I told you I'll come back to our hosts in Chokar Valley
Grandfather grandmother and two daughters live in the "last" house of this very remote valley,
They have a "homestay" renting out rooms, GNH center ghas established its "office" for
the construction team there,
Life is very very isolated there, the house is in a little hamlet of about 5 houses and as I told in my last blog, during rainy season it is very difficult to reach.
Grandfather told us many amazing stories, he remembers
and knows what has happened in this valley over centuries,
It is said Guru Rimpoche has been in this valley and he showed us stones with the imprint of his feet, of his sitting there in meditation, with the little sweet imprint of the feet of the Dakinis
dancing for him...where he subdued demons, every stone had a story and he remembered them all as if this has happened not long time ago...he really is a treasure of local knowledge traditions, tales and beliefs,
We said GNH Center should collect these
stories and make a booklet so that this will not be forgotten and that all those who come to GNH Center know of the rich past of this remote valley
He also told us when he was face to face with a tiger once (! This story my grandsons will like), he
told us about local deities, holy trees....a pure delight to listen to him!
His daughter Pema is the host in the home stay...she is a great cook and she has the most charming smile!
Nowadays these farmers hardly farm anymore...they still have
cows and we drank delicious milk tea and Dr Saamduu ate the fresh butter with a spoon,
They mainly live from collecting Cordiceps, a very rare mushroom kind of plant growing only in this region, Cordiceps is a strong "revitalizer" and is used
to enhance sexual energy, like a natural Viagra,
It is sold......21.818$ a kilo!!!!!!!!!! Yes you are reading right 21818$!
So you see all these remote houses and most of them have cars etc...they can earn quite a lot of money from collecting
Cordiceps during a short period in the year!
Early morning we heard the prayers of the whole family in their little shrine room and in the evening sitting infront of the TV (!) grandfather and grandmother recite their prayers. Grandfather said it is
difficult to recite infront of the TV..I agree,
I could feel that people living there still live with the direct experience of this "spiritual realities" of nature beings and of myths ...I wonder how long this will last, modernity destroys this kind
of consciousness so quickly...and Tv for sure destroys our imaginative consciousness fast,
I guess GNH Center will have the task to honor these tradition and to link them with our modern consciousness,