A Reason to Dance
Text and Photographs by
Karen Greenspan
The position of Trongsa Penlop evolved to have even greater historic significance for the country because the first hereditary monarch of Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck (chosen in 1907), previously held this title. Today, it is still the tradition for the Crown Prince to serve as Trongsa Penlop before acceding to the throne.
Because Trongsa is the ancestral home of the royal family, the first two hereditary kings ruled from there. The locale, having housed the royal court, developed a highly reputed dance tradition─fit for royalty. That reputation holds true today. The dzong and its monastery are quite wealthy with a large allotment of productive farmland around the region. They pour that wealth into support for the tshechu and even remunerate the dancers who bring its rich dance traditions to life each year.
When I arrive at the dzong two days before the festival, the stone courtyard is filled with the swirl of red and wine-colored robes as the monk dancers are rehearsing several cham in their everyday attire. Within the cham repertoire, there are dances that may only be performed by monastics called gelongi cham (monk dances). These are dances that are often part of larger ritual or visualization practices, in which the monk dancer takes on the countenance, energy, and movement of an enlightened being. These ritual practices may include the chanting of prayers and mantras; the performance of intricate mudras (hand gestures); the use of religious implements such as a phurba (3-bladed dagger), dorje (scepter), damaru (small 2-sided drum with throbbing bead), drilbu (bell), skull cup, large 2-sided hand drum and stick; and the enactment of offerings and/or symbolic sacrifice.
Even the final rehearsals are ritualized affairs. They are performed before the Lam Neten (Head Abbott of the district) who sits and observes from an enclosed balcony. He officiates all the ritual aspects of the tshechu. The Trongsa monks are excellent dancers, and they appear to love dancing. During rehearsal, in-between run throughs, they work diligently on the more challenging sequences. Because in rehearsal they are not wearing their performance masks, you can see the expressions of exhilaration on their faces.
Because Trongsa is the ancestral home of the royal family, the first two hereditary kings ruled from there. The locale, having housed the royal court, developed a highly reputed dance tradition─fit for royalty. That reputation holds true today. The dzong and its monastery are quite wealthy with a large allotment of productive farmland around the region. They pour that wealth into support for the tshechu and even remunerate the dancers who bring its rich dance traditions to life each year.
When I arrive at the dzong two days before the festival, the stone courtyard is filled with the swirl of red and wine-colored robes as the monk dancers are rehearsing several cham in their everyday attire. Within the cham repertoire, there are dances that may only be performed by monastics called gelongi cham (monk dances). These are dances that are often part of larger ritual or visualization practices, in which the monk dancer takes on the countenance, energy, and movement of an enlightened being. These ritual practices may include the chanting of prayers and mantras; the performance of intricate mudras (hand gestures); the use of religious implements such as a phurba (3-bladed dagger), dorje (scepter), damaru (small 2-sided drum with throbbing bead), drilbu (bell), skull cup, large 2-sided hand drum and stick; and the enactment of offerings and/or symbolic sacrifice.
Even the final rehearsals are ritualized affairs. They are performed before the Lam Neten (Head Abbott of the district) who sits and observes from an enclosed balcony. He officiates all the ritual aspects of the tshechu. The Trongsa monks are excellent dancers, and they appear to love dancing. During rehearsal, in-between run throughs, they work diligently on the more challenging sequences. Because in rehearsal they are not wearing their performance masks, you can see the expressions of exhilaration on their faces.
Lopӧn (honorary title for a monk teacher) Kuenga Dhendup has been in Trongsa for a month teaching the monk dancers and rehearsing the cham for the tshechu. He too will be dancing. He informs me that three days before the tshechu, the monastic body begins a ritual ceremony leading up to the event. During the tshechu, the monks rise at midnight and perform rituals within the monastery assembly hall from 1:00 – 7:00A.M. Minutes later they procession into the courtyard, where the dances before the public begin and continue until around 5:00P.M. Afterwards, the performers, monks, and officials ceremonially procession out of the dzong.
Because Bhutan is a dancing culture, the Bhutanese use dance to express their most fundamental ideas─moral values, the sacred, welcomes, farewells, and everything in-between. The dances performed at the Trongsa Tshechu offer excellent examples of this.
Because Bhutan is a dancing culture, the Bhutanese use dance to express their most fundamental ideas─moral values, the sacred, welcomes, farewells, and everything in-between. The dances performed at the Trongsa Tshechu offer excellent examples of this.
A Dance of Welcome and Protection
The program of dance begins with Jipai Pawo (Dance of the Heroes, or Warriors). The pawo are heroic beings believed to populate Zangto Pelri (Guru Rinpoche's Copper-Colored Paradise abode), singing and dancing the teachings of Buddhism within its idyllic rainbow-lit space. Bhutan has a long-held tradition that these fleet-footed dancers, usually two or four, meet and accompany the procession of an honored guest. They perform a brisk two-step alongside the dignitary (in this case, the Lam Neten) as a guardian escort. According to oral accounts, the dance has not only been performed as a symbolic welcome, but also for its protective power ensuring the safety of several endangered historical figures over the centuries. Once at the destination (dzong dance courtyard), the pawo face the podium or honored guest and sing praises and invocations as they perform the energetic dance with arms uplifted sounding the damaru held in the right hand by flicking the forearm back and forth. They wear a full white skirt over their brocade gho (wraparound robe─traditional Bhutanese men’s attire) and scarves of five colors crisscrossing their chest. Their heads are crowned with a gold-plated diadem, and they wear a sword slung across their back.
Regional Identity and Spiritual Values
The folk dancers (volunteers from the community) entertain the assembled early risers with a dance that is specific to Trongsa─Nub Zhey. Zhey is a genre of men’s traditional folk dance associated with spirituality and regional identity. There are zhey affiliated with each of the four districts of Bhutan. Nub Zhey originated in the Nubi Gewog of Trongsa as a ritual performance to the local deities with lyrics composed by a man named Aku Tempa, a practitioner of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. The dancers sing lyrics of praise for the lama, the auspicious occasion, the dance itself, the composer (Aku Tempa), and so on as they perform the 22 sections of the dance. They perform various sections at intervals throughout the festival. The initial segments consist of simple repetitive steps performed in a line while in later sections, the dancers form a circle building complexity and energy level with deep squats and turning leaps.
Every aspect of the elegant costume is imbued with symbolism. The red skirt signifies devotion to Buddhism while the blue jacket refers to the numerous medicinal herbs for which Bhutan is known. The white sash worn diagonally across the torso represents the vow to adhere to Buddhist precepts, and the fabric headband, or circlet, acknowledges the teachings of the lama.
The program of dance begins with Jipai Pawo (Dance of the Heroes, or Warriors). The pawo are heroic beings believed to populate Zangto Pelri (Guru Rinpoche's Copper-Colored Paradise abode), singing and dancing the teachings of Buddhism within its idyllic rainbow-lit space. Bhutan has a long-held tradition that these fleet-footed dancers, usually two or four, meet and accompany the procession of an honored guest. They perform a brisk two-step alongside the dignitary (in this case, the Lam Neten) as a guardian escort. According to oral accounts, the dance has not only been performed as a symbolic welcome, but also for its protective power ensuring the safety of several endangered historical figures over the centuries. Once at the destination (dzong dance courtyard), the pawo face the podium or honored guest and sing praises and invocations as they perform the energetic dance with arms uplifted sounding the damaru held in the right hand by flicking the forearm back and forth. They wear a full white skirt over their brocade gho (wraparound robe─traditional Bhutanese men’s attire) and scarves of five colors crisscrossing their chest. Their heads are crowned with a gold-plated diadem, and they wear a sword slung across their back.
Regional Identity and Spiritual Values
The folk dancers (volunteers from the community) entertain the assembled early risers with a dance that is specific to Trongsa─Nub Zhey. Zhey is a genre of men’s traditional folk dance associated with spirituality and regional identity. There are zhey affiliated with each of the four districts of Bhutan. Nub Zhey originated in the Nubi Gewog of Trongsa as a ritual performance to the local deities with lyrics composed by a man named Aku Tempa, a practitioner of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. The dancers sing lyrics of praise for the lama, the auspicious occasion, the dance itself, the composer (Aku Tempa), and so on as they perform the 22 sections of the dance. They perform various sections at intervals throughout the festival. The initial segments consist of simple repetitive steps performed in a line while in later sections, the dancers form a circle building complexity and energy level with deep squats and turning leaps.
Every aspect of the elegant costume is imbued with symbolism. The red skirt signifies devotion to Buddhism while the blue jacket refers to the numerous medicinal herbs for which Bhutan is known. The white sash worn diagonally across the torso represents the vow to adhere to Buddhist precepts, and the fabric headband, or circlet, acknowledges the teachings of the lama.
Pelden Lhendup, one of the zhey dancers, explained that only a few years ago the Nub Zhey was on the verge of being forgotten. This became apparent in 2004 when the current king was to be installed as the 16th Trongsa Penlop. The performance of Nub Zhey is an integral part of the ceremony, but there were not enough dancers familiar with the song and the lengthy sequence of steps. For the Bhutanese, an endangered dance is akin to an endangered species of life and elicits an intervention. At the time, the zheypon (zhey dance leader) taught the dance to enough locals to adequately present at the ceremony. Afterward, however, the Bhutan Broadcasting Service stepped in to create and air a television documentary to educate the public about the dance. The Trongsa District government furthered the revitalization effort recruiting another group of men to learn the Nub Zhey. It was then that Pelden Lhendup learned the ancient folk tradition and now has performed it for the last four years at the Trongsa Tshechu. Nub Zhey is Trongsa’s precious legacy; the people are proud and deeply committed to its preservation and performance.
The female volunteers immediately follow performing a zhungdra─a folk-dance form dating from the 17th century. Performed by women standing in a horizontal line facing a shrine or the lama, the dance is in an expression of reverence and worship. The dancers connect holding pinky fingers and perform slow, sedate, coordinated movements. The lead singer-dancer, situated in the middle, sets the vocal and dance pacing for this song form composed of a continuous, fluid line of sound using extended vocal tones in complex patterns. Trongsa has a tradition of performing zhey and zhungdra folk forms─not the later, more rhythmic boedra compositions that are seen at other tshechus.
Ground Consecration
One of the first orders of business for a successful tshechu is the demarcation and purification of sacred ground. This is accomplished with two monk dances performed early on the first day─Shinje Yab Yum and Sachak Zhanag Cham. In Shinje Yab Yum, two dancers mark off the sacred space and expel all negativity. Wearing red buffalo masks with sharp upcurled horns and long red and gold brocade robes, they pace the space with arms extended and palms facing outward as if to hold unwanted forces at bay. Shinje (Yamantaka in Sanskrit) is a wrathful form of Manjushri, the Deity of Wisdom. In the dance, he and his consort each brandish a transmutative sword cutting through ignorance, anger, and attachment transforming them into wisdom, loving-kindness, and generosity.
The female volunteers immediately follow performing a zhungdra─a folk-dance form dating from the 17th century. Performed by women standing in a horizontal line facing a shrine or the lama, the dance is in an expression of reverence and worship. The dancers connect holding pinky fingers and perform slow, sedate, coordinated movements. The lead singer-dancer, situated in the middle, sets the vocal and dance pacing for this song form composed of a continuous, fluid line of sound using extended vocal tones in complex patterns. Trongsa has a tradition of performing zhey and zhungdra folk forms─not the later, more rhythmic boedra compositions that are seen at other tshechus.
Ground Consecration
One of the first orders of business for a successful tshechu is the demarcation and purification of sacred ground. This is accomplished with two monk dances performed early on the first day─Shinje Yab Yum and Sachak Zhanag Cham. In Shinje Yab Yum, two dancers mark off the sacred space and expel all negativity. Wearing red buffalo masks with sharp upcurled horns and long red and gold brocade robes, they pace the space with arms extended and palms facing outward as if to hold unwanted forces at bay. Shinje (Yamantaka in Sanskrit) is a wrathful form of Manjushri, the Deity of Wisdom. In the dance, he and his consort each brandish a transmutative sword cutting through ignorance, anger, and attachment transforming them into wisdom, loving-kindness, and generosity.
This followed by Sachak Zhanag Cham, performed by twenty-one monks dressed as Black Hat Masters. “Sachak” means “ground consecration.” This Black Hat Dance is a reenactment of the seminal cham that is said to have been performed by Guru Rinpoche to enable the building of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye. When the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen (742-c.797 C.E.) initiated construction on the monastery, there was much resistance from the pre-Buddhist entrenched power structure. It is told that hostile local spirits incited by the opposing priests’ magic impeded the progress of the project. Padmasambhava was invited to Tibet because of his reputation as a master of metaphysical power, which he employed to subdue the opposition and pave the way for Buddhism to flourish in the environs. Accounts tell that Padmasambhava performed the Vajrakilaya Cham piercing the earth with the phurba (kila in Sanskrit) to pacify the local spirits, protect the sacred ground preventing negative forces from re-entry, and create positive conditions for the building of the monastery. If you inspect a phurba, you will notice that with its three blunt edges, it resembles a tent pin or stake. This may help explain its use in a ritual that stakes claim to the ground.
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The dancers wear an awe-evoking costume to perform Padmasambhava’s cham of taking possession of the ground. It features a long apron, on which is painted the terrifying face of the deity Mahakala. The monks are unmasked but strapped to their head, they wear the defining round black tantric hat that represents a mandala. The cupola and brim are painted with magical symbols to infuse it with spiritual power. The dome is topped with various symbolic elements including a spray of peacock feathers. In the right hand, they hold a phurba with a dangling black scarf attached. The monks flick the scarves to summon the negative spirits while the phurba is used to subdue them. In the left hand, they hold a small skull cup─a symbol of impermanence.
The monks’ colorful robes fill like parachutes as the dancers spin one way and then reverse. Their billowing sleeves brush the ground as they dip sideward and then they arc skyward. Occasionally, their monks' boots make a “thwop” sound as they throw their weight into an assertive step-hop, to stamp out the negative emotions of anger and grasping.
The Zhanag Cham, or Black Hat Dances, are performed for many different occasions as part of various rituals─offerings, exorcisms, symbolic sacrifice, drubchen (grand prayer) ceremonies, empowerments, unseen temple rituals (performed privately) for the protection of the country, ground consecrations for tshechus, etc. In earlier times, the dance had associations with the practice of sorcery, and it is famously linked with the assassination of the anti-Buddhist King Langdarma by the monk Pelgyi Dorji in 842 C.E. The story goes that during Pelgyi Dorji’s riveting performance of the dance before the king, he pulled a bow and arrow from his costume’s voluminous sleeves and shot and slew the enemy of the faith. The dance is used as a skillful delivery system in a variety of contexts. Sachak Zhanag Cham and Shinjey Yab-Yum consecrate the courtyard to become a sacred mandala─a divine palace─for the manifestation of the deities and the spiritual transformation of the dancers and viewers.
Subjugation of Negative Forces
On day two of the tshechu, the monks perform Tum Ngam Cham, Dance of the Terrifying Deities, a spectacular subjugation ritual. The champon (cham dance master) performs the role of Guru Dragpo, a wrathful emanation of Padmasambhava as the fierce Vajrakilaya deity, leading his entourage of fearsome deities in a symbolic sacrifice. He wears a terrifying red mask crowned by five skulls and dreadlocks of matted red and blue hair. The dance is considered a tercham, or revealed treasure dance, in that it is part of the extensive Lama Gongdu Ritual Cycle taken from scriptures discovered by the terton (treasure revealer) Sangye Lingpa (1340-1396). Revealed treasures, or terma, are understood to be the teachings of Padmasambhava, which he intentionally hid for discovery by “treasure revealers” in the future when the times and people would need spiritual fortification. Many of these revealed treasures came in the form of choreographic visions and make up a good portion of the cham repertoire performed in Bhutan today by both monks and laypeople. Lama Gongdu is a central practice in Bhutan and is performed by the monks at the Trongsa Tshechu during their early morning sacraments. Tum Ngam Cham is a choreographed extension of that practice.
The monk musicians playing the jaling (oboes) and the incense carrier begin the cham by circumambulating the dance ground to create the boundary of the mandala that the deities will inhabit. One at a time, the fifteen deities enter and form a circle. They are costumed in colorful silk robes overlaid with large collars decorated with the crossed vajra, a symbol of unshakable stability. They each wear a terrifying mask and carry a sword in one hand and a representation of a scorpion in the other. The champon leads his retinue in the capture of negative forces into the center of the circle corralling them into the linga (effigy made of flour and butter). The linga is trapped within a black triangular frame that sits atop a paper drawing of a little person. For almost two hours, the dancers move around the effigy shadowing the movements and gestures of the champon, while chanting mantras. The champon repeatedly doubles over the figure and shakes his head back and forth. Bringing the drama to a climax, the champon kneels on the ground, puts down his sword, retrieves the phurba laid on top of the triangular box, and ritually destroys the linga─ultimately liberating it (from habits of negativity). It is important to appreciate that in the Buddhist view, subjugation of negative forces also refers to overcoming internal negative tendencies─inner obstacles to spiritual progress, such as the dualistic perception of self as separate from others.
After the paper representation and the effigy in the triangular box are removed, the monks form a tight circle that unfurls into a horizontal line. Then, each deity performs a solo exit dance dissolving the dance mandala. This ritual subjugation is danced to bestow peace, harmony, and blessings upon the place.
The monks’ colorful robes fill like parachutes as the dancers spin one way and then reverse. Their billowing sleeves brush the ground as they dip sideward and then they arc skyward. Occasionally, their monks' boots make a “thwop” sound as they throw their weight into an assertive step-hop, to stamp out the negative emotions of anger and grasping.
The Zhanag Cham, or Black Hat Dances, are performed for many different occasions as part of various rituals─offerings, exorcisms, symbolic sacrifice, drubchen (grand prayer) ceremonies, empowerments, unseen temple rituals (performed privately) for the protection of the country, ground consecrations for tshechus, etc. In earlier times, the dance had associations with the practice of sorcery, and it is famously linked with the assassination of the anti-Buddhist King Langdarma by the monk Pelgyi Dorji in 842 C.E. The story goes that during Pelgyi Dorji’s riveting performance of the dance before the king, he pulled a bow and arrow from his costume’s voluminous sleeves and shot and slew the enemy of the faith. The dance is used as a skillful delivery system in a variety of contexts. Sachak Zhanag Cham and Shinjey Yab-Yum consecrate the courtyard to become a sacred mandala─a divine palace─for the manifestation of the deities and the spiritual transformation of the dancers and viewers.
Subjugation of Negative Forces
On day two of the tshechu, the monks perform Tum Ngam Cham, Dance of the Terrifying Deities, a spectacular subjugation ritual. The champon (cham dance master) performs the role of Guru Dragpo, a wrathful emanation of Padmasambhava as the fierce Vajrakilaya deity, leading his entourage of fearsome deities in a symbolic sacrifice. He wears a terrifying red mask crowned by five skulls and dreadlocks of matted red and blue hair. The dance is considered a tercham, or revealed treasure dance, in that it is part of the extensive Lama Gongdu Ritual Cycle taken from scriptures discovered by the terton (treasure revealer) Sangye Lingpa (1340-1396). Revealed treasures, or terma, are understood to be the teachings of Padmasambhava, which he intentionally hid for discovery by “treasure revealers” in the future when the times and people would need spiritual fortification. Many of these revealed treasures came in the form of choreographic visions and make up a good portion of the cham repertoire performed in Bhutan today by both monks and laypeople. Lama Gongdu is a central practice in Bhutan and is performed by the monks at the Trongsa Tshechu during their early morning sacraments. Tum Ngam Cham is a choreographed extension of that practice.
The monk musicians playing the jaling (oboes) and the incense carrier begin the cham by circumambulating the dance ground to create the boundary of the mandala that the deities will inhabit. One at a time, the fifteen deities enter and form a circle. They are costumed in colorful silk robes overlaid with large collars decorated with the crossed vajra, a symbol of unshakable stability. They each wear a terrifying mask and carry a sword in one hand and a representation of a scorpion in the other. The champon leads his retinue in the capture of negative forces into the center of the circle corralling them into the linga (effigy made of flour and butter). The linga is trapped within a black triangular frame that sits atop a paper drawing of a little person. For almost two hours, the dancers move around the effigy shadowing the movements and gestures of the champon, while chanting mantras. The champon repeatedly doubles over the figure and shakes his head back and forth. Bringing the drama to a climax, the champon kneels on the ground, puts down his sword, retrieves the phurba laid on top of the triangular box, and ritually destroys the linga─ultimately liberating it (from habits of negativity). It is important to appreciate that in the Buddhist view, subjugation of negative forces also refers to overcoming internal negative tendencies─inner obstacles to spiritual progress, such as the dualistic perception of self as separate from others.
After the paper representation and the effigy in the triangular box are removed, the monks form a tight circle that unfurls into a horizontal line. Then, each deity performs a solo exit dance dissolving the dance mandala. This ritual subjugation is danced to bestow peace, harmony, and blessings upon the place.
Moral Principles
An all-time favorite of Bhutanese audiences, Shawo Shachi Cham (The Dance of the Stag and the Hounds), is presented over the course of two afternoons by the lay dancers. Kesang Jurmey, a local farmer and Village Committee member, has been chamjug (assistant cham dance master) for the Trongsa laymen cham dancers for three years now. He directs the rigorous schedule of rehearsals five days a week from 9:00 to 4:30 during the month prior to the tshechu. A fine young dancer with tremendous stamina, Jurmey is dancing principal roles in nine cham this tshechu─including the shawo (stag) in Shawo Shachi Cham.
This instructive dance-drama is drawn from the sacred biography, or namthar, of the 11th century yogi, Milarepa, and tells the story of a heartless hunter who Milarepa converts to the Buddhist path of respecting the life of all sentient beings. A generous cast of atsaras (clowns) embellishes the scenes of the hunter and his irreverent, silly servant filling the production with slapstick comedy that has the crowd attentive and laughing. The organic and graceful choreography danced by the hunted stag is mesmerizing and the jogging-in-place on tiptoe step that the hounds perform perfectly captures the rhythmic panting of a dog. A build-up of athletic turns and jumps brings the animals kneeling before Milarepa, who is dressed in white. In hot pursuit, the hunter shows up and fires off his arrows at the yogi for interfering with his kill. But the arrows fail to harm Milarepa. The yogi then sings his song of Buddhist teachings causing the hunter to repent his cruel past and follow the path of compassion and respect for all living beings. The liberal use of bawdy humor coupled with the sublime dancing of the animal characters effectively holds the public’s attention for the intended moral message.
Dance as Thongdrel─Liberation upon Seeing
On the final morning of the tshechu, a huge thongdrel is displayed with accompanying rituals and cham. Thongdrel means “liberation upon seeing,” which is what this giant silk appliqué tapestry of Guru Rinpoche is designed to support. The exquisite depiction of the Guru, his manifestations, and other religious personalities is unfurled at 7:00 AM, before the sun’s rays can damage the colorful silken threads. Simply viewing the enlightened beings pictured in the work of art is deemed to extend their awareness to the observer. In fact, the sacred dances themselves are considered thongdrel─capable of liberating viewers from the patterns of behavior that cause suffering─for they are embodied mandalas of the deities and their divine energy.
An all-time favorite of Bhutanese audiences, Shawo Shachi Cham (The Dance of the Stag and the Hounds), is presented over the course of two afternoons by the lay dancers. Kesang Jurmey, a local farmer and Village Committee member, has been chamjug (assistant cham dance master) for the Trongsa laymen cham dancers for three years now. He directs the rigorous schedule of rehearsals five days a week from 9:00 to 4:30 during the month prior to the tshechu. A fine young dancer with tremendous stamina, Jurmey is dancing principal roles in nine cham this tshechu─including the shawo (stag) in Shawo Shachi Cham.
This instructive dance-drama is drawn from the sacred biography, or namthar, of the 11th century yogi, Milarepa, and tells the story of a heartless hunter who Milarepa converts to the Buddhist path of respecting the life of all sentient beings. A generous cast of atsaras (clowns) embellishes the scenes of the hunter and his irreverent, silly servant filling the production with slapstick comedy that has the crowd attentive and laughing. The organic and graceful choreography danced by the hunted stag is mesmerizing and the jogging-in-place on tiptoe step that the hounds perform perfectly captures the rhythmic panting of a dog. A build-up of athletic turns and jumps brings the animals kneeling before Milarepa, who is dressed in white. In hot pursuit, the hunter shows up and fires off his arrows at the yogi for interfering with his kill. But the arrows fail to harm Milarepa. The yogi then sings his song of Buddhist teachings causing the hunter to repent his cruel past and follow the path of compassion and respect for all living beings. The liberal use of bawdy humor coupled with the sublime dancing of the animal characters effectively holds the public’s attention for the intended moral message.
Dance as Thongdrel─Liberation upon Seeing
On the final morning of the tshechu, a huge thongdrel is displayed with accompanying rituals and cham. Thongdrel means “liberation upon seeing,” which is what this giant silk appliqué tapestry of Guru Rinpoche is designed to support. The exquisite depiction of the Guru, his manifestations, and other religious personalities is unfurled at 7:00 AM, before the sun’s rays can damage the colorful silken threads. Simply viewing the enlightened beings pictured in the work of art is deemed to extend their awareness to the observer. In fact, the sacred dances themselves are considered thongdrel─capable of liberating viewers from the patterns of behavior that cause suffering─for they are embodied mandalas of the deities and their divine energy.
The thongdrel is raised with pomp and ceremony as the monk musicians, clothed in ceremonial robes and tall red hats, line up in a horizontal row facing the tapestry and play a presentational fanfare on the sacred instruments. They and all the monks take their places, seated with their ritual instruments, on red carpet runners in a horseshoe formation. The Lam Neten wears a golden silk robe and sits on a carpeted throne at the head of the assembly leading the various rituals while the monks drone prayers and mantras punctuated with the beating of the large round hand drums and the ringing of small hand bells.
An Invitation to be Present
Amid this religious ritual, three monk dancers emerge from the chamkhang (green room) to perform Zheng Zhik Pem─a true gem of a dance. This invocation and offering to Guru Rinpoche is frequently performed during unseen rituals as well as public teachings and empowerments. It had been performed daily during the monks’ rituals at this tshechu.
The dancers represent dakinis, female wisdom beings who help facilitate spiritual progress. They are dressed in multi-tiered yellow kerchief skirts, colorful silk jackets, and crossed vajra collars. The headdress includes a five-pronged golden crown worn over a tight cap and wig. Skittering into and between the rows of monks and viewers, they perform a high energy two-step drawing arcs overhead with both arms. Then they twirl one way and reverse with their torso tilting sideways. All the while, they tinkle the drilbu held in the left hand and rattle the damaru with the right. Finally, they astound with repeated explosive jumps in which both arms and both legs extend forward simultaneously.
The revered lama and exponent of the Nyingma lineage (oldest school of Himalayan Buddhism) Dungse Thinle Norbu Rinpoche (1931-2011) produced a teaching DVD of this cham Hung Zheng Zhik Pema Jungnay Khandro’i Tshok, or Zheng Zhik Pem for short, which can be ordered through www.dharmatreasures.com. Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, in the liner notes, poignantly explains the origin of this dance. During the time of Guru Rinpoche’s departure from Tibet, having accomplished countless enlightened activities, he prepared to take his leave before the multitude of devotees. His foremost disciple, the female adept Yeshe Tsogyal, beseeched him, “Could you give a prayer, unelaborated and essential, with profound meaning and great blessings to attain enlightenment swiftly, so just saying the prayer, blessings could come like clouds gathering in the sky…”
In response to Yeshe Tsogyal’s request, the liner notes continue, “Guru Rinpoche adorned himself in jewel and bone ornaments. Facing toward the southwest, raising his right hand while holding and sounding the damaru, and placing his left hand on Yeshe Tsogyal’s crown chakra, he revealed the prayer of Hung Zheng Zhik Pema Jungnay Khandro’i Tshok.” Guru Rinpoche demonstrated to his most accomplished and devoted disciple how to summon him wherever he may be─with song and dance. This "unelaborated and essential" prayer conveyed through music and dance was the instant hotline given to Yeshe Tsogyal for the benefit of all his followers.
Khenpo Phuntshok Tashi (former Director of the National Museum of Bhutan) explains that “zheng zhik” means “get up and come along.” As these dakinis dart about performing their offering of sublime beauty to Guru Rinpoche, I am overwhelmed at this idea─a dance that will instantly make manifest one's most cherished and supportive mentor and guide whenever you wish for his or her presence. That is a reason to dance.
Amid this religious ritual, three monk dancers emerge from the chamkhang (green room) to perform Zheng Zhik Pem─a true gem of a dance. This invocation and offering to Guru Rinpoche is frequently performed during unseen rituals as well as public teachings and empowerments. It had been performed daily during the monks’ rituals at this tshechu.
The dancers represent dakinis, female wisdom beings who help facilitate spiritual progress. They are dressed in multi-tiered yellow kerchief skirts, colorful silk jackets, and crossed vajra collars. The headdress includes a five-pronged golden crown worn over a tight cap and wig. Skittering into and between the rows of monks and viewers, they perform a high energy two-step drawing arcs overhead with both arms. Then they twirl one way and reverse with their torso tilting sideways. All the while, they tinkle the drilbu held in the left hand and rattle the damaru with the right. Finally, they astound with repeated explosive jumps in which both arms and both legs extend forward simultaneously.
The revered lama and exponent of the Nyingma lineage (oldest school of Himalayan Buddhism) Dungse Thinle Norbu Rinpoche (1931-2011) produced a teaching DVD of this cham Hung Zheng Zhik Pema Jungnay Khandro’i Tshok, or Zheng Zhik Pem for short, which can be ordered through www.dharmatreasures.com. Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, in the liner notes, poignantly explains the origin of this dance. During the time of Guru Rinpoche’s departure from Tibet, having accomplished countless enlightened activities, he prepared to take his leave before the multitude of devotees. His foremost disciple, the female adept Yeshe Tsogyal, beseeched him, “Could you give a prayer, unelaborated and essential, with profound meaning and great blessings to attain enlightenment swiftly, so just saying the prayer, blessings could come like clouds gathering in the sky…”
In response to Yeshe Tsogyal’s request, the liner notes continue, “Guru Rinpoche adorned himself in jewel and bone ornaments. Facing toward the southwest, raising his right hand while holding and sounding the damaru, and placing his left hand on Yeshe Tsogyal’s crown chakra, he revealed the prayer of Hung Zheng Zhik Pema Jungnay Khandro’i Tshok.” Guru Rinpoche demonstrated to his most accomplished and devoted disciple how to summon him wherever he may be─with song and dance. This "unelaborated and essential" prayer conveyed through music and dance was the instant hotline given to Yeshe Tsogyal for the benefit of all his followers.
Khenpo Phuntshok Tashi (former Director of the National Museum of Bhutan) explains that “zheng zhik” means “get up and come along.” As these dakinis dart about performing their offering of sublime beauty to Guru Rinpoche, I am overwhelmed at this idea─a dance that will instantly make manifest one's most cherished and supportive mentor and guide whenever you wish for his or her presence. That is a reason to dance.