Chapter 22: Chortens

Bhutan is a Buddhist country, and has many religious sites such as monas-teries, Dzongs and other religious structures honouring Lord Buddha and Guru Rimpoche. Dzongs and monasteries house the Buddhist learning centres and chortens are usually a reliquary that house many precious religious arts and artifacts. Although the chorten began as a mound of stones, it has developed many symbolisms. The chorten as a religious object was adopted and sanctified by the Buddha himself as his truth body or Dharmakaya. A chorten is also commonly known as a stupa.

The oldest known chorten is, according to legend, Sha Razawog Chor-ten in Wangdi Phodrang district, believed to be the first ever chorten to be built in Bhutan. It is believed that the chorten was built by an Indian Prince in the early part of the century. He came to Bhutan bearing the tooth of Buddha Shakyapa (Yoesung). He built the chorten and put the tooth as a sacred relic inside the chorten. In the late 19th century, when the chorten was renovated, the builders came across a paper that explained about the chorten and the relic. The paper fell into Desi Jigme Namgyal’s hand and he passed it onto his son the first king Ugyen Wangchuk. At présent both the tooth relic and the paper are with the central monastic body and the treasure is revealed to the public on auspicious days. Merak Nagpoi’ chor-ten in Merak under Trashigang district is another chorten which is believed to have been built before the 7th century ad. It is believed that this chorten was built over the bodily remains of a demoness Hashang.