Chimi Lhakhang (), also known as Chime Lhakhang or Monastery or temple, is a Buddhist monastery in

Punakha District Punakha District (; ) is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. It is bordered by Thimphu District, Thimphu, Gasa District, Gasa, and Wangdue Phodrang Districts. The dominant language in the district is Dzongkha, the national lan ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. Located near Lobesa, it stands on a round hillock and was founded and built in 1499 by the

Drukpa Kagyu The Drukpa or Drukpa Kagyu () lineage, sometimes called Dugpa in older sources, is a branch of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu school is one of the Sarma or "New Translation" schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Drukpa lineage wa ...

lama Ngawang Chogyal, who was the 14th abbot of

Ralung Monastery Ralung Monastery (), located in the Tsang region of western Tibet south of Karo Pass, is the traditional seat of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1180 by Tsangpa Gyare, 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, a disciple of Lingje Répa ...

.Monson, E. L. (2021). ''Tales of a Mad Yogi: The Life and Wild Wisdom of Drukpa Kunley''. Shambhala. p. 45. Due to its construction in the location where the demoness who turned into dog was subdued, the temple was named Chimi Lhakhang or Khimey Lhakhang. According to Lam Drukpa Kuenley's biography, the original name of the temple was Khibur/Chibur Lhakhang. Although Khi/Chi is a dog, bur refers to a stack or mound that was created after the tamed dog has been buried. The site was blessed by Ngawang Chogyal's cousin,

Drukpa Kunley Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529), also known as Kunga Legpai Zangpo, Drukpa Kunleg (), and Kunga Legpa, the Madman of the Dragon Lineage (), was a Tibetan Buddhist monk, missionary, and poet in the Drukpa Kagyu lineage of the Mahamudra traditi ...

(1455–1529), who also built a

chorten In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and ''śarīra''—the remains of Bhikkhu, Buddhist monks or Bhikkhuni, nuns. It is used as a place of ...

on the site.Pommaret, p.192 In preparing and blessing the site it is said that Lama Kunley subdued a demon of Dochu La with his "magic thunderbolt of wisdom" and trapped it in a rock at the location close to where the

now stands. He was known as the "Mad Saint" or “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching Buddhism by singing, humour and outrageous behaviour, which amounted to being bizarre, shocking and with sexual overtones. He is also the saint who advocated the use of phallus symbols as paintings on walls and as flying carved wooden

phallus A phallus (: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ''ithyphallic''. Any object that symbo ...

es on house tops at four corners of the eaves. The monastery is the repository of the original wooden symbol of phallus that Kunley brought from Tibet. This wooden phallus is decorated with a silver handle and is used to bless people who visit the monastery on pilgrimage, particularly women seeking blessings to beget children. The tradition at the monastery is to strike pilgrims on the head with a 10-inch (25 cm) wooden

(erect penis). Traditionally symbols of an erect penis in Bhutan have been intended to drive away the evil eye and malicious gossip.

Geography

The

Lhakhang Lhakhang are religious structures (temples) found throughout the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan) that house sacred objects, and in which religious activities take place. Lhakhang means "the house of gods": enlightened beings such as the Buddha, his foll ...

is located from

Punakha Punakha () is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thim ...

near a village called Sopsokha from where a 20 minutes walk along muddy and dusty path through agricultural fields of mustards and rice, leads to a hillock where the monastery and the chorten are situated. Prayer flags are lined all along the road from the tiny village hamlet known as Yowakha, along a drain or stream to the monastery. All houses in the village have paintings of phalluses on their exterior walls. The lama Kunley had called the hillock where the monastery exists as the breast of a woman because of its round shape.Brown, p.145

Structure and traditions

The Lhakhang is of modest size, square in shape with a golden spire. It is a golden yellow roofed building. It has a row of prayer wheels and its exterior walls are embedded with slates carved with images of saints. Near the entrance to the Lhakhang, there is this small chorten which marks the location where the demoness was subdued by Lama Kunley. The prayer hall inside the monastery has tantric paraphernalia, thangkas, bells, drums, horns, ''dorjis'' and a ''kangd.'' The statue of Kunley, in a monk's robe, is centrally located at the altar here, in a reclining position with a ceramic statue of his dog Sachi. Images of Zhabdrung,

Sakyamuni Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

and Chenresig are also deified in the monastery. Women who come to the monastery seeking blessings of children get hit on the head by the presiding Lama with a ivory, wood and bone

. They also make the pilgrimage to get the name of the child to be born. They do this by picking bamboo slips placed in the altar inscribed with names of boys and girls. It is also said that the small

at the altar was made by Kunley himself. There are also frescoes painted on the walls of the monastery depicting the Mad saint's colourful life.Brown, p.145 Panoramic view of Chimi Lhakhang

Legend

There are several legends and anecdotes connected with the Lakhang and Drukpa Kunley. According to one legend Kunley, who was also known for his supernatural powers had predicted the death of other lamas, which came true. However, Lama Kunley and his dog Sachi, whose statues are deified in the monastery, attained heaven.

References

Notes

* *

External links

Official site
{{Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1490s Buildings and structures completed in 1499 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in Bhutan