Sacrifice, Solidarity, and Transformation

Sacrifice, Solidarity, and Transformation

His Majesty the King: Starting tomorrow, our land borders will be sealed. We are compelled to take this drastic measure in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Narration: On March 22nd, His Majesty, the King of Bhutan makes this dramatic choice. Closing the country’s borders, but also asking Bhutanese to stay home - even though no Bhutanese has tested positive, and not a single death had occurred in Bhutan.

His Majesty: We can overcome any challenge we are faced with, if the people and the government work together.

Dorji: In a tiny nation like Bhutan where, you know, we we we are of, you know, less people. The population of Bhutan is only approximately seven laks. 700,000. So it is very difficult. It is very easy, if the community has the community transmission happened already. It would have even, you know, it wouldn't have even taken one or two days to spread it to the entire nation.

Narration: That’s my friend Dorji. He’s been sheltering in place like the rest of the country for three months. And that was inspired by his King’s speech.

Dorji: His Majesty's speeches were very powerful, you know, very you know, it gave goosebump to, to a lot of people. That level of like you know, the concern from his Majesty was one reason why I thought like, I should be also like responsible. It is my responsibility to be able to render my service to the nation as far as I can.

Narration: The king in Bhutan is a really important figure for Bhutanese people. Five generations of the Royal family are beloved for keeping the tiny landlocked country of Bhutan independent from England, India, and China, as well as for thoughtful national development planning with the wellbeing of its people at the center. Bhutan is a majority Buddhist country, and faith is important in daily life. Bhutanese practice many Buddhist rituals, which often involve physically visiting different locations, such as going to temples to make offerings and receive blessings, to appease local deities, and go for pilgrimage. These ritual activities are also important for treating illness. And as lockdown continued, restricted activities started to come into conflict with religious practice.

Dorji: The advice provided by the ministry of health was also to like, was to stay home, not to loiter around and not to go anywhere. It was like a very life changing for Bhutanese, especially the people who were really into religious practice, because usually during the auspicious times, like we used to go to temples and monasteries. And also, when there is empowerment, when there is blessings, we used to go there. So it was quite a difficult time because even during auspicious time, we were told that we were advised by the governments that we should not go, we are not allowed to, not really not allowed, but we should not be, you know, visiting monasteries so that we do not have these gatherings.

Narration: This situation led to a religious innovation: Just a few days after the King’s announcement of a national lockdown, the Chief Abbot of the Central Monastic Body in Bhutan, called the Je Khenpo, made a televised address to the country.
Je Khenpo: I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to listen to the advice of the health experts. Even in my own case, I too am following instructions given by the health experts. If we are reckless, we will not only harm our fellow beings, but the entire nation will be affected. Putting into practice instructions given by the Ministry of health is absolutely essential.
Narration: Normally, at this time of year, the country would be preparing for annual spring Buddhist festivals, called Tshechu.
Dorji: Usually if you go around the town, we can see a group of people circumambulating Chorten, we can see group of people going to monasteries.

Narration: Not only did the Je Khenpo urge people not to travel. He did something revolutionary: he performed a televised ritual empowerment of the Medicine Buddha, called a Wang, which he had never conducted virtually for people to participate in this way before.
Je Khenpo: As a Buddhist nation, it is important to offer our spiritual support to those around the world who have been and are being affected by this virus. On behalf of the monastic bodies and Dharma practitioners, it is of utmost importance that we offer our genuine support to all; with aspirational prayers for success in their noble task, we offer our deepest gratitude and appreciation. Therefore I wish to offer and initiation of the medicine Buddha, Sangay Menlha for the benefit of all.
Narration: That wasn’t all, though. He also appealed to the Bhutanese to think differently about how they practice Buddhism.
Dorji: When we were taught about the principles of Buddhism, we begin with the ideology of going to monasteries, going to stupas, getting blessings. But, so he said like, it is not really necessary, it is all to do with one's mind.
Je Khenpo: When such initiations are broadcast on television, it's not uncommon for skeptics who will question whether such initiations conferred through TV, genuinely serve a beneficial purpose. However, an initiation or empowerment is directly linked to our mental activity. Receiving an initiation through a television broadcast can easily bring benefits to those wishing to receive it.

Dorji: That was you know, that was a life-changing phase for Bhutanese. However, people were, you know, they were so much devoted that they, they decorated this television and then they made offerings in front of this television. We remained at home and we, you know, offered our, we made offerings and we burned butter lamps at home.

Narration: Dorji explains that the main concern Bhutanese have about not participating in person with these practices is the fear that less merit would be accumulated. Merit is a concept in Buddhist traditions related to Karma, or the law of cause and effect. The idea is that if someone engages in wholesome or beneficial actions, the individual generates merit, which put simply, is like planting seeds because it is said that generating merit will come to fruition and create good circumstances or conditions for you in the future. So making physical offerings at a temple is said to generate merit. And Dorji and other Bhutanese believe that attending a ritual or empowerment, will generate vast amounts of merit.

Dorji: It is not really important to go into that environment. If you really have this ah, you know, genuine devotions and dedications and respect, then, it's just the difference in the means of communication. Yet the essence remains the same. So whether you get to see Je Khenpo virtually or you get to see it in reality, it is just a matter of the mode of communication. But the essence is, you get the blessings at the end. So I had this thought that I am watching this empowerment from television, I won't be accumulating the same merit, same level of merit that the people who are attending in person, you know, and receiving this blessing. When the spiritual leaders now emphasize that it is same, of course, it was very difficult for me initially to believe them. But I thought like, they, it makes sense. Listening to the speeches and the advices from his Holiness, it made me realize that it's all about one's mind. It's all about one's mindset, which is important.

Narration: Dorji has hopes that the impact of the pandemic on people’s Buddhist practice will extend beyond the time of pandemic-related restrictions.

Dorji: I got a realization that empowerment can also happen in Internet. Like, it is not really important to go in person to receive blessings. And also I had the sensation that now people are going to change.

Narration: Observing Bhutan’s response to Covid-19, I realize that not only are they willing to transform the way they practice and experience their religion, but also, as they reflect on the need to come together to face this challenge, sacrifice feels more acceptable when they do so in solidarity.

Dorji: They are the head of the state. Yet, His Majesty did his part, Prime Minister also did his own part, Je Khenpo doing his, another part, proves that we should be working as a unity, not that we are not health officials. Not that we are not working in frontline. Doesn't mean that we can stay idle. If, I felt like, there is something, some part that I can take, there is something that I should be responsible of. So I feel like it is not one or two people's job, but it is the job of all, that we all should come together. We all should have one mindset and we should be striving to change, to like, you know, to ease this pandemic. So I feel you know, even in, even the one who is into religious organization, when he can take part, when he can do his part, why not the people of Bhutan.


Narration: This audio project was produced for the Religion, Race & Democracy Lab at the University of Virginia with help from the Lab’s Senior Producer, Emily Gadek and the Lab’s Editor, Kelly Hardcastle Jones, as well as Professor Vanessa Ochs, the faculty mentor for this project.


Special thanks to Dorji Tshering for agreeing to be interviewed for this piece. His generosity, insight, and thoughtfulness are greatly appreciated. I also extend my gratitude to Tenzin Jamtsho and Tenzin T for their time and effort in recording the translated voice-over speeches.

The Bhutanese music in this piece was recorded by me in Bhutan prior to Covid-19, with additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

You can find more documentary research on religion, race, and democracy at religionlab.virginia.edu.