Beginning our first full day at Uma Paro, we were collected by Yarab and Jamyung to drive a half hour through Shaba Village and up a rocky, rutted road to a point near the top of mountain. We began a leisurely walk along a path, picking our way through rocks as we brushed along through the vegetation containing grasses, cotoneaster, and other flowering plants. Our goal was a small temple, ancient and precious, cantilevered in the middle of a cliff face over the picturesque valley below. This temple, located above a system of caves below it, is the sight where  Guru Rimpoche chose to meditate. Inside the temple is an altar, behind which is the actual cave of this great Buddhist master. An enormous rock, with deeply grooved handprints, is said to have been removed from the opening of his meditation cave, flung out to form a barrier wall. Several images of the mustachioed Rimpoche, plus Buddha and several of Rimpoche’s consorts (Indian and Tibetan) are displayed here behind glass. While we were visiting the temple, a husband and wife read the Bhutanese script from Rimpoche’s autobiography. Their voices, deep and resonant, filled the cavern of this small stone temple. The couple had  hiked pass us to complete their 20th circumambulation of the temple, which meant negotiating a long climb. The wife carried a string of prayer beads  while the husband carried a stone, which he added to a pile of stones, indicating the number of routes completed. Their goal on this pilgrimage was to complete 108 circumnavigations. In Buddhism, meditation is key to inner strength and is the path to enlightenment. Three days, three weeks, three months, and three years are markers  on the journey to mastery. On our way up the hill, Yarab taught Henry and me three different mantras:

Mantra to the Female God of Wealth:   Om Ta Reay, Tu Ta Reay, Ta Reay, Swa Ha.

Mantra to the God of Compassion: Om Ma Ne Ped Mey Hung

Mantra for Personal Protection (good luck, wish fulfillment, and to right ills or problem)

    This is Rimpoche’s mantra: Om Ah Hung, Banza Guru,  Ped Ma Sethi Hung.

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1. Prayer flags flying on the side of the mountain. 2. Yarab, Henry and Jamyung on the way up the mountain. 3. The three men on the path. 4. Henry climbing down the steep ladder from the temple. Center, Top:  Henry, mid-hike up the mountain. Center, Bottom: Drak Karpo Lhakhang. Right Column: 1. The cantilevered Drak Karpo Lhakhang sited on the middle of a cliff. 2. Prayer flags as found on the mountain top, above Drak Karpo Lhakhang. 3. Entrance to one of the caves beneath the temple. The locals who make the pilgrimage to this site enter the cave system to cleanse themselves of all sins. According to legend, those with bad karma become trapped in the cave system. 4. View of Paro Valley from Drak Karpo Lhakhang.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                        BACK TO MAP  PAGE