Buddhism in Bhutan

 

What is the difference between Tibetan and Bhutanese practice of Buddhism?

Most of the sights , sounds and smells of Bhutan are familiar to those who have travelled to Tibetan settlements across India. The meticulously hand-painted temples, fluttering prayer flags, the steaming hot momos and thukpa, monks in deep maroon, and the distinct smell of incense. One thing that is missing in Bhutan are the "Free Tibet!" stickers and t-shirts, and photos of HH the Dalai Lama. Why so?

It seems there are four main schools of Mahayana Buddhism practiced in the upper Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau -  Nyingma (8th century), Kagyu (11th century), Sakya (1073), and Gelug (1409).

Padmasambhāva (aka Guru Rinpoche - 'Precious Master', Circa 700 CE) and Śāntarakṣita (725–788), are considered the founders of Nyingma ('The Ancient Ones'), the oldest tradition. A couple of centuries later Tilopa (988–1069) and his students, notably Naropa and Marpa, laid the foundations of the Kagyu ('Whispered Transmission') tradition, which focuses on the practices of Mahamudra. The great 11th century mystic, Miralepa, belonged to the Kagyu school. 

The third school, Sakya ('Pale earth') derives its name from the landscape near Shigatse, where Sakya Monastery, the first monastery of this tradition was established. This time the founder was not a monk who travelled from India across the Himalayas but one who travelled the opposite way, from Tibet to Vikramshila university in present-day northern Bihar.

The first three sects are also referred as the 'Red Hat' schools because its monks wear red head gear.

The fourth and last major school, Gelug ('Virtuous'), emerged after the Mongol invasions of Tibet in the 1200s. Also known as the Yellow Hat sect, they aligned themselves with the Mongol Khans and became the dominant sect in Tibet and Mongolia by the 16th century. The present (14th) Dalai Lama belongs to this sect.

Most of the Buddhists in Bhutan belong to the second-oldest Vajrayana sect - Kagyu - one of the red-hat schools. This sect is perhaps more closely aligned with the traditions set by the earliest monks who introduced Buddhism to the areas beyond the Himalayas. 

Maybe this also explains why the Dalai Lama is not so popular in Bhutan.