Drukpa Kunley and the phalluses on the walls

Synopsis

In Bhutan, one expects to find prayer mills, monks, temples…we certainly don’t expect to find phalluses on walls…and yet…
It all began in the 15th Century when Drukpa Kunley, a Lama from Tibet, imported Buddhism to Bhutan in a rather unorthodox manner. He would use his member to shock people and shake their concepts. Then, as any saint worthy of his title would have done, he left in his wake the tradition of omnipresent, painted phalluses on the walls of Bhutanese homes, as a sort of protection. We therefore set off to see these phalluses for ourselves. Next to the first phallus, we come across a painter with his brush. Further along we come across a group of people looking for Shilajit – a tar-like aphrodisiac substance that seeps from cracks in the cliffs – and we’re transported to a whole other universe.
Then finally we follow the same path as the pilgrims who are on their way to the Chime Lakhang monastery to pray, in the hopes that they’ll finally be blessed with a child. So many fascinating encounters and traditions provide the perfect excuse to take a closer look at the unorthodox character that was Drukpa Kunley as well as the unex