddhists believe that attachment to things can lead to suffering. This
is also a rule for the Jedi code in Star Wars.   

Another belief in the Buddhist religion is that they believe in reincarnation. Reincarnation means that you have multiple lives and that you could be reborn as someone or something else. They also believe in good and bad karma. That means if you do something bad something bad happens to you and if you do something
good something good happens to you.

I think that Buddhism is a very interesting religion. The people in Bhutan have a very different relationship with religion than the U.S.A. Buddhism is a much bigger part of everyday life than much of the U.S. In the U.S there aren't many statues to Christianity or any other religion, but in Bhutan there were statues of the Buddha everywhere. We saw a lot of kids my age or younger who were monks. Monks follow a strict set of rules such as giving up luxuries and romantic relationships. I think that the religion was quite interesting and I loved learning about it and I recommend you do, too. Although I find this religion interesting, I wouldn't want to live like a monk because it requires patience, something I don't have. But I respect the people who do have patience for this type of thing.

We also went to the Tiger's Nest, which is a group of temples on a mountain. It's called the Tiger's Nest because, according to legend, somebody rode a tiger to the top. To get there it's a 4-hour elevated hike, 2 hours up and 2 hours down (on average). But we beat that average by doing the hike in only about 3 hours. At the top there were monks praying and handing out offerings. The view from the top of the Tiger's Nest was also beautiful. We could see more mountains and villages below. I liked hiking the Tiger's Nest. I thought it was something very special and out of the ordinary.

We also did archery at a farmhouse. I did pretty good, but Mom didn’t do so well. Watch the video of me becoming Robin Hood in archery!

Having a trip with just my Mom and I was really nice. It was very quiet and peaceful without my siblings and I loved having some quality time just the two of us. Bhutan was a very calm and peaceful country, almost seeming isolated from the rest of the world. I loved going to Bhutan and someday maybe I will even go back to this beautiful country.

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Jonah