During my trip to Bhutan and in between visiting various monasteries, spending time with monks, I had an opportunity to interview Sonam Tashi, a monk in Tamshing Lhakhang. My guide acted as the translator, and I recorded the interview. Before I jump into questions, here is a small introduction to him:
Sonam Tashi studied for six years at a monastic school, which was later upgraded to a University. He continued his studies there for another five years and completed his degree at Kenchosum Lhakhang. After graduation, he served as a teacher for eight years. Later, under the instruction of his Guru, he took on the role of accountant during the construction of the Kenchosum Temple. Following the completion of the monastery, he was appointed as the Administration Officer and continued for an additional three years to help develop a new learning curriculum for the monks. Eventually, he was appointed as the Principal of Kenchosum Monastery.
Before Sonam Tashi’s tenure as Principal, the monastery’s curriculum focused solely on Buddhist studies. Upon his appointment, he introduced a new curriculum that included English, Mathematics, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Life Skills, and Scouting. Under his leadership, these additions broadened the monks’ education while preserving the essence of monastic learning. He has now been serving as Principal for five years.
Why did you choose the life of a monk?
I didn’t have a concrete reason for becoming a monk. For eight years, I lived in villages tending cattle. Later, my parents enrolled me in the monastery close to our home. The path chose me as much as I chose it.
What are the difficulties of monastic life?
I haven’t faced significant hardships as a monk. I’ve been blessed with love, care, and respect from the community. That said, monastic life does require certain compromises and unfulfilled wishes.
What is the wish that remained unfulfilled?
The first was my desire to enter a three-year retreat immediately after completing university. For such retreats, one must secure consent from teachers and elders very early in life, ideally when still in class 5 or 6, so a seat can be reserved. I only approached my teachers after finishing my degree. They explained the dilemma: “It’s very difficult to recruit teachers from outside. If all of you who are learned and scholarly go into retreat, it benefits only yourselves. But here, we need you to teach our students. This benefits many of our monks. You need to stay.”
The second came after I had served as a teacher for a couple of years. I wished to pursue further studies in Varanasi, India. My seat had been reserved. But just one week before my departure, my master and several senior teachers asked me to stay back. They needed me to continue teaching and to serve the monastery and my Guru. Out of respect and duty, I set aside that wish as well.
What is Buddhism for you?
Buddhism, for me, is all about your mind. Don’t get involved in desire, anger and ignorance. Nurture our minds.
For example, we love money, we may be attracted to another human, have attachments and desires. When we don’t get the things that we desire, we get angry, like a student who did not achieve the highest grade may think that the teachers were biased against him. When we think about ourselves, it is like being a blind person who can’t see anything. This deludes our mind, known as ignorance. Having strongly succumbed to these three devils, we are continually living in this cyclic existence of suffering.
We should not have attachments. If we have no attachments, there won’t be desire or cravings. Hence, we won’t be bothered. Primarily, we have to keep our minds from suffering. This is Buddhism.
How can an average person practice compassion in daily life?
Compassion means recognising when someone is suffering and either thinking of them with care or helping them.
Today, as we sit inside our homes wearing thick, cosy clothes, we still feel the cold. Now think of the dogs and other animals in the monastery courtyard. They’re left outside in that same bitter cold. If we truly think about their suffering, we must relate to how cold they feel and only then can we act with compassion. Bring them near a warm heater. Share a blanket or mat with them. Just as we take our morning coffee, we should also give them food.
This is how compassion begins, with small, simple acts. When we start helping others in these humble ways, we gradually expand our capacity for compassion. It’s not about grand gestures. It’s about beginning wherever you are, with whoever is suffering nearby.
This is the simple path to cultivating genuine compassion.
How do you handle suffering?
As human beings, suffering is an inevitable part of life. Let me share my current challenge: I’m serving in this monastery where we’ve begun integrating Western education alongside traditional Buddhist studies. We’ve implemented new programs aligned with modern times, including life skills education covering topics like sexual harassment prevention. However, many senior teachers have resisted these changes, viewing them as breaches of our traditional monastic norms.
Before I began this work, His Eminence Sungtruel Rinpoche, who is the Speech reincarnation of Treasure Revealer Pema Linga, said to me, “Your responsibility is to teach these students from pre-primary through eighth grade and to bring about meaningful change that sets them apart. While doing so, you will face many obstacles. But if you refuse to carry out this responsibility, it means you are breaking the trust I have placed in you. Whatever others may say, if you shoulder this responsibility and show me results, your work will be complete and you will fulfil my dreams.”
Keeping his words close to my heart, I don’t let others’ criticism deter me. To fulfil my root teacher’s vision, I must persevere even when others contradict my efforts. Sometimes I need to address their doubts and concerns, but I remain focused on my duties.
What can visitors like me learn about Buddhism in this short period?
Firstly, it depends on the kind of interest they have. Some prefer learning from texts, others enjoy practising meditation, and some are drawn to playing religious instruments. We all learn fastest when we follow our natural interests. Nothing can be truly learned or understood if it doesn’t come out of interest.
How can someone start practising Buddhism in daily life?
First, we must practice cultivating compassion, as I mentioned earlier, starting with something simple like compassion for a dog, then gradually expanding that feeling. If that feels difficult, we can initially focus on controlling or taming our minds.
How do we tame our minds? When we have a good day, we can try breathing meditation, which is very simple. As we inhale and exhale, we focus on our breath as much as we can, observing how long we can maintain that focus without our mind wandering. It’s perfectly fine to do this early in the morning, in the evening, or even before sleep.
Personally, I prefer practising outside in open, peaceful areas where a gentle wind blows, near a flowing river, or atop a mountain. In such places, I find I can meditate for longer periods.
A runaway trolley is heading towards five people. You are standing by a lever that can divert the trolley to a side track, but a single person is on that track. As a monk, would you pull the lever and be responsible for killing that one person, or would you let those five people die and keep your hands clean?
Firstly, I would try to stop the train. But if that is not possible, it’s better to sacrifice the life of one person over five.
There is a story about Buddha that supports my argument. On a ship, there were 500 kind-hearted merchants and one bad person who was a good swimmer. This man was planning to kill all 500 people by making a hole in the ship. He planned all this out of desire for their wealth. The captain learned of the man’s plan. So he thought to himself, “It’s acceptable to kill the bad man, even if I receive punishment or accumulate negative karma. If I were born in hell, I would bear the sin of killing one person. But if I let him make that hole in the boat, he will take the lives of 500 people, and he will bear the punishment and sin of 500 lives.”
What is your favourite part of this monastery?
In 1501, there was a treasure hunter called Pema Lingpa in the Tang Valley in Bumthang. He was famous, and many people from India and Tibet used to come to visit him. He had a patron named Pempo Kenthup. One day, this patron fell ill and thought of building a monastery. He requested Pema Lingpa’s guidance on where to build it.
In his meditation and visualisation, Pema Lingpa saw Dorje Phagmo (Vajravarahi), a sambhogakaya manifestation of the female Buddha Samantabhadri, instructing him to build at Tamzhing, where the current monastery stands. From that point onward, Pema Lingpa began construction and completed it within five years.
Inside the Temple of the Eight Manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava, some treasures were found in Tibet, Tang, and many other places. The consecration ceremony was also performed by Pema Lingpa himself. Because he performed the consecration so well, through the blessing of Guru Padmasambhava, the statues and all the paintings gained the power like that of Guru Padmasambhava himself. The dharma protectors also guard it, and because of this, there have been no major natural disasters here.
Some years ago, there was a massive earthquake in Nepal that affected the eastern parts of Bhutan. I was at university at the time. I worried it would have caused destruction here and called my friend to check. I even came to see for myself, but my friends here didn’t feel any vibrations from the earthquake. There were no problems at all because of the great blessings. Many other great Rinpoches, like Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and Shechen Rinpoche, have strong faith in this place, and we all believe in its power too.
If you observe the walls of the monastery, you would notice that the stones are not placed symmetrically and that there is no proper construction (pictured above). It seems that the wall would easily collapse. However, because of the consecration and blessing, the monastery has not been harmed.
Do you have any advice for someone who has lost someone they loved?
From Buddhism’s point of view, we ask: Why are we born? We are born to die. After birth comes death. The reason we meet or stay together is that we will one day depart. This is the way of nature and is out of our control.
For example, during summer, a seed germinates and begins to grow, then leaves develop, and finally the fruit. We eat the fruit, and then slowly the leaves start drying, the plant loses its leaves, and finally the plant dies. It’s the same for us. We are beings capable of understanding and learning. That is our “fruit”.
Another example is the hotel manager. When guests come, he has neither the excitement of wanting them to stay forever nor the sadness and suffering when they check out. Why? Because guests come and go. Some are pleasant, some may not be. He’s already prepared himself for this reality, so it doesn’t affect his emotions. In the same way, we should practice, be prepared, and develop such habits. It is hard to practice this, but you have to stay consistent.
For example, I had to look after the monastery administration. I had to stay with Rinpoche and interact with many people. I would be happy when someone praised me, and get upset when they blamed me. Later, through the advice of Rinpoche and through my education, I no longer experience such changes of emotion.
At times, I see myself like a madman. I don’t care about the feelings, even if they praise or defame me. I keep on carrying my responsibility. My friends tell me whether you have lost your mind or fully devoted to dharma. If they praise, I smile; if they defame, I stay the same.
Think about it, when you’re in a restaurant and people at the table next to you are loud, you should eat fast and leave rather than confront them. You know it’s hard to change others. It’s better and easier to change yourself. You should put yourself in the best state of comfort and peace. So I also tell others the same thing: if you can change others, that’s good enough, but if it doesn’t work, change yourself; that is the easiest solution.
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