About a half-hour drive outside of Bhutan’s warm and sun-drenched winter capital Punakha lies Dorangthang Nunnery, near the village of Lobesa. The land belonged to the renowned Lama Sonam Zangpo (1888–1982), a direct disciple of the Tibetan master Togden Shakya Shri (1853–1919) and a main student of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–87). The name “Dorangthang” means “grinding stone” and refers to a very large rock that marks the location of a site designated in a prophecy that the lama received. Lama Sonam Zangpo built a small residence there and gave teachings from time to time. In his later years, due to fragile health, Lama stayed and taught at Dorangthang during the winter months, surrounded by a community of lay and monastic students. He gave the land to his grandson Dungse Garab Rinpoche, who founded a nunnery at the location in 2010.
Originally there were no buildings save for Lama Sonam Zangpo’s residence. Today, the flat, dry earth is occupied by two very long, modern structures housing the nuns’ sleeping, studying, and administrative quarters, constructed in 2014 just a few years after the nuns first came in 2010. Now, a new lhakhang (temple) is under construction to replace the small, older shrine room in use today, which was originally built as part of Lama Sonam Zangpo’s residence and later converted into a temple.
I came to Dorangthang to visit Ani Pema Selden, the head nun and principal, to learn about the history of the nunnery and its cham (Vajrayana sacred dance) lineage. I was heartened by the lovely modern quarters in which we met, and even more so by Ani-la’s warm countenance and gentle demeanor. Ani Pema Selden became a nun at age 15—36 years ago. At first, she joined Garab Rinpoche’s nunnery in eastern Bhutan, Tekchok Kunzang Chodron. After completing her graduate studies in 2009, Ani Pema Selden complied with Garab Rinpoche’s request that she come to Dorangthang to help establish the new nunnery, more formally known as Paljor Choeling.
The nunnery, today with 61 nuns (aged 6–60), under the guidance of Dungse Garab Rinpoche, follows the practices of the Dudjom Tersar, or Dudjom New Treasure lineage—the combined collection of treasures revealed by Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904) and Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, the Second Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–87). Dudjom Tersar has become one of the most widespread and practiced lineages in the Nyingma tradition, especially in Bhutan.
The lineage has its own unique cham traditions that were transmitted through the vision of Dudjom Rinpoche. The lineage is known for its dakini (divine beings of the sacred feminine) and daka (the male counterpart) dances, which of course are present in other cham lineages and are popular throughout Bhutan. However, these particular cham have a distinct style and are performed at Dungse Garab Rinpoche’s centers all over the globe, in Asia and the West.
The most frequently performed cham of this lineage is Zheng Zhik Pema, an invocation of Guru Rinpoche. In the liner notes to a video recording of this dance that used to be available through the Dharma Treasures website, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche wrote: “In Bhutan, my father-in-law Lopon Sonam Zangpo often had this dance [Zheng Zhik Pema] performed for drupchen.” Thinley Norbu Rinpoche had a video recording made by a group of Bhutanese lamas who were Lama Sonam Zangpo’s students. Members of Rinpoche’s Kunzang Gatshal sangha in upstate New York recounted to me how everyone (old and young, male and female) in the community learned the cham from the video. Although I had been told since my first visit to Bhutan in 2011 that only male practitioners perform cham, members of the upstate New York enclave made clear that female students have danced this and other cham at all of Rinpoche’s centers for many years now.
The full name of this cham is Hung Zheng Zhik Pema Jungnay Khandro’i Tshok. Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, in his liner notes, poignantly explains its origins. During the time of Guru Rinpoche’s departure from Tibet, having accomplished countless enlightened activities, he prepared to take his leave before the multitude of devotees. His foremost disciple, the female adept Yeshe Tsogyal, beseeched him:
“Could you give a prayer, unelaborated and essential, with profound meaning and great blessings to attain enlightenment swiftly, so just saying the prayer, blessings could come like clouds gathering in the sky . . .”
In response to Yeshe Tsogyal’s request, the liner notes continue:
“Guru Rinpoche adorned himself in jewel and bone ornaments. Facing toward the southwest, raising his right hand while holding and sounding the damaru [small ritual drum], and placing his left hand on Yeshe Tsogyal’s crown chakra, he revealed the prayer of Hung Zheng Zhik Pema Jungnay Khandro’i Tshok.”
In this way, Guru Rinpoche reassured his most accomplished and devoted disciple with instructions for how to summon him wherever he may be. This instant hotline for manifesting an immediate connection with Guru Rinpoche is activated through a splendid dance.
Zheng Zhik Pema is frequently performed at the beginning of public Dharma teachings, the arrival of a great lama, a 10-day drupchen ritual (of spiritual accomplishment), and the celebration of Guru Rinpoche’s birthday, or Tsechu.
It turns out that the nuns in Bhutan under Garab Rinpoche’s jurisdiction have also been performing cham for a while. According to Ani Pema Selden, she first saw the nuns at Rinpoche’s nunnery Tekchok Kunzang Choden in eastern Bhutan performing cham around 2000. She maintains that it has always been part of the nuns’ curriculum at Dorangthang. In fact, all nuns in Grade 6 learn cham as part of their ritual performance training before they enter shedra (monastic school). Ani Pema Selden continued: “The nuns must have attained a certain level of maturity and education in order to learn the dance.”
This cham of invocation and offering is conceived as a dance of dakinis and dakas, with graceful and peaceful movements alternating with splendid and wrathful movements. The dancers perform a series of repeated turns as their arms spiral about their heads, with an occasional dip of the torso toward the floor and back up again. The hypnotic turning sequence eventually lets loose with a high-energy burst of barrel-turn leaps traveling in a circle. The cham is danced to the declaimed prayer, accompanied by the rhythmic pulse of cymbals and drums and a wailing drone of horns. All the while, the dancers hold and rattle their damarus and bells as they dance this invitation to Guru Rinpoche to come and bestow blessings. The dance is completed with several signature jumps in which the dancer’s torso, arms, and legs fold together in the air at the top of the jump. They conclude their offering with a small bow.
Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche had a unique vision for the costumes that is quite a departure from the traditional Bhutanese outfits for this dance. His daughter Pema Chokyi recollected Rinpoche’s penchant for experimenting with new cham costume designs. She added that Garab Rinpoche has continued to make costume updates. Typically the monks or laymen wear a yellow kerchief skirt with crossed dorje collar and crown. Rinpoche’s bold costume design replaced the skirt with rainbow-striped leggings and retained much of the other iconographic costume elements. The rainbow leggings refer to these radiant wisdom beings, who manifest the Five Wisdoms symbolized by five rainbow colors—white, yellow, red, green, and blue. The rainbow colors extend to the visualization of this blissful dance taking place in Guru Rinpoche’s paradise abode Zangto Pelri, where dakinis and dakas dance amid the rainbows. This costume design is not only worn by the dancers in the Dudjom communities abroad, but also by the Bhutanese nuns.
Ani Pema Selden added that the nuns at Tekchok Kunzang Chodron Nunnery perform a full repertoire of cham including Kadrinchenma Cham, Pamo Denga (Heroines Drum Dance), Khandro Tenzhuk (Long-life Ritual), and Jipai Pawo. In addition to these, I recently viewed recordings of the nuns performing several others (Jin Bep, Kunthub Cham, Ging Cham). Ani Pema Selden continued: “Once the new lhakhang is completed, we hope to hold a drupchen at Dorangthang. For that event, the nuns will learn and perform all the cham!” Ani-la is currently searching for sponsors to help bring this dream to realization.
1 Punakha was the capital of the kingdom until 1955. It retains the title of “winter capital” and is the winter residence of the Central Monastic Body due to its mild winter temperatures.
2 Dungse Garab Rinpoche is a son of Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (1931–2011), the eldest son of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, and Aum Jamyang, daughter of Lama Sonam Zangpo.
3 The treasure teachings are believed to have originated from Padmasambhava and his foremost disciple Yeshe Tsogyal in the eighth century. They were hidden at that time to be rediscovered by future treasure revealers to bring new energy to the understanding and practice of dharma as needed.
4 Drupchen means “Great Accomplishment” and is a 7–10-day ceremony of extensive prayer, meditation, and ritual.
5 I attended a ritual event during the summer of 2019.
6 Interviewed at ritual event held in upstate New York in 2019.
7 Each of the Five Wisdoms is associated with a color, an element, an obstructed pattern, and a wisdom forming a blueprint for transformation─a path to integrated wholeness.
Related features from BDG
Tsechu in Sikkim: The Guru’s Gift
The Pamo (Heroines) of Karma Drubdey Nunnery
Dancing a Display of Emptiness: Thrangu Nuns Make History
Through the Eye of a Needle to Dance with the Dakini: Journey to Druk Zangri Khamar
The Chöd Cham of Nagi Gompa: An Alchemy of Radical Courage and Compassion
Dancing to Enlightenment: Drukpa Nuns Bring New Energy to the Songs of Realization
