Highlights of Dasho Karma Tshiteem’s lecture at 39th Batch Accelerated Desup Integrated Training Programme at Samtse College of Education, 13/05/2020

“What we need is not a leader to lead the masses- we need leadership of self” His Majesty the King.

Anything we do in our life, the starting point is self. Self-mastery is important. Know thyself.

Mind matters most as said by Lord Buddha.

When you do not know your mind, this stage is like Autopilot traits. Our attention is in the past or future. We are distracted. We are reactive or judgmental. We act based on our habit. Therefore we are slaves of our own mind and not the master of our mind.

Now how to get off autopilot?

We can get off autopilot by:

1. Mindfulness:

Mindfulness in simple means being in present. We can cultivate mindfulness by paying attention to what’s happening in the present moment. Our focus should be in the mind, body and external environment. We should be mindful with an attitude of curiosity and kindness.

Real wealth of life is wealth of experience.

During mindfulness, your mind will be like snow globe-calm, clarified and happy. Research has found out that six thousands thoughts goes in our mind every day. Therefore mindfulness is critical. Now how to cultivate mindfulness? We can cultivate mindfulness by practicing meditation. Mind can imagine the universe. Mindfulness is important. All the members of Parliament in UK goes for meditation class.  According to Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, the meditation is focused attention that is returning our attention to a single point. You should practice two minutes dedicated and integrated meditation every day.

2. Journaling: Another way to get off autopilot is by journaling.

How does your mind work?

Lord Buddha said that our mind has four parts. The four parts of mind are consciousness which leads perception. Perception leads to sensation which results in action.

This can be explained by Thought Model.  

                         Figure 1. Thought Model (Castillo, n.d)

Thought model has five parts. Circumstances – independent things which we cannot control. For example, Weather. Circumstances triggers thought. Feeling is caused by thought. Feeling leads to action. Action creates result.

Reference

Karma Tshiteem (2020). Leadership of the self. 39th Batch Accelerated Desup Integrated Training Programme at Samtse College of Education.

Ethics

A story shared by Shiv Khera-author of the best international seller YOU CAN WIN. Everyone is a salesperson for their company or the country. A case in point- we have an office in Singapore. I gave a taxi driver a businese card to take me to a particular address. When we arrived, the meter read $11. I pulled out $ 11 but he took only $ 10. I asked, ‘Henry, your metwr reads $ 11. How come you are only taking $10?

He replied, ‘sir, as a taxi driver I am supposed to bring you striaght to your destination. Since I didn’t know the last spot, I had to circle around the building. Had I brought you straight here, the meter would have read $10′.

What he said thereafter touched me the most. He said,’Legally, I can claim $11, but ethically I am entitled only to $10‘. He then added, ‘I am not a taxi driver; I am an ambassador of Singapore without a diplomatic passport.’

When a tourist comes into a country after clearing immigation and customs, the first person he usually meets is a taxi driver. If the first experience of the visitor with the taxi driver is unpleasant, the balance of the stay may not be very pleasant either. When this taxi driver was saying in unsaid words was very profound. ‘I am diplomat of Singapore without a diplomatic passpord.’ He demonstrated, through his actions, pride in himself, his profession nd the nation. As far as I am concerned, Henry could qualify to be visiting faculty to give a lesson on ethics at any leading university in the world.

FROM A BOOK YOU CAN SELL BY SAME BY SHIV KHERA(2014).

Enlightenment according to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Enlightenment is the very core of our being; going into the core of our self and living our life from there. We all came into this world gifted with innocence, but gradually, as we became more intelligent, we lost our innocence. We were born with silence, and as we grew up, we lost the silence and we filled with words. We lived in our hearts, and as time passed, we move into our heads. Now the reversal of this journey is enlightenment. It is the journey from head back to the heart, from words back to silence; getting back to our innocence in spite of intelligence. Although very simple, this is a great achievement. Knowledge should lead you to that beautiful point of ‘I don’t know’.

Enlightenment is that state of being that is mature and unshakable by any circumstance. Come what may, nothing can rob the smile from your heart. Not identifying with limited boundaries and feeling ‘all that exists in this universe belongs to me’, this is enlightenment. Enlightenment is a state of being so mature as to be unshakable by any circumstance. Un-enlightenment is easy to define. It is limiting yourself by saying, ‘I belong to this particular place’, or ‘I am from that culture’. It’s like children saying, ‘My dad is better than your dad’, or ‘My toy is better than your toy’. Just the toys has changed. Adults say, ‘My country is better than your country.’ A Christian will say, ‘The Bible is truth,’ a Hindu will say, ‘The Vedas are truth. They are more ancient.’ Muslims will say, ‘The Korans is the last word on God.’ We attribute glory to something just because we are from that culture, not for what it is. If one could take credit for all that exists throughout the ages and feels as though ‘it belongs to me’, then that is maturity.

The whole evolution of man is from being somebody to being nobody, and from being nobody to being everybody. Have you observed that young children have the sense of belonging, that oneness, that innocence? As we grow up we lose that innocence and become more cunning. The innocence of an ignorant man has no value, and the cunning of an intelligent man also has no value. Enlightenment is a rare combination of innocence and intelligence, with words to express and, at the same time, being silent.

From The Guru of Joy: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and The Art of Living by Francois Gautier.

Positive Thinking

Thinking positively helps you get the best out of life. The first step in making your life more positive is to become aware of your feeling, thoughts and beliefs. Positive people achieve more, stay healthier, and have better relationship than negative thinkers. Positive thinking is about more than the thoughts that you have. Its an entire approach to life. It means focusinv on the positives in any situation rather than the negatives. Positive thinking means keeping sufficiently balanced in your awareness of your problems to stay motivated, able to take action, and feel good about what you are doing. The more aware you are of emtional signals, the more you will be able to move your feelings from negative to positive. The chinese word for problem also means opportunity. The lesson here is to challenge negative thoughts by looking for the opportunity that lies within a problem. Train yourself to look for a a silver linning, even in small difficulties.

From Quilliam, S. (2003). Positive Thinking.Great Britian: Dorling Kindersley Limited.

The Caste system in India

Once upon a time, the caste system was a remarkable set-up. As many sages have pointed out, caste system was originally an arrangement for the distribution of functions in society, just as much as class in Europe, but the principle on which this distribution was based was peculiar to India. A Brahmin was a Brahmin not by mere birth, but because he discharged the duty of preserving the spiritual and intellectual elevation of the race, and he had to cultivate the spiritual temperament and acquire the spiritual training, which alone would qualify him for the task. And so it was for the Kshatriya(Warrior), who defended his country, the Vaishya(trader or businessman), who gave it prosperity, and the Shudra, who discharged the humbler tasks without which the other castes could not perform their share of labour for the common good. Nevertheless, as Sri Aurobindo pointed out, “the spirot pf caste arrogance, exclusiveness and superiority came to dominate it insteaf of the spirit of duty.”

From Gautier, F. (2010). The guru of joy: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living. India: Thomson Press.

The Memorial Chorten in Thimphu.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MEMORIAL CHORTEN IN THIMPHU BHUTAN~ Courtesy of Tenzin Dorji ( Taken from his FB Page Post) .

Side note ~ Please share this as much as possible in order to understand the history. Many people who Visit the Stupa are not aware of it especially our own Bhutanese people .
Thank you.

The Memorial chorten in Thimphu Bhutan was built in honor of third Druk Gyalpo( Third Dragon King).

The entire project was completed in 1972. It took about two and half years under the careful supervision of Dungsey Thinley Norbu Rinpoche.
Lama Sonam Zangpo, the accomplished master took responsibility of offering zungs and he was fully dedicated to the preparation of zungs for more than a hundred of the newly built statues contained in the stupa.All of the wall paintings were completed by lopen Ugyen Lhendup, the most regarded Thangka painter at the time, along with associates friends. The clay statues were made by statue master lopen Palden and Damche from Hephu Gonpa in Paro and lopen Omtong from Bidung in Trashigang.
After completion of the project, the consecration prayer was conducted by HH Dudjom Jigdrel Yeshey Dorje along with many accomplished masters, in the presence of royal family members and high officials. It is told, at the time when HH Dudjom rinpoche began the recitation of prayers to expel negative forces, a flame suddenly appeared from the main altar and exited via the west entrance of the stupa. Everyone present was shocked and some even screamed upon seeing the flame as they thought the stupa had somehow caught fire from the electrical circuits.
The Home Minister, Lyonpo Tamzhing Jagar, suddenly stood up and ordered the electricians and other officials from the power division to check and maintain or repair the circuits immediately. But following the through investigation of the electrical sockets and points, they found nothing.
The people present reported that the five colors of flame seemed to exist the west entrance, but HH Dudjom rinpoche remained very relaxed all the while and looked at the people with a gentle smile as if to assure them that there was no danger and that this was only a sign of expelling the negative spirits. Finally, everyone calmed down and the incident generated even more devotion toward HH Dudjom Rinpoche. They understood and recognized that this was all response to Rinpoche ‘s power.
At another point when HH and other ritual performers were purifying the stupa, they sprinkled sacred saffron water from a holy vase and received a rain of flowers falling gently from a rainbow arching above the stupa. When they began invoking the Buddhas and Boddhisattvas in order to bless the newly built stupa, the fragrance of perfume filled the entire surrounds of the stupa and permeated the interior space as well.
The miraculous rainbow encircled the sun all day long. Some devotees even said that the sun, moon and stars were visible in the sky-all at the same time, which is very unusual.
The stupa had been blessed with many auspicious signs due to the power of HH Dudjom Rinpoches’ prayer. The zungs inscriptions were perfectly placed inside the stupa in accordance with the instructions given in the religious texts and executed by the accomplished masters like Lama Sonam Zangpo and other tantric masters.
It is said that the Memorial Chorten is only stupa built in the whole Himalayan Region which contains three different tutelary deities including the deities of mind Gongdue, Kagyed, and the Vajrakila deities. The construction design was based on the spiritual treasures described in the Vajrakila section of a terma reveled by Tragthung Dudjom lingpa in the 19th century.

Boss and the driver’s relationship

Zavere Poonawala is a well-known Parsi industrialist from Pune. Ganga Datt was his driver for thirty years and one fine day passed away. At the time of demise, Mr. Poonawala was in Mumbai attending some official work. As soon as he heard the news of his diver’s death, he cancelled all his meetings, requested the driver’s family to wait for him for the cremation, and rushed to Pune by a helicopter. On reaching Pune, he asked the limo to decorated with flowers as he wished Ganga Datt should be taken in the same car, which he drove for thirty years. When Ganga Datt’s family agreed to his wishes, he himself drove Ganga Datt from his home up to the ghat (funeral place on the banks of river) on his last journey. When asked about the his gesture, Mr Poonawala replied that Ganha Datt had served him day and night ,and the least he could do is to be eternally grateful to him. He further added that Ganga Datt rose from the poverty and educated both his children very well.His says that we should always be grateful to those people who contributed to our success.

His Majesty’s Address to the Nation on 10th April, 2020.

Translation of His Majesty’s Address to the Nation, 10th April 2020

The world is faced with an unprecedented challenge due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The risks unleashed by this pandemic are escalating by the day. Realising that Bhutan will not be an exception to the adverse effects of this global pandemic, we have planned and implemented various strategies to cope with the threat in a timely and effective manner.

Adopting a cautious approach, Bhutan stopped the entry of tourists to prevent the virus from entering the country. We have quarantined every Bhutanese returning home for 3 weeks to eliminate all possible risks of local transmission. Given the vulnerabilities arising from unchecked movement of people along our long and porous borders, we have also sealed the borders and enhanced vigilance.

It is inevitable that such measures will have an adverse impact on the lives of our people. For example, businesses of small shopkeepers have declined, and the tourism and hospitality sector is at a standstill in the absence of tourists. Similarly the future prospects of people working in other sectors such as construction, mining, transport, etc., are uncertain.

During my recent visits to the Dzongkhags, I was deeply moved to see the solidarity and support shown by our people despite the numerous difficulties they face. For example, our farmers in the rural areas came forward to offer their farm produce to the armed forces and Desuups as an expression of appreciation for their selfless services. Contractors have offered their trucks and machineries free of charge. Although many businesses are in debt and likely to suffer, they have made cash contributions. Yet others, like taxi drivers, have offered their vehicles and also volunteered to serve physically if they are needed. Similarly, hotels have offered their properties and services as quarantine facilities.

The response of our people in these difficult times has revealed, firstly, that our people are well-informed and understand clearly the devastating impact of an outbreak in our country.

Secondly, I was deeply reassured to see that our people fully appreciate the value of unity, and the spirit of fidelity and harmony. If we – the King, government, and people, work together like members of one family, we can emerge unscathed from any adversity that we may encounter.

That our people from all backgrounds are ready to make personal sacrifices, despite facing difficulties themselves, shows that they place the interest of the nation above all else. I will forever appreciate the unwavering support of our people during this ordeal.

The government, led by the Prime Minister, has successfully shouldered its responsibilities. In particular, I commend the Ministry of Health and the numerous health personnel across the 20 Dzongkhags for their tireless service during this time of need.

Our public servants working in various ministries and departments in Thimphu, and in the Dzongkhags, Dungkhags, Thromdes, Gewogs and villages – are all rendering exceptional service to the nation in these trying times. I would like to extend my deep appreciation to all of you, for working round the clock and shouldering your responsibilities in an exemplary manner. I urge you to remain alert and keep up your efforts.

As long as the virus continues to spread across the world, there is every risk of the transmission of coronavirus in our country. To be totally successful in preventing local transmission, we can neither be complacent, nor can we let our guard down.

The reckless action of a single person who clandestinely crosses the border for trade, or to meet acquaintances, or to bring someone to Bhutan, risks spreading the coronavirus in their community and in the country. It will completely undermine all our national efforts. Therefore, to be 100 percent successful in our fight against the coronavirus, it will require the unstinted cooperation of each and every person.

Ensuring national security is of paramount importance, especially in these uncertain times. With no definite medical solution in sight, we are not sure how long it will be before normalcy can resume. Our health professionals, armed forces and Desuups, along with the public, are serving to the best of their abilities. However, if the situation prolongs, it is certain that fatigue will eventually set in. To supplement their efforts, we have instituted an accelerated Desuung programme to train 2,500 Desuups simultaneously at seven centres, which will be followed by another batch of 2,500 Desuups. We have made preparations to train more Desuups if necessary.

One of our biggest concerns is the burden on the economy arising from the measures imposed to control the transmission of the virus. I am also deeply worried about the impact the global economic downturn will have on our country and the lives of our people. Besides health concerns, our people are now worried about the loss of jobs and income, and the wellbeing of their families.

Under ordinary circumstances, we have always exercised extreme prudence and carefully weighed the costs and benefits of every expenditure, to ensure the most judicious use of our limited resources while constantly keeping the long term interest of the nation at heart.

However, the situation we are in today is extraordinary, and unlike any we have experienced thus far. We are confronted with a dangerous global pandemic of an unprecedented scale posing an imminent threat to our people. Therefore, building the resilience, confidence and security of our people must take greater priority over conserving our resources.

With the risks posed by coronavirus confounded by the economic uncertainties, the resilience of our people may also gradually diminish. Moving forward, it is imperative for the King, government, and the people to join hands and work together so that our people are inspired and ready to face this adversity with fearless courage.

The State on its part must immediately provide its resolute support to the people to pursue this paramount national objective.

With this in mind, a team of specialists has been assigned to work with and support the government to establish a National Resilience Fund. The Fund amounting to about Nu. 30 billion will be deployed to finance various economic activities to provide relief and economic stability.

The government has formulated numerous plans, policies, and strategies to fast track the implementation of the 12th Five Year Plan. This includes the plan to front load investments and provide stimulus to boost growth and enhance economic activities for the wellbeing of our people.

One of the biggest concerns of our people and businesses is the difficulty they are facing in meeting their loan repayment obligations. The Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) is working with the financial institutions to defer the loan repayment period and waive interest payments for three months. I commend the RMA and the Financial Institutions for understanding the interests of the nation and people, and proposing the right responses.

Many of our people working in the tourism and hospitality sector, including small restaurants, entertainment centers, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc., have suffered loss of jobs and income, and are finding it difficult even to pay house rents. It is of utmost importance to extend immediate relief to the vulnerable people before the situation deteriorates. Therefore, the Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu will be granted to support the people, provide relief, and enable them to withstand their ordeals through this period.

Our country is a special land blessed by Guru Rinpoche and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, and further strengthened by the vision and hard work of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo. Our country has faced and successfully overcome numerous hurdles in the past.

I am confident that, with the blessings of the Triple Gem, the protection of our Guardian Deities, Kurims conducted by His Holiness the Je Kenpo and the monastic community, and the unwavering bond of fidelity and unity among the King, country and people- we have the fearless courage to overcome all adversities. Let us rise to the occasion in the service of our nation.

Source: kuensel facebook page (10/4/2020)

Bhutanese Archery Songs

The excitement of archery is argumented by a bevy of songstresses serenading their own team and distracting the other team. Its performed by a group of lady dancers.

Your head resembles that of ape

And from the backside you appear like a bear.

The monkey-headed bear will not find the target.

The arrow will hit away from the target.

It must be deflected! It must be deflectes!

Let it overshoot and fly up to the sky.

Let it fall short and drop on the earth.

The archery players with the best voice gave it back:

One who is the maid of the lady adorned with coral necklace.

Your eyes look only to the bright and colourful chambers.

Your bedroom, at the end, is a stable.

Though you vocalize as much as a parrot,

My arrow can not be swayed from the bull’s eyes!

From the book ‘The hero with a thousand eyes: A historical novel’ by Karma ura(1995).

Mandela

Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1963 and imprisoned for 27 years. During his prison tenure, he undertook study and completed his Bachelor of Laws from University of London under its distance education programme. Even under extreme duress as a D-class prisoner, who allowed one letter and one vistor every six months, he never lost heart and was revered as the most powerful black leader in south Africa. On his release, he became the preseident of ANC party and conducted negotiations with President Klerk and both were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. In 1994, ANC won with 62 percent majorrity and Nelson Mandela became the first black president and oldest one at the age of 75.

A third of his life was in prison yet he didn’t consider himself as a failure.