Bhutanese Buddhism

Buddhism is the state religion of Bhutan. Nearly all of the people are buddhists.

Monks in Punakha Dzong

Buddhist monks conducting a prayer ceremony.

But you will be surprised that the buddhism practiced in Bhutan is not your regular eight-fold-path-buddhism. As you can see from the photograph above, human skulls and other gory motifs are just as part of the system, as are compassionate peace and eternal enlightenment. As a tour guide I always got a kick out of watching tourists turn ashen while visiting our sacred temples. Our clean shaven serene monks will serve holy water from a human skull, while blowing dried human thigh bones to produce a trance infusing music.

Bhutanese buddhism is definately not for the fainthearted.

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