The Phallus Valley
Published on 11th June, 2017 by Tshering Dorji Bhap

Filled up with phallus all over the valley, there stands the Temple of Fertility (Chime Lhakhang) on a round hillock which is viewed by the locals as a shape of a woman’s breast. There was a time when the Divine Mad Man (Lama Drukpa Kunley) subdued the demon of Dochula using his magic thunderbolt of wisdom (Penis) and trapped her inside a rock close to where the temple now stands. The temple was built in 1499 by his cousin, The 14th Drukpa Hierarch,Ngawang Choegyel, after the site was blessed by the Divine Madman. The great saint was known as the Divine Mad Man for his unorthodox ways of spreading Buddha’s dharma through songs, wine and outrageous behavior. The Divine Mad Man was born into the branch of the Noble Gya, clan of Ralung, Tibet in the year 1455, he became a monk at Ralung Monastery, later became a very popular poet and he was also known for his method of enlightening other beings, mostly women, which earned him the title ‘The Saint of 5000 women’. After mastering his Buddhist teaching in Ralung monastery under many great Masters, he was supposed to travel around and spread the teachings. It was believed that when he was not sure about his destination, he shot an arrow from Tibet and was landed in Toep Chandanang valley, minutes’ walk from the Fertility Temple. Following the path of the Dharma arrow, the Divine Mad Man came to Bhutan and spread the Buddhist teachings through his unorthodox ways travelling around the country.
The Divine Mad Man is credited with introducing the practice of phallus painting in Bhutan. It is believed that the phallus can bring good luck. Today, one can see the paintings of phallus on the outside walls of houses, one can also see carved wooden phallus hung in people’s homes as well as outside. The wooden phallus are also placed in the middle of fields to act as a scarecrow. During Tshechu festivals, the masked clowns also decorate their headgear with phallus painted cloth and dance with their holy whips and wooden phallus. The phallus is also used during rituals to chase away the evil spirits.
The Temple of Fertility is believed to bless couples who seek fertility and it is frequently visited by childless couples. Some of the tourists from different parts of the world with difficulty in conceiving baby, visited the Fertility Temple and been blessed with the phallus. There is a photo album with pictures of the newly born babies with gratitude notes and to my shock, even the tourists believed in the fertility blessings and the number of the babies born after the blessing is quite a lot!
The Fertility Temple is located in Punakha district in a valley called Sopsokha, an easy fifteen to twenty minutes hike in the valley through agricultural fields of mustard and rice will bring you to the beautiful Temple of Fertility. After turning the rows of prayer wheels and feeling the peacefulness of the place, one can visit the temple inside. The walls inside the temple are full of paintings depicting the biography and the teaching of the Divine Mad Man. One can also see the statue of the Divine Mad Man, his original walking stick, bow and arrow inside the temple.
About the Author
Tshering Dorji Bhap

It’s the quality of your time that matters, people most often claimed their time spent traveling as the most meaningful time. Travel is the perfect catalyst for happiness, as it allows to expand our capacity for wonder, joy and appreciation of the amazing diversity on our lovely planet. I am a travel enthusiast Himalayan man from the tiny kingdom of Bhutan. I started my career in the travel industry as a local tour guide. During my eight years of tour guiding journey, i had the opportunity to travel with many travelers to all parts of Bhutan. I have made so many new friends from around the world and this allowed me to travel widely across Europe, America, Asia and Australia, through the friendships that i made with travelers. Add me on facebook.com/bhaptshrinn and follow my travel journeys to different parts of the world and most importantly, my latest updates from Bhutan.
Little that i have noticed everywhere in the places that i have traveled, is people need some breathing space which is often lost in the chaos of this crazy modern world. Everybody deserves some time for themselves to take advantage of peacefulness, happiness and an introduction to a spiritual journey in life. That in mind, i have co-founded Bhutan Mind Vacation Tours in 2011 with a friend of mine to help those who are in search of serenity, happiness and spiritual journeys while at the same time contributing back to my country and its people. I, along with my wonderful team had the opportunity to host many travelers from around the world and assisted in designing their ultimate trip to Bhutan- The land of Happy Dragon.
We are happily distributing the biggest gift of The Dragon King, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuk's unique developmental philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH). His Majesty envisioned GNH and built it around four basic pillars: 1.equitable and equal socio-economic development, 2.preservation and promotion of cultural and spiritual heritage, 3.conservation of environment and 4.good governance. His Majesty’s idea of development of Bhutan was to strive for wholesome development by putting people at the center of it without compromising basic human values in such a way that natural balance was respected.
Do visit Bhutan, meet my King and the people !