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Religious Ceremonies
Thri in Punakha January 2007
Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck is among the 13,000 devotees who have gathered in Punakha to attend the Thri (admonition ceremony), which began on Monday, 22 January 2007.

During the two-week long admonition ceremony His Holiness the 70th Je Khenpo, Truelku Jigme Choeda, will elucidate the moral precepts and the teaching of the Buddha to the devotees to set them on the path to enlightenment or salvation.

"We expected about 8,000 devotees," said the Punakha Dzongkhag Yargye Tshogdu (DYT) chairman, Namgay Phuntsho. "The number has almost doubled and we are facing problems of accommodation and sanitation."

HM Queen Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck
and HRH Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck
2004
The limited hotels and guest houses are packed, people have camped in the fields, on the ridges, and almost every space available in Khuruthang.

The second Thri to be held in Punakha is being organised and sponsored by Yab Ugen Dorji and Yum Thuji Zangmo who are also attending the ceremony.

Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck said that it was her long cherished aspiration to receive the admonition from His Holiness the Je Khenpo. "I am glad that I am fulfilling it today," Her Majesty said.

Tenzin, 79, said he received the admonition when he was young. "I could not understand the significance then because I was young," he said. "I didn't want to miss this occasion, it will be my last."

At the end of the seventh day of the Thri ceremony His Holiness will unite 13,000 devotees from all walks of life into one family as the seven Dorji Puens (spiritual brothers and sisters) on January 27.

Devotees will be united in groups of seven including a monk or a lay monk. But according to organisers there were not enough monks and gomchens (lay monk) at the Thri. There are about only 600 monks, gomchens and nuns attending the ceremony, which will conclude on February 5.

His Holiness the late 67th Je Khenpo, Nyienzer Truelku Thinley Lhendup conducted the first Thri ceremony in Punakha, 28 years ago in 1978.

Thri or the admonition ceremony is supposed to lead all sentient beings on the path of enlightenment or ultimate liberation from the cyclic existence and suffering in the samsara (khorwa) through spiritual means. The empowerment of the Thri is of paramount importance to those who wish to enter into the sacred path of Tantra.

The transmission of the Thri can be traced back to His Holiness Choejay Dagpo Rinpoche, who is also known as gampopa, from whom originated several Kagyue lineages. Choejay Dagpo Rinpoche had upheld the two aspects of Mahamudra (Chagja Chhenpo): Mahamudra of Sutra (Do) and the Mahamudra of Mantra (Ngag). This lineage was transmitted in the Drukpa Kagyue tradition. The main text of the Thri was Dagpa Thargen, a text containing the essence of all Drukpa Kague teachings.

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Meaning of Thri

According to His Holiness the Je Khenpo, the meaning of Thri was to lead all sentient beings on the path of enlightenment or ultimate liberation from the cyclic existence and suffering in the samsara (khorwa) through spiritual means.

"The empowerment of the Thri is of paramount importance to those who wish to enter into the sacred path of Tantra. The transmission of the Thri can be traced back to His Holiness Choejay Dagpo Rinpoche, who is also known as gampopa, from whom originated several Kagyue lineages.

Choejay Dagpo Rinpoche had upheld the two aspects of Mahamudra (Chagja Chhenpo): Mahamudra of Sutra (Do) and the Mahamudra of Mantra (Ngag). This lineage was transmitted in the Drukpa Kagyue tradition. The main text of the Thri was Dagpa Thargen, a text containing the essence of all Drukpa Kague teachings," His Holiness said.

Contributed by Tshering Wangdi, KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper 2007
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