October 2008 – BIIB Blog

Bhutan Prepares for Historic Coronation of the Fifth King

29 October, 2008 – It is the end – and the beginning – of history. On the morning of November 1, the third day of the ninth Bhutanese month, His Majesty the King will be empowered as the Druk Gyalpo in a unique and sacred empowerment ceremony, which symbolises his transcendence of the ordinary and the temporal and the personification of divine wisdom.

His Majesty will receive the Dar Na-Nga, a special arrangement of the primary colours that signify the five elements. The ceremony will take place in the Machhen Lhakhang, and the Dar Na-Nga will be symbolically conferred by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, in the presence of the fourth Druk Gyalpo, with the empowerment prayer chanted by His Holiness the Je Khenpo.

The white, yellow, red, green, and blue silk scarves represent the elements – water, earth, fire, wind, and space – the basis of physical existence, that His Majesty personifies, as well as the underlying energies from which the physical world arises.

In Buddhist belief, the empowerment of the Druk Gyalpo mandates that he assumes the strategies of the Gewa Rigna (five Buddha families) – that of pacification, increase, magnification, power, and a combination of all.
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Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria Announced

A coalition of environmental organizations and travel businesses is forming a global sustainability standard for tourism.

More travelers are desiring sustainable vacations and more destinations are seeking to lessen the impacts of rising visitor numbers. But tourists who want to leave a lighter footprint must currently choose among some 300 different sustainable tourism standards, members of the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria said Monday at the launch of their criteria at the World Conservation Union (IUCN) World Congress in Barcelona. Continue reading Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria Announced

Where Conservation and Recreation Come Together

Forestry division provides a space for people to keep in touch with nature

A mix of rugged terrain and manicured oases in the middle of a forest, the royal botanical park is a hub of exotic plants, birds and an unique recreational site. This natural beauty, that encompasses about 47 sq km, is located at an altitude of 2,800 m.

The royal botanical park was built to preserve the existing rich biodiversity within the Sinchula-Dochula-Helela zone under Thimphu and Punakha districts.

“This area is rich in biodiversity, both in flora and fauna, and the main objective is to conserve them and provide a recreational area for the people,” said the assistant forestry officer, Tshering Phuntsho. He said that the area was degrading as it was used to collect firewood and other forest resources. Continue reading Where Conservation and Recreation Come Together

Meeting MDG Goals – The Challenges Before Bhutan

Although on track to achieve the millennium development goals’ (MDGs) health targets, Bhutan is challenged with low levels of skilled birth attendance.

“Bhutan’s skilled birth attendance, which is 56 percent, is a critical challenge,” said a WHO representative during the high-level consultation held in Ahmedabad, India, to accelerate progress towards achieving maternal and child health (MNCH) – goals 4 and 5 of the MDGs. Continue reading Meeting MDG Goals – The Challenges Before Bhutan

Graduates’ program graced by His Majesty

“What GNH means will never change but how we achieve GNH will.”

25 October, 2008 – “We would be starting our career and ending it together. We will see each other grow old over time. But more importantly, we will see each other become wiser, more capable, more intelligent, and we will see each other serve our country well.”

Addressing the over 1,220 centennial graduates on October 22, His Majesty the King said, “If the country does well we all stand to benefit. If it doesn’t we will suffer equally. We share the same destiny.”

His Majesty reminded the graduates about national goals and asked, “Why do we want a strong economy? Why do we want to preserve our culture and tradition and to protect our environment? Why did our forefathers work so hard and achieve so much? In the end it is for lasting peace, stability, and tranquillity of our country and the unity, harmony, and well being of our people.”

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The Role of Buddhist Scholars in Promoting Gross National Happiness

One hundred and eleven monks and nuns of the Gangteng Buddhist institute were awarded certificates of three levels of qualification by the Prime Minister, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley, on October 11.

35 scholars obtained degrees in Master of Arts (Achariya) in Buddhist philosophy, 33 got Bachelor of Arts (Shastri) in Buddhist philosophy, while 43 students, including 11 nuns, completed Madhiyamika course (diploma) on language and Buddhist philosophy. Nuns, who completed tertiary education (class XII) from Pema Shedrup Choki Gatshel nunnery in Tang, Bumthang were the first batch. Continue reading The Role of Buddhist Scholars in Promoting Gross National Happiness

Semtokha Dzong: History Lives On

FIRST BUILT TO LAST – Semtokha Dzong, restored and consecrated

If walls could speak the Semtokha Dzong would tell fascinating stories of the days when the Bhutanese polity was established, when fact and mythology merged to form Bhutanese history.

On October 14, His Majesty the King, His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo, the royal family, Bhutanese and international dignitaries, and the people of Thimphu, attended a simple and profoundly spiritual ceremony to consecrate the restored dzong.

The ceremony was conducted by His Holiness the Je Khenpo, invoking the blessings and essence of the wisdom of dragmar, dedicated to the wrathful form of Guru Lohita Rudra. Continue reading Semtokha Dzong: History Lives On

Lifestyle Diseases Double Risk of Kidney Failure

The number of patients on dialysis has more than quadrupled over the last decade

Diabetes and hypertension will become two of the major causes of kidney failure in Bhutan within the next ten years, say doctors. In developing countries like Bhutan today, infection however is still the major cause of kidney damage. But the rise of non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension has doubled the risk.

“If hypertension and diabetes are not tackled, they’ll lead to kidney failure,” said medical specialist and dialysis physician at the Thimphu referral hospital, Dr Tashi Wangdi. He said that about 60 percent of diabetics are likely to suffer from kidney failure.

When the dialysis unit opened in Thimphu in 1998, there were only eight patients. Today, there are about 36 patients on dialysis. Dialysis is a process, which filters the blood of its toxic waste. Continue reading Lifestyle Diseases Double Risk of Kidney Failure

Taiwan’s TITV Weekly Reports on Bhutan

Since September, TITV Weekly, Taiwan’s first indigenous and budding broadcast news program in English, has been doing a special report on “one of the happiest countries on the world, Bhutan.” The report is a series of TV broadcasts introducing “Bhutan’s culture, education, tourism, and a new, modernized Bhutan.”

Preservation of Bhutanese Culture

Click below for more videos
Continue reading Taiwan’s TITV Weekly Reports on Bhutan

Community Forest – Sowing the seeds of GNH

100th Community Forest handed over to Limbu people as part of centenary celebrations

9 October, 2008 – The social forestry division under the agriculture ministry handed over the 100th community forest on October 6 as part of the celebrations of 100 years of Monarchy in Bhutan.

The 100th community forest, Woongbab community forest, was handed over in Thimphu to the management group of Limbu gewog, Punakha.

Agriculture minister, Lyonpo Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, said that giving an opportunity for local communities to participate in decision making and management of resources was the only policy that promotes all four pillars of Gross National Happiness. Continue reading Community Forest – Sowing the seeds of GNH