How did this Drupchhu
originated?
Well! There lived
an old (gyap) man in Wolakha village, whose determined faith in Lama Drukpa
Kuenley made it possible for him to meet the lama one day.
Upon meeting his well-regarded
lama, he had requested for a discourse that would help him prepare for his death
and attain enlightenment.
Lama Drukpa Kuenley
agreed and taught him a short mantra and instructed him to recite whenever he
visualizes him.
The mantra lyrics
contain an obscene wording having references to male and female genitals.
Wola Gayp’s faith in
the lama made him to recite the mantra when his family gathered for dinner by
closing his eyes and folding hand in great reverence. Before he could complete
the mantra, his daughter sprang up and left the room.
His wife couldn’t
believe that such an enlightened lama would teach her husband such mantra. She
also thought her husband must have heard it wrong. She than charged him saying
even if the lama had taught such filthy mantra, he shouldn’t recite it in the
presence of our daughter.
Wola Gyap replied
that he is following Lama Drukpa Kuenlay instruction. He thought of his Guru
during dinner so he recited the mantras. He than warned her that he will now
continue to recite even at the cost of his life.
Wola Gyap kept
reciting the prayer regularly and at his loud voice.
Wola Gyap became a
cause of great embarrassment in his house, especially during gatherings because
he kept saying his prayer loudly irrespective of who he was with. His family
thought he has gone mad and confined him in a room where he continued to say
his prayer day and night.
Finally they have
chased him from the house. He than moved in a cave above the present Drupchhu.
Days went by and he kept on reciting the mantras. Since he was not provided
with regular meal he was very hungry but he didn’t stop his mantra recitation.
Lama Drukpa Kuenley
knew about his condition that was caused by his mantras and immediately made a
visit to him. The lama than made a drupchhu appear near Wola Gyap and told him:
“This water is a
substitute for food and drink for you. It will be your food when you are hungry
and chang (wine) whenever you want to have a drink. But do not drink it too
much for you will get drunk.” Thus warning the old man, the lama disappeared.
After a month, on
one full moon night, his wife sent their daughter to check out the condition of
his mad husband in the cave and to their surprise found only a heap of quilt
where the old man sat and prayed.
Flabbergasted, she
ran to her mother who informed the relatives and neighbors about the incident.
The people who gathered witnessed a bright light come up from the heap of rags
and rise into the sky. A voice followed the ray of light saying,
“Lama Drukpa
Kuenley has delivered me to the western paradise. You conservative people will
remain where you are. Offer Lokthang Kamo, my ancestral land, to Lama Drukpa
Kuenley as offering.”
The family didn’t
obey the divine order and were, therefore, deprived of offspring.
The choeten crafted
by lama himself at the spot where Ap Wola Gyap lived and prayed was later taken
to Chime Lhakhang and is seen today as one of its most sacred objects of
worship.
I have asked the Chimi
Lhakhang Lama about this Stupa. It is the one inside the glass frame along with
Lama Drukpa KUENLAY’s Statue.
The holy spring can
be seen today as Wola Gyelpo’s Drupchu that is considered one of the holiest in
the locality.
The Drupchhu lies
beside the highway at about four km from Lobesa towards Punakha facing Chime
Lhakhang.
When travelling
between Lobesa to Punakha please stop by and have a bottle of drupchu.
