The Divine Madman
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Journeying thru rice fields and painted penises, we reached a monastery and got blessed by a huge wooden phallus
Chimi Lhakhang (Monastery), me standing in the shade, young moms sitting behind
I asked the taxi driver to drop us off at a hamlet called Sopsokha which had no more than about eight houses adjacent to the main street. We started off on a trail crisscrossing paddy fields, leading to Chimi Lhakhang, a monastery built in honor of Lama Drupka Kunley, a.k.a. The Divine Madman.
Fertility symbol painted on a house
It might be bizarre in most places in the world to see a building painted with a huge phallus, but in Bhutan, it is common to find mythical penises painted on walls or wooden replicas planted at the door. In this particular stretch as we passed through little hamlets, the penises were appearing at an alarming regularity, almost at every other home. They all belonged to the Divine Madman!
Prayer wheel inside the monastery
The Divine Madman is one of Bhutan’s favorite saints and he preached using songs, humor and outrageous behavior to dramatize Buddha’s teachings to the common man. His antics were a deliberate method of provoking people, thereby making it easier for them to discard their preconceptions. His sexual exploits are legendary and the flying phalluses painted on buildings remind us of his conquests. This monastery was built in his honor after he subdued the demoness of the nearby Dochu La with his ‘magic thunderbolt of wisdom.’
Monk entering the main temple. (The lad is ducking from the sun, they are not camera shy.)
This monastery is frequented by mothers-to-be who select the name of their future baby. There were several women with little babies there. In fact, me and my friend were probably the only male visitors there at that time! Making a small offering at the shrine would qualify you for a blessing from the Lama’s wooden and bone phalluses, which looked very interesting but I was not allowed to photograph them (or touch them either!) Oh well, I am happy to have received blessings in this unique way!
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PS: Do read about my post on Incan Temple of Fertility in Peru
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In the Tibetan language the word for Penis is “Je” pronounced much the same way as the English alphabet “J”. I think it is also the same in Ladakhi and Dzongkha but I am not sure about Dzongkha. I have noticed many Ladakhi people simply skip saying “J” in the English way and call it “Jai” instead. He he he.
I am glad you got blessed. May Buddha be with you leh.
↵Thankyou Odzer. That was interesting info!
↵Good info. All countries have something very own to them but do you think it could have the same origin or something similar as we have shiva lingam ?
↵How do you pronounce “Phallus” ?
Hi Cuckoo,
↵Like you said, most ancient cultures had liberal views of sex and fertility and therefore all these symbolism. However these penises belong to the Divine Madman Lama, as stated in the story above and I am pretty sure they are not connected to Hindu influences.
Oh phallus? here we go… फलुस! It comes from a greek word.
Very interesting!!!
I guess prudishness was the norm amongst semitic religions. It became a world phenomenon with the spread of Christianity inspired educational systems.
This is for a scholar to debate whilst we soak in the naturalness of life.
↵Hi Mavin,
↵If by ’semitic’ you mean ‘abrahamic religions’, then I disagree. If anything, these religions imposed new moral rules of right and wrong, do’s and dont’s. Ancient Indians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, even the Incas were much more progressive and practical about sexual symbolism and worship. European renaissance art was more inspired by the preceding Greek/Roman culture. Abrahamic religions took away the creativity, expression and tolerance in religion and imposed a our-God-or-wrong-God system.
And I thought I had seen everything in the world!
↵I still don’t believe it. Are you sure you haven’t used photoshop?
Amit I am sure there are more ‘what the heck…’ moments in store for us around the world 
↵Priyank, nice post here. Religion seems to be the same everywhere – it all about hope and prayers!
↵Gopinath yes it seems to be! But the concept of ‘hope’ is very limited in Buddhism. Quite like Hinduism, it believes in destiny and karma, so hope leaves little space, most events and actions are pre-decided or are a result of your karma.
↵Awesome!
↵Even in the nation of gross national happiness, uncertainty is certain. But prayers and religion helps to keep them cool and happy. yes. religion has it benefits.
↵Thanks Gopal! Religion is central to Bhutan and its like a way of life. Also, it works the other way: GNH (Gross national happiness) is a result of religion!
I am curious to calculate GNH of the whole Himalayan region – it must be high!
↵Flying penises! It reminds me of this Japanese festival, where they parade on the streets carrying huge gargantuan dildos, which is indeed tied to a fertility ritual. More info on the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri
↵Wow, very interesting! I like the story of that Japanese iron dick!
↵Very interesting again and great pictures. Lol you seem to be in a lot of places with “Je” around, I wonder if I’ll find any in China, if I do I’ll link back to you,lol.
↵Bob I am going to censor my words (lol) and just nod. China will be great, Jes
↵great information..i wonder if there is any religion in the world which is not connected to phallic symbols and fertility rites
↵Lakshmi, yeah I wonder too, but I don’t think anyone can escape this practical stuff in religious worship.
↵Chanced upon this site through a link in Facebook. Luck by chance, can i say?
↵Great site, but yup.. knew about Bhutan quirky symbols from Michael Palin’s Himalaya(BBC). If you get hold of the book or better yet the CD, do have a look. I always loved the Himalaya and the CD made me fall for the mountain tribes as well!
Welcome, Poornima! And thanks for stopping by to comment.
Yes, I have seen that documentary and even read the book. I like reading more so I guess I liked the book more, but the video is more graphic an a visual treat!
↵Heh! Interesting…phallic worship has been around in the sub-continent for a while, but Flying Phalluses, now that’s a first.
↵Shantanu, yes! indeed! never thought before.
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