Bhutan Birding and Heritage Travels

29 July, 2009 - Dorji Chhangchen Tili Naro dang … Marpa Mila Gampo Thatsapa … Naphupa dang Palden Drukpa sog … kagyu lama namla choedpa buel …

Many Bhutanese grew up chanting these lines in boarding schools, every time they sat in the dining hall. Only a few might have known the meaning of what they chanted.

The translator, a research and administration officer in CBS, Thinley Jamtsho, said that the main objective of the translation was to make those, who make the offerings, understand the meaning of the prayers. “We make the offerings without understanding the meanings,” he said. “This book aims to help foreigners, who attend gatherings, to understand the significance of the offerings.”

Bhutanese believe that, if we make offerings before conducting any significant programs or consuming any meal, all works and foods will be blessed.

Recommended by the CBS president, Dasho Karma Ura, the 26-page translation was completed in two months. Thinley Jamtsho said that he could not translate the mantras and ngags, and had difficulty in sourcing the religious references.

CBS is still exploring funds to publish the print version of the translation. “Once we publish it, we’re going to provide it to all schools in the country,” said Thinley Jamtsho. “We’ll also transliterate it so that people, who can’t read or have difficulty in reading Dzongkha, can recite the offerings.”